Death / Shelly Kagan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kagan, Shelly.

Series:

Open Yale courses series.

The open Yale courses series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Death.

Ontology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (416 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

There is one thing we can be sure of: we are all going to die. But once we accept that fact, the questions begin. In this thought-provoking book, philosophy professor Shelly Kagan examines the myriad questions that arise when we confront the meaning of mortality. Do we have reason to believe in the existence of immortal souls? Should we accept an account according to which people are just material objects, nothing more? Can we make sense of the idea of surviving the death of one's body? If I won't exist after I die, can death truly be bad for me? Would immortality be desirable? Is fear of death appropriate? Is suicide ever justified? How should I live in the face of death?Written in an informal and conversational style, this stimulating and provocative book challenges many widely held views about death, as it invites the reader to take a fresh look at one of the central features of the human condition-the fact that we will die.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

1. Thinking about Death

2. Dualism versus Physicalism

3. Arguments for the Existence of the Soul

4. Descartes' Argument

5. Plato on the Immortality of the Soul

6. Personal Identity

7. Choosing between the Theories

8. The Nature of Death

9. Two Surprising Claims about Death

10. The Badness of Death

11. Immortality

12. The Value of Life

13. Other Aspects of Death

14. Living in the Face of Death

15. Suicide

16. Conclusion

Notes

Suggestions for Further Reading

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786613600851

9781280571251

128057125X

9780300183429

0300183429

OCLC:

785393609