1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910806136803321

Autore

Kagan Shelly

Titolo

Death / / Shelly Kagan

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Haven, : Yale University Press, 2012

ISBN

1-280-57125-X

9786613600851

0-300-18342-9

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (416 p.)

Collana

The open Yale courses series

Disciplina

128/.5

Soggetti

Death

Ontology

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

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

Sommario/riassunto

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.