Samuel Scheffler Death and the Afterlife (Paperback) Berkeley Tanner Lectures
$ 25.28
Description
Further Details Title: Death and the Afterlife Condition: New ISBN-10: 019046917X EAN: 9780190469177 ISBN: 9780190469177 Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc Format: Paperback Release Date: 09/29/2016 Description: Suppose you knew that, though you yourself would live your life to its natural end, the earth and all its inhabitants would be destroyed thirty days after your death. To what extent would you remain committed to your current projects and plans? Would scientists still search for a cure for cancer? Would couples still want children?In Death and the Afterlife, philosopher Samuel Scheffler poses this thought experiment in order to show that the continued life of the human race after our deaths--the "afterlife" of the title--matters to us to an astonishing and previously neglected degree. Indeed, Scheffler shows that, in certain important respects, the future existence of people who are as yet unborn matters more to us than our own continued existence and the continued existence of those we love. Without the expectation that humanity has a future, many of the things that now matter to us would cease to do so. By contrast, the prospect of our own deaths does little to undermine our confidence in the value of our activities. Despite the terror we may feel when contemplating our deaths, the prospect of humanity's imminent extinction would pose a far greater threat to our ability to lead lives of wholehearted engagement. Scheffler further demonstrates that, although we are not unreasonable to fear death, personal immortality, like the imminent extinction of humanity, would also undermine our confidence in the values we hold dear. His arresting conclusion is that, in order for us to lead value-laden lives, what is necessary is that we ourselves should die and that others should live. Death and the Afterlife concludes with commentary by four distinguished philosophers--Harry Frankfurt, Niko Kolodny, Seana Shiffrin, and Susan Wolf--who discuss Scheffler's ideas with insight and imagination. Scheffler adds a final reply. Language: English Country/Region of Manufacture: US Item Height: 203mm Item Length: 137mm Item Width: 15mm Contributor: Niko Kolodny (Edited by) Genre: Society & Culture Book Series: Berkeley Tanner Lectures Topic: Social Sciences, Philosophy & Spirituality Author: Samuel Scheffler Item Weight: 227g Release Year: 2016 Missing Information? Please contact us if any details are missing and where possible we will add the information to our listing.
