TOTAL PRESENTATION ANTHRO - SEMSTER 2.pdf

Epicurus’ challenge “Why should I fear death? If I am, then death is not. If Death is, then I am not. Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not?” There is no such thing as me experiencing being dead Death is no evil! Lucretius’ challenge “Look back at how the stretch of unending time...

Epicurus’ challenge “Why should I fear death? If I am, then death is not. If Death is, then I am not. Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not?” There is no such thing as me experiencing being dead Death is no evil! Lucretius’ challenge “Look back at how the stretch of unending time before we are born has been nothing to us. Nature, therefore, offers this reflection (speculum) to us of the time to come after our eventual death” Future non-existence is no worse than Past non-existence It’s irrational to fear death! a historical change In antiquity, everyone believed in an afterlife … … and feared what it would look like … … therefore Epicurus, in order to remove the fear, argued that death was complete annihilation, literally nothing and therefore nothing to be feared a historical change But in modern Europe, many atheists came to believe in the absence of any afterlife i.e. that death is complete annihilation… … but that’s precisely what they found to be terrifying! The general question Should we fear death? (is it rational / appropriate to consider death as an evil?) – Response: it completely depends on what Death IS! if death is an eternal afterlife with God… if death is complete annihilation… What IS death? Is death a complete and definitive annihilation? – if dualism is true: then an immortal soul may survive bodily death move to another body) – if materialism is true: then bodily death is a complete annihilation … but maybe not definitive: possibility of bodily resurrection even for Materialists (van Inwagen) (or What IS death? Is death a complete and definitive annihilation? – death is complete and definitive annihilation only if you are certain of the falsehood of dualism AND the impossibility of bodily resurrection – … there is some room for hope (cf. Socrates) – … but WHY would anyone hope that death isn’t a definitive annihilation?? The precise question Is Death-as-definitive-annihilation an Evil? (and why?) – Epicurus: death isn’t an experience at all – Lucretius: past non-existence doesn’t bother us (NB: question also interesting for those who believe or hope in eternal life… in order to understand why eternal life is good) The method for answering the question 1) first determine what it is about (absolute) death that we fear 2) then determine whether it’s rational to fear that aspect of (absolute) death What is it that we fear about Death? a) it is not the fact of being unconscious for some period of time – no one fears being asleep and then awake b) it is not the fact of being inexistant for some period of time – no one would care moments of complete non-existence followed by « resurrections » c) it is not the process of dying (the agony) – because we also fear death without agony What is it that we fear about Death? a) not the experience of unconsciousness b) not the experience of non-existence c) not the experience of agony What we fear is not a (bad) experience at all! (C1) Rather what we fear is the deprivation of something good What is it that we fear about Death? (C1) Rather what we fear is the deprivation of something good Is that rational? – Epicurus: no, that’s irrational, only something I experience can be bad for me – Nagel’s response: what about “a man [who] is betrayed by his friends, ridiculed behind his back, and despised by people who treat him politely to his face” What is it that we fear about Death? (C1) Rather what we fear is the deprivation of something good What is that good that death deprives us of? – Nagel’s response: the goodness of being alive for some time the more we have, the better! – Objection to Nagel’s response: « less quantity of life » in the past is not an evil but « less quantity of life » in the future is an evil! What is it that we fear about Death? (C1) Rather what we fear is the deprivation of something good (C2) The good that Death deprives us of is the good of having a Future – (this good is essentially asymmetric between past and future) – more precisely deprives us of having an ultimate future What is it that we fear about Death? (C) What we fear is the deprivation of an Ultimate Future Is that rational? – Lucretius: no, it’s irrational, because we don’t fear the deprivation of an « ultimate past »! This asymmetry is irrational. – Nagel: the past/future asymmetry also holds for most experiences and doesn’t seem irrational! example: « thank God, the appointment visit is over! » The fundamental asymmetry Past/Future – past non-existence < future non-existence – past pains < future pains We, human beings, are essentially oriented towards the future as more important than the past – the future is what gives a purpose, a meaning to our actions The fundamental asymmetry Past/Future We are « beings-towardsthe-future »… … therefore, if our ultimate future is nothing but complete and definitive death, then … … I am a « beingtowards-death » (Heidegger) What is it then that we desire? What we hope for / desire is an ultimate future but what is an ultimate future exactly? – Theory 1: a life that continues flowing indefinitely (sempiternity) Bernard Williams: that would be horribly boring! What is it then that we desire? What we hope for / desire is an ultimate future but what is an ultimate future exactly? – Theory 2: a life that continues to be experienced but as an unflowing present – unflowing because there is no need to go further / perfection has been reached – « atemporality » = God’s Eternity for Boethius What is it then that we desire? « Eternity is the complete possession all at once of illimitable life » Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy Why is death a Problem human beings? for Biological definition of death = – part of the normal cycle of life in the development of a species – for the good of the species, individuals are born, reproduce and die Because Human Beings are animals, death is normal and good qua animals Why is death a Problem human beings? for But Human Beings are not like other animals! – they are animals for which the individual person matters… – … and therefore individual personal death becomes the totally mysterious annihilation of a unique and irreplaceable universe! ! death is not normal, it’s unacceptable, shocking Why is death a Problem human beings? for The mystery of death linked to the mysterious nature of the human being – both an animal… and irreducible to his animality – death is in our nature… and contrary to our nature the fear of death itself reveals that our nature is bigger than it seems to be