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PHIL 176: Death

Lecture 18 - The Badness of Death, Part III; Immortality, Part I. The discussion of the badness of death continues by asking whether it is bad that we do not exist before our birth. The views of a number of contemporary philosophers, such as Tom Nagle, Fred Feldman, and Derek Parfit, are introduced. Then Professor Kagan turns to the subject of immortality. Would it be desirable to live forever, and if so, under what circumstances one might enjoy such a prolonged existence? The lecture concludes with Bernard Williams' take on immortality which posits that no kind of human life can continue to be enjoyable and attractive for eternity. (from oyc.yale.edu)

Lecture 18 - The Badness of Death, Part III; Immortality, Part I

Time Lecture Chapters
[00:00:00] 1. The Modest Existence Clause
[00:08:46] 2. "Schmoss" of Life: Is It Bad?
[00:22:01] 3. Feldman and Parfit on Nonexistence before Life
[00:33:45] 4. Is Immortality the Antidote to Deprivation-Based Death?
[00:49:26] 5. Conclusion: A "Best" Immortal State?

References
Lecture 18 - The Badness of Death, Part III; Immortality, Part I
Instructor: Professor Shelly Kagan. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov].

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - Course Introduction
Lecture 02 - The Nature of Persons: Dualism vs. Physicalism
Lecture 03 - Arguments for the Existence of the Soul, Part I
Lecture 04 - Introduction to Plato's Phaedo; Arguments for the Existence of the Soul, Part II
Lecture 05 - Arguments for the Existence of the Soul, Part III: Free will and Near-death Experiences
Lecture 06 - Arguments for the Existence of the Soul, Part IV; Plato, Part I
Lecture 07 - Plato, Part II: Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul
Lecture 08 - Plato, Part III: Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul (cont.)
Lecture 09 - Plato, Part IV: Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul (cont.)
Lecture 10 - Personal Identity, Part I: Identity across Apace and Time and the Soul Theory
Lecture 11 - Personal Identity, Part II: The Body Theory and the Personality Theory
Lecture 12 - Personal Identity, Part III: Objections to the Personality Theory
Lecture 13 - Personal Identity, Part IV; What Matters?
Lecture 14 - What Matters (cont.); The Nature of Death, Part I
Lecture 15 - The Nature of Death (cont.); Believing You will Die
Lecture 16 - Dying Alone; The Badness of Death, Part I
Lecture 17 - The Badness of Death, Part II: The Deprivation Account
Lecture 18 - The Badness of Death, Part III; Immortality, Part I
Lecture 19 - Immortality Part II; The Value of Life, Part I
Lecture 20 - The Value of Life, Part II; Other Bad Aspects of Death, Part I
Lecture 21 - Other Bad Aspects of Death, Part II
Lecture 22 - Fear of Death
Lecture 23 - How to Live Given the Certainty of Death
Lecture 24 - Suicide, Part I: The Rationality of Suicide
Lecture 25 - Suicide, Part II: Deciding under Uncertainty
Lecture 26 - Suicide, Part III: The Morality of Suicide and Course Conclusion