Death Flashcards
1
Q
What does Lucretius say?
A
- There is no subject to whom any harm is attached
- Death doesn’t involve an unpleasant experience because the human does not survive the death
- Before birth isn’t bad, so why is after death?
2
Q
What does Heidegger say?
A
- Humans are mortal and know they will die
- We live in a society that denies death
3
Q
What does Nagel say?
A
- Death is a loss for the person who dies
- Their hopes, possibilities and future are limited by the death and that is taken from them
- Post-life non-existence is bad as things could’ve been different for the person
4
Q
What is the argument against the symmetry argument?
Who?
A
Nagel
- The idea that pre-birth non-existence is not to be feared or a bad thing, as you have not yet experienced life and what it brings
- Post-death non-existence is bad as you have had the possibilities taken away from you and were alive and able to fear death
5
Q
What is the symmetry argument and who devised it?
A
Lucretius
- Pre-natal non-being is not bad for us
- Post- death non-being is the same in all important respects
- Therefore death is not bad for us
- If something isn’t bad for us, it’s irrational to fear it
- Therefore it is irrational to fear death
6
Q
What is the argument for death not being a loss?
A
- Nagel says that if the loss is seen as a blank, then there is no negative or positive value
7
Q
What is the argument for death being feared and bad?
Who?
A
Nagel
- It deprives the person of the positives of life
- It is a loss of life itself, not the state of non-existence
- Life is all one has so it is the greatest possible loss
8
Q
What was Nagel’s thought experiment?
A
- Man suffers a brain injury and is reduced to the mental capacity of an infant
- We pity him although he does not know his loss
- Don’t pity him when he was in the same state as a child
- We pity him as a result of loss of his adult development
9
Q
What is so bad about death?
A
- You are prevented from continuing living your life, and therefore are at a loss
- You do not exist afterwards
- Loss of life’s positive value
