Williams

Question 1

Nature of Desire

Answer 1

Desires can be categorical or conditional

Conditional desires: conditional on something else being true

Categorical desires: give meaning and value to life, don’t depend on anything

Question 2

Categorical Desires

Answer 2

• not conditional, they are things one wants no matter what else is true
• They are not conditional on being alive
• Categorical desires propel us into the future, they are what gives meaning to life, express what we value, and are connected to our identity

Question 3

The Makropolus Case

Answer 3

The Makopolus Case

• Elena Makropulus (EM) is a fictional character who is given an elixir that makes her immortal
• She does not age, she remains 42, the age at which she first consumed the potion
• After 300 years she stops taking it because life has ceased to have any meaning to her
• Her life is one of coldness, boredom, and indifference

Question 4

For immortality to be a good, two conditions must be met

Answer 4

i. Attractiveness condition - immortality must be desirable from the point of view of the person whose life it is; they must see that future as something desirable in light of their own categorical desires (values, goals, etc.)

ii. Identity condition - the person must remain the same across time; the future they anticipate must be their future, not the future of someone else

Question 5

Attractiveness Condition

Answer 5

• requires that a person be able to recognize their future life as good from their own perspective
• they have to be able to relate to that life
• must be able to recognize those future desires as their own, have a phycological relation to them

Question 6

The attractiveness condition has two criteria:

Answer 6

1. Desirability of future states or non-boredom; the person must continue to have categorical desires that propel them into the future/motivate them
2. Recognition of the future as oneself; the person must be able to recognize the future person as themselves. Be able to connect to their future selves in a way that supports attitudes such as hope + anticipation

Question 7

Williams believes these criteria cannot be met simultaneously

Answer 7

• if the person has the same character across time (stable categorical desires) then immortality will result in boredom and emotional distance from one’s activities
• if the goods of life are sufficiently varied to avoid boredom (change in character, new categorical desires), then the person will not be able to relate to those new categorical desires as their own

Question 8

Nature of Categorical Desires

Answer 8

a) any set of categorical desires can be exhausted;

• this results in boredom, detachment, and indifference (no longer anything that gives life meaning)

b) the only way to avoid such boredom is to acquire new categorical desires

• categorical desires are an important part of your character (shape you, part of your identity) you will not be able to envision a future person with greatly different categorical desires

Question 9

Categorical Desires and Identity

Answer 9

the criteria of psychological relatedness requires that one not change one’s categorical desires

the attractiveness condition requires that one be able to identify with the future person

• that recognition will require recognizing the continuation of the categorical desires

Question 10

Williams in Summary

Answer 10

• either one’s categorical desires remain unchanged, in which case one will be bored because one will exhaust those desires; or
• one will change categorical desires in ways that cannot be understood from one’s present state, in which case that future person will not be recognizable (and so not attractive from your current perspective)