If I Should Die, Vol. 22
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What does "death" really mean? Is there life after death? Is that idea even intelligible? Despite our constant confrontation with death there has been little serious philosophical reflection on the meaning of death and even less on the classical question of immortality. Popular books on "death and dying" abound, but they are largely manuals for dying with composure, or accounts of individual "near death" experiences. The contributors to If I Should Die offer the reader compelling personal, philosophical, and historical views on questions about death, from John Lachs's gentle but firm insistence that the notion of immortality is philosophically unintelligible, to Jurgen Moltmann's brave and careful examination of various arguments for what happens to us when we die. David Roochnik searches the Platonic dialogues for a metaphorical immortality that might satisfy the human longing for some meaning which does not die with us. Aaron Garrett traces the naturalization of the idea of immortality from Scotus to Locke in the history of Western philosophy, and David Schmidtz offers autobiographical reflections in shaping his philosophy of life's meaning. David Eckel takes us through a synopsis of Buddhist ideas on these issues, and Brian Jorgensen offers a response. Rita Rouner uses the poems she wrote after the death of her son to chronicle a survivor's struggle with life and death. Peter Gomes casts a critical eye on our death rituals and defends a classical Christian view of death and immortality, while Wendy Doniger examines the literature on those who were offered immortality by the gods and chose instead to remain mortal.
PrefaceAcknowledgmentsContributorsIntroduction1Pt. ILife, Death, and the Christian HopeA Short While towards the Sun13Death and the Believer: The End Is Where We Start From39Is There Life after Death?53Pt. IIDeath and Immortality in Various CulturesIf I Should Die before I Am Awakened: Buddhist Reflections on Death71A Rose for the Buddha: In Response to David Eckel94Why People in Stories Choose Mortality When They Could Have Immortality103Pt. IIIThe Philosophy of Life and the Problem of ImmortalityThe Vague Hope of Immortality127"This Tablet, Which Itself Will Quickly Perish"140Metaphorical Immortality: Some Platonic Reflections155The Meanings of Life170Author Index189Subject Index191
