Life, Death, and Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions
Do our lives have meaning? Should we create more people? Is death bad? Should we commit suicide? Would it be better to be immortal? Should we be optimistic or pessimistic? Since Life, Death, and Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions first appeared, David Benatar's distinctive anthology designed to introduce students to the key existential questions of philosophy has won a devoted following among users in a variety of upper-level and even introductory courses. While many...
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Do our lives have meaning? Should we create more people? Is death bad? Should we commit suicide? Would it be better to be immortal? Should we be optimistic or pessimistic? Since Life, Death, and Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions first appeared, David BenatarOs distinctive anthology designed to introduce students to the key existential questions of philosophy has won a devoted following among users in a variety of upper-level and even introductory courses.
Preface xiIntroduction 1Part I The Meaning of Life1 The Meaning of Life Richard Taylor 212 The Absurd Thomas Nagel 313 "Nothing Matters" Richard Hare 434 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life W. D. Joske 515 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life Robert Nozick 656 The Meanings of Life David Schmidtz 93Suggestions for Further Reading on the Meaning of Life 115Part II Creating People7 Whether Causing Someone to Exist Can Benefit This Person Derek Parfit 1198 Why Not Let Life Become Extinct? John Leslie 1259 On Becoming Extinct James Lenman 13710 Why It Is Better Never to Come into Existence David Benatar 157Suggestions for Further Reading on Creating People 171Part III Death11 How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus Stephen E. Rosenbaum 17512 The Misfortunes of the Dead George Pitcher 19113 Annihilation Steven Luper 20114 Some Puzzles About the Evil of Death Fred Feldman 22315 Pie-Vital and Post-Mortem Non-Existence Frederik Kaufman 24316 Why Death Is Not Bad for the One Who Died David B. Suits 267Suggestions for Further Reading on Death 287Part IV Suicide17 Of Suicide David Hume 29118 Suicide and Duty Immanuel Kant 29919 Suicide: A Qualified Defense David Benatar 307Suggestions for Further Reading on Suicide 333Part V Immortality20 Immortality: A Letter James Lenman 33721 The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality Bernard Williams 34522 Why Immortality Is Not So Bad John Martin Fischer 36323 "From Here to Eternity": Is It Good to Live Forever? Christine Overall 379Suggestions for Further Reading on Immortality 395Part VI Optimism andPessimism24 Optimism Margaret A. Boden 39925 The Consolations of Optimism Michaelis Michael Peter Caldwell 41326 The Sad Truth: Optimism, Pessimism, and Pragmatism Bruce N. Waller 42327 On the Sufferings of the World Arthur Schopenhauer 431Suggestions for Further Reading on Optimism and Pessimism 441Index 443About the Contributors 447
