DESCRIPTION
Fall 2024 180 | Death and the Meaning of Life (Online)
In this course we will be focusing on two crucial philosophical problems, the problem of death and the problem of the meaning of life.
The problem of death is the problem of figuring out what is the nature of death on the one hand and what are the ethical consequences that result from the fact that living, sentient beings die on the other. To tackle this problem we need to do two things.
First, we must investigate what it means to die, which will lead us to a discussion about the metaphysical nature of persons.
Second, we must inquire into the ethical consequences of dying, which will lead us to a discussion on the ethics of death and well-being.
The problem of the meaning of life is the problem of figuring out whether life is worth living and why. To tackle this problem we need to do two things.
First, we must investigate whether life is worth living, which will lead us to a discussion of the nature of pessimism versus optimism as philosophies about the nature of reality.
Second, we must figure out, supposing that life is worth living, why that is so, which will lead us to a discussion about the value of life, friendship, love, and knowledge.
Some philosophers whose ideas on these issues we might touch upon are Aristotle, Lucretius, Spinoza, Leibniz, Schopenhauer, Russell, Wittgenstein, Parfit, Sider, Nagel, Nozick, Kagan, Sider, Callard, and Jenkins, as well a short story from Argentinian writer J.L. Borges. I will provide philosophical guidance and counsel throughout.
Credits: 4 | Gen Ed: SB / DG