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PHIL 176: Death

Lecture 21 - Other Bad Aspects of Death, Part II. Further bad aspects of death are considered, including ubiquity, or the fact that death may occur at any time and strike anyone. Professor Kagan invites students to contemplate the possibility of death-free time periods, vacation spots, and activities. Then there is consideration of the value of the human condition, which consists of life, followed by death. Finally, the question is raised as to whether it could be appropriate to refuse to face the facts about our mortality. Professor Kagan distinguishes between two ways in which thinking about these could influence human behavior. On the one hand, it may give one the reason to behave differently; on the other hand, it may just cause a change in behavior.
(from oyc.yale.edu)

Lecture 21 - Other Bad Aspects of Death, Part II

Time Lecture Chapters
[00:00:00] 1. How Much Time Do We Have Left?
[00:07:00] 2. The Ubiquity of Death
[00:16:17] 3. What Is the Value of Life with Death? Positive and Negative Interaction Effects
[00:27:59] 4. "Better Off Never to Have Been Born": A Rationale
[00:32:55] 5. Should We Even Think about Death to Live Life?
[00:47:26] 6. Controlling the Impact of Thinking about Death and Conclusion

References
Lecture 21 - Other Bad Aspects of Death, Part II
Instructor: Professor Shelly Kagan. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov].

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - Course Introduction
Lecture 02 - The Nature of Persons: Dualism vs. Physicalism
Lecture 03 - Arguments for the Existence of the Soul, Part I
Lecture 04 - Introduction to Plato's Phaedo; Arguments for the Existence of the Soul, Part II
Lecture 05 - Arguments for the Existence of the Soul, Part III: Free will and Near-death Experiences
Lecture 06 - Arguments for the Existence of the Soul, Part IV; Plato, Part I
Lecture 07 - Plato, Part II: Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul
Lecture 08 - Plato, Part III: Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul (cont.)
Lecture 09 - Plato, Part IV: Arguments for the Immortality of the Soul (cont.)
Lecture 10 - Personal Identity, Part I: Identity across Apace and Time and the Soul Theory
Lecture 11 - Personal Identity, Part II: The Body Theory and the Personality Theory
Lecture 12 - Personal Identity, Part III: Objections to the Personality Theory
Lecture 13 - Personal Identity, Part IV; What Matters?
Lecture 14 - What Matters (cont.); The Nature of Death, Part I
Lecture 15 - The Nature of Death (cont.); Believing You will Die
Lecture 16 - Dying Alone; The Badness of Death, Part I
Lecture 17 - The Badness of Death, Part II: The Deprivation Account
Lecture 18 - The Badness of Death, Part III; Immortality, Part I
Lecture 19 - Immortality Part II; The Value of Life, Part I
Lecture 20 - The Value of Life, Part II; Other Bad Aspects of Death, Part I
Lecture 21 - Other Bad Aspects of Death, Part II
Lecture 22 - Fear of Death
Lecture 23 - How to Live Given the Certainty of Death
Lecture 24 - Suicide, Part I: The Rationality of Suicide
Lecture 25 - Suicide, Part II: Deciding under Uncertainty
Lecture 26 - Suicide, Part III: The Morality of Suicide and Course Conclusion