Description
Book SynopsisWhat 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 individual near death experiences of light at the end of the tunnel.
This lively conversation includes various views on these matters, from John Lachs's gentle but firm insistence that the notion of immortality is philosophically unintelligible, to Jürgen 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 which 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
Trade Review
“...[R]anges from a light-hearted survey of myths in which mortality is preferred to endless eternity to a serious study of Locke and Spinoza. [T]he choice of this topic for a volume in the Boston University Studies in Philosophy and Religion series shows that the subject itself is not dead, but newly intriguing.” —Christian Century
“Essays by philosophers, theologians, and others on death; topics include a comparison of Locke and Spinoza on immortality.” —The Chronicle of Higher Education
“...[I]f one is looking for some new and stimulating reflections on life and death, then all the essays are well worth consideration.” —Choice
