Life, Death, and Meaning : Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions.
- 2nd ed.
- 1 online resource (461 pages)
Life, Death, & -- Meaning -- Contents -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part I: The Meaning of Life -- 1 The Meaning of Life -- 2 The Absurd -- 3 "Nothing Matters" -- 4 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life -- 5 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life -- 6 The Meanings of Life -- Suggestions for Further Reading on the Meaning of Life -- Part II: Creating People -- 7 Whether Causing Someone to Exist Can Benefit This Person -- 8 Why Not Let Life Become Extinct? -- 9 On Becoming Extinct -- 10 Why It Is Better Never to Come into Existence -- Suggestions for Further Reading on Creating People -- Part III: Death -- 11 How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus -- 12 The Misfortunes of the Dead -- 13 Annihilation -- 14 Some Puzzles About the Evil of Death -- 15 Pre-Vital and Post-Mortem Non-Existence -- 16 Why Death Is Not Bad for the One Who Died -- Suggestions for Further Reading on Death -- Part IV: Suicide -- 17 Of Suicide -- 18 Suicide and Duty -- 19 Suicide: A Qualified Defense -- Suggestions for Further Reading on Suicide -- Part V: Immortality -- 20 Immortality: A Letter -- 21 The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality -- 22 Why Immortality Is Not So Bad -- 23 "From Here to Eternity": Is It Good to Live Forever? -- Suggestions for Further Reading on Immortality -- Part VI: Optimism and Pessimism -- 24 Optimism -- 25 The Consolations of Optimism -- 26 The Sad Truth: Optimism, Pessimism, and Pragmatism -- 27 On the Sufferings of the World -- Suggestions for Further Reading on Optimism and Pessimism -- Index -- About the Contributors.
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.