Philosophy 394D - Seminar: Death
What We Did Each Day
(check here for a synopsis of what we talked about, readings assigned, papers assigned, etc.)
May 5
Topics Discussed: Williams's Deprivationism. Williams's Argument for the Evil of Death. A Principle About Desires and Reasons. Conditional Desires. Categorical Desires. Williams's Argument for the Existence of Categorical Desires. Williams on the Tedium of Immortality. Williams's Two Conditions. Williams's Main Argument. The Eternal Decline Model. The Makropulos Model. The Serial and Disjoint Lives Model. The Teiresias Model. The Perpetual Absorption Model.
Readings Assigned:
1. Edwards, "Life, Meaning and Value of" [handout]
2. Nagel, "The Meaning of Life" [handout]* if you didn't get these readings, you can find them in a box labeled "PHIL 394 - DEATH" in the metal cabinet right across from my office (Bartlett 361)
Notes: Presentations by Annie Thebprasith, Nicole Gaska, and Adam Westlund. Returned papers.
April 27
Topics Discussed: Review of Bradley's View about The Time of Death's Badness. The Intrinsic Value of a Time for a Person (IVT). The Overall Value at Some Time of an Event for a Person (OVT). Implications of OVT for When Death Harms and Benefits. The Overdetermination Objection (Based on the Case of the Young Pedestrian). Lucretius's Asymmetry Argument. Nagel's Response. Feldman's Response. Parfit's Response. Parfit's My Past and Future Operations Case. Brueckner and Fisher's Criticism of Parfit. Brueckner and Fischer's Parfitian Response to Lucretius.
Readings Assigned:
1. Williams, “The Makropulos Case,” (MD) [read the whole thing this time]
Notes: Presentations by Jennifer Gorson and Chris Sterpka. Will return your second paper next week.
April 20
Topics Discussed: Feldman's Response to Epicurus's "No Time" Argument. Bradley on the "No Time" Argument. Nagel's Response to the "No Time" Argument. Eternal vs. Temporal Questions. The Intrinsic Value of a Time for a Person (IVT). The Overall Value at Some Time of an Event for a Person (OVT). Implications of OVT for When Death Harms and Benefits.
Readings Assigned:
1. re-read Brueckner and Fischer, "Why Death Is Bad" (MD)
2. Williams, “The Makropulos Case,” (MD) [read the whole thing this time]Notes: Collected Short Paper. Presentations by Adam DoVale and Jackie King. Term Paper Due Monday, May 16. Decided we will do something on the "meaning of life" for the last class meeting (May 11).
April 13
Topics Discussed: Two Kinds of Evil: Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic. Hedonism (restated). Two Interpretations of Rosenbaum’s Principle (A). Two Interpretation of Epicurus's "Evil Implies Awareness" Argument. A Causal Account of Extrinsic Badness (CP). Feldman's Account of Extrinsic Badness (EI). Feldman's View about the Evil of Death.
Readings Assigned:
1. Kamm, “Why Is Death Bad and Worse Than Pre-Natal Non-Existence?” (packet)
2. Feldman, “F. M. Kamm and the Mirror of Time” (packet)Notes: Presentations by Mike Quinn and Liz Cashman. Second Essay due next week.
April 6
Topics Discussed: Nagel. Three Problems for the Deprivation Approach (unexperienced harms; the time of death's harm; the Lucretian/asymmetry argument). Rosenbaum. Rosenbaum's argument. Two Kinds of Evil: Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic.
Readings Assigned:
1. Bradley, "When Is Death Bad for the One Who Dies" (packet)
2. Brueckner and Fischer, "Why Death Is Bad" (MD)Notes: Pop Quiz. Presentations by Paul Lavalle, Matt Bianchi, and Chris Gorham. Second Essay due Wednesday, April 20, in class. Topics will be posted by this weekend.
March 30
Topics Discussed: Another Epicurean Argument (guest lecture my Jeremy Cushing). Practical Rationality vs. Appropriateness. Epicurus's "Evil Implies Awareness" Argument. Hedonism. The Experience Requirement. Epicurus's "No Time" Argument. How the Termination Thesis bears on that.
Readings Assigned:
1. Williams, “The Makropulos Case,” in MD (only up to p. 81 -- you can stop before first full paragraph on p. 81)
2. Feldman, CWR, chs. 8-9.Notes: Second Essay Wednesday, April 20, in class. Topics will be posted next week. Weather was sunny and 61.
March 23
Topics Discussed: David Lewis's Psychological Theory of Personal Identity. Four-Dimensionalism. Three-Dimensionalism. Spacetime Worms. Lewis's View and the Duplication Problem. Epicurus. Epicurus on the Evil of Death.
Readings Assigned (no new readings this week):
1. Nagel, "Death" (in Fischer, The Metaphysics of Death)
2. Rosenbaum, "How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus" (in Fischer, The Metaphysics of Death)Notes: Returned first paper. Presentations by Nathan Sanford and Chris Emery.
March 9
Topics Discussed: More Survival of Death. The Termination Thesis. Review of the Duplication Problem. Brain/Body Transplants. Indeterminacy about Personal Identity. The Brain Theory of Personal Identity. Privileged Access and the Brain Theory. Gradual Replacement of Brain Parts. Brain Bisection.
Readings Assigned:
1. Epicurus, "Letter to Menoeceus" (packet)
2. Nagel, "Death" (in Fischer, The Metaphysics of Death)
3. Rosenbaum, "How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus" (in Fischer, The Metaphysics of Death)Notes: There was a pop quiz today. Returned first pop quiz. Presentations by Ses Nomishan and Mike Frenkel. If you want to read ahead, the next reading (after Rosenbaum) will be Williams, "The Makropulos Case: Reflections of the Tedium of Immortality" (in Fischer, The Metaphysics of Death).
March 2
Topics Discussed: The Survival of Death. The Question of Personal Identity. Theories of Personal Identity. The Soul Theory of Personal Identity. Problems for the Soul Theory (skepticism, Ockham's razor, mental causation, evolution). The Bodily Theory of Personal Identity. Two Definitions of 'actually remembers'. Problems for the Bodily Theory (full body switching, brain transplants). The Psychological Theory of Personal Identity. Problems for the Psychological Theory (the duplication problem).
Readings Assigned:
1. re-read the "Third Night" of Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality
2. re-read Feldman, CWR, Ch. 6
3. re-read Feldman, "The Termination Thesis," (packet)Notes: First paper was collected. I forgot to return your pop quizzes from last time. Presentations by Danna Rosenthal and Cody Torn.
February 16
Topics Discussed: The Mystery of Death. Death as the Cessation of Life. Suspended Animation. Death as the Permanent Cessation of Life. Intrinsic Properties. Being Dead As an Intrinsic Property. Fission. The Case of Alvin the Amoeba. The Transitivity of Identity. The Survival of Death. Exact Similarity vs. Numerical Identity. Weirob's First Argument Against Persons as Souls.
Readings Assigned:
1. re-read Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality
2. Feldman, CWR, Ch. 6
3. Feldman, "The Termination Thesis," (packet)Notes: There was a pop quiz today. Presentation by Asher Gumbiner. First paper (the "very short paper") due March 2.
February 9Topics Discussed: Conceptual Analysis. The Unity of Death. How Death Involves Life. The Unity of Life. Vitalism. Life Functionalism.
Readings Assigned:
1. re-read Feldman, CWR, Ch. 4
2. re-read Persson, "Is the Concept of Death Mysterious?" (packet)
3. Perry, A Dialogue on Personal Identity and ImmortalityNotes: Guest lecturer Fred Feldman ran today's seminar. Presentations by Mike Wade and Jamie Newlon.
February 2Topics Discussed: Conceptual Analysis. The Unity of Death. How Death Involves Life. The Unity of Life. Vitalism. Life Functionalism.
Readings Assigned:
1. Feldman, CWR, Ch. 2
2. Feldman, CWR, Ch. 4
3. Persson, "Is the Concept of Death Mysterious?" (packet)Notes: Guest lecturer Fred Feldman ran today's seminar.
January 26Topics Discussed: Introductions. What the course is not. What the course is. Review of syllabus.
Readings Assigned:
1. John Martin Fischer, “Death,” from course packet.
2. Epicurus, “Letter to Menoeceus,” from course packet.
3. Feldman, CWR, Introduction
4. Feldman, CWR, Ch. 1
5. Gareth Matthews, “De Anima 2. 2-4 and the Meaning of Life”Notes: additional homework: buy books; email me.