Philosophy of Death

There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. The possibility that death may not actually be the end is considered. Are we, in some sense, immortal? Woul... (read more)

There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. The possibility that death may not actually be the end is considered. Are we, in some sense, immortal? Would immortality be desirable? Also a clearer notion of what it is to die is examined. What does it mean to say that a person has died? What kind of fact is that? And, finally, different attitudes to death are evaluated. Is death an evil? How? Why? Is suicide morally permissible? Is it rational? How should the knowledge that I am going to die affect the way I live my life? (read less)

There is one thing I can be sure of: I am going to die. But what am I to make of that fact? This course will examine a number of issues that arise once we begin to reflect on our mortality. The possibility that death may not actually be the end is considered. Are we, in some sense, immortal? Woul... (read more)

Video Lectures

#	Lecture	Play Video
1	Course Introduction	Play Video
2	The Nature of Persons: Dualism vs. Physicalism	Play Video
3	Arguments for the Existence of the Soul, Part I	Play Video
4	Introduction to Plato's Phaedo; Arguments for the existence of the soul, Part II	Play Video
5	Arguments for the existence of the soul, Part III: Free will and near-death experiences	Play Video
6	Arguments for the existence of the soul, Part IV; Plato, Part I	Play Video
7	Plato, Part II: Arguments for the immortality of the soul	Play Video
8	Plato, Part III: Arguments for the immortality of the soul (cont.)	Play Video
9	Plato, Part IV: Arguments for the immortality of the soul (cont.)	Play Video
10	Personal identity, Part I: Identity across space and time and the soul theory	Play Video
11	Personal identity, Part II: The body theory and the personality theory	Play Video
12	Personal identity, Part III: Objections to the personality theory	Play Video
13	Personal identity, Part IV; What matters?	Play Video
14	What matters (cont.); The nature of death, Part I	Play Video
15	The nature of death (cont.); Believing you will die	Play Video
16	Dying Alone; The Badness of Death, Part I	Play Video
17	The Badness of Death, Part II: The Deprivation Account	Play Video
18	The Badness of Death, Part III; Immortality, Part I	Play Video
19	Immortality Part II; The Value of Life, Part I	Play Video
20	The Value of Life, Part II; Other Bad Aspects of Death, Part I	Play Video
21	Other Bad Aspects of Death, Part II	Play Video
22	Fear of Death	Play Video
24	Suicide, Part I: The Rationality of Suicide	Play Video
25	Suicide, Part II: Deciding Under Uncertainty	Play Video
26	Suicide, Part III: The Morality of Suicide and Course Conclusion	Play Video