Essay on "Death by Thomas Nagel"
Essay 3 pages (1063 words) Sources: 0
[EXCERPT] . . . .
PhilosophyNagel says that the most serious difficulty with the view that death is always an evil is determining whether death is (always) misfortunate given the human limitation of mortality. He raises a question of how possible a possibility (in this case, continued life) must be in order for it to be considered a misfortune. Because humans have a standard lifespan of no more than 100 years (and an upper limit not much higher than that), Nagel questions whether a person who dies close to that limit (age 82 in his example) has suffered a misfortune (given that he could not possibly have lived much longer). He concludes that even though death is inevitable, it would still be good to live longer. He thinks that the 82-year-old has been deprived of some life, and all of the goods with which life has acquainted him, so death must be a misfortune because it presents "an abrupt cancellation of indefinitely extensive possible goods" (p. 80). Therefore, he concludes that death, regardless of when it happens, by its nature, is bad.
I do not necessarily agree that death is always an evil for several reasons. First, Nagel explicitly says that "life is a good and death is the corresponding deprivation or loss." However, he failed to really establish that life is (necessarily) a good aside from listing things like perception and thought as "goods." To determine this, questions of psychological states and lived experiences seem to need to be addressed. For example, if someone where chronically depressed or in pain, would death, which brings corresponding deprivation (in this case of pain or depression) be evil? Nagel speaks of potential as part of his argument for death's evil, so he migh
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Second, I am not convinced that he properly dismissed Lucretius' problem of temporal asymmetry. Nagel argues that while it is not possible to have lived before one's birth, it would be possible to live after one's death (if death had not occurred). Being born early, for example, would have either made one a different person or caused him/her to not live at all. Therefore, while one can be completely undisturbed by the "eternity preceding his own birth" (p. 79), the death that follows his life is of concern. The problem here… READ MORE
Quoted Instructions for "Death by Thomas Nagel" Assignment:
no introduction and lengthy quotes should be used very sparingly.
Your paper should be approximately three pages long.
It should have standard margins, use 12pt font and be double-spaced.
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In answering the question you will need to set out the view under discussion, explaining the details and what the reasons are for the view. As always, the claims that you make in your paper should always be backed up with reasons.
QUESTION
Nagel concludes his essay on death by turning to what he considers *****the most serious difficulty with the view that death is always an evil***** (pg. 79 last paragraph). What is this final difficulty for Nagel*****s view and how does he respond to it? Do you agree with Nagel*****s claim that death is a bad thing for a person despite being inevitable? Explain.
*****
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How to Reference "Death by Thomas Nagel" Essay in a Bibliography
“Death by Thomas Nagel.” A1-TermPaper.com, 2011, https://www.a1-termpaper.com/topics/essay/philosophy-nagel-says/1643604. Accessed 27 Sep 2024.
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