Life, Death, and Meaning: Key Philosophical Readings on the Big Questions Book

Preface xi

Introduction 1

Part I The Meaning of Life

1 The Meaning of Life Richard Taylor 21

2 The Absurd Thomas Nagel 31

3 "Nothing Matters" Richard Hare 43

4 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life W. D. Joske 51

5 Philosophy and the Meaning of Life Robert Nozick 65

6 The Meanings of Life David Schmidtz 93

Suggestions for Further Reading on the Meaning of Life 115

Part II Creating People

7 Whether Causing Someone to Exist Can Benefit This Person Derek Parfit 119

8 Why Not Let Life Become Extinct? John Leslie 125

9 On Becoming Extinct James Lenman 137

10 Why It Is Better Never to Come into Existence David Benatar 157

Suggestions for Further Reading on Creating People 171

Part III Death

11 How to Be Dead and Not Care: A Defense of Epicurus Stephen E. Rosenbaum 175

12 The Misfortunes of the Dead George Pitcher 191

13 Annihilation Steven Luper 201

14 Some Puzzles About the Evil of Death Fred Feldman 223

15 Pie-Vital and Post-Mortem Non-Existence Frederik Kaufman 243

16 Why Death Is Not Bad for the One Who Died David B. Suits 267

Suggestions for Further Reading on Death 287

Part IV Suicide

17 Of Suicide David Hume 291

18 Suicide and Duty Immanuel Kant 299

19 Suicide: A Qualified Defense David Benatar 307

Suggestions for Further Reading on Suicide 333

Part V Immortality

20 Immortality: A Letter James Lenman 337

21 The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality Bernard Williams 345

22 Why Immortality Is Not So Bad John Martin Fischer 363

23 "From Here to Eternity": Is It Good to Live Forever? Christine Overall 379

Suggestions for Further Reading on Immortality 395

Part VI Optimism andPessimism

24 Optimism Margaret A. Boden 399

25 The Consolations of Optimism Michaelis Michael Peter Caldwell 413

26 The Sad Truth: Optimism, Pessimism, and Pragmatism Bruce N. Waller 423

27 On the Sufferings of the World Arthur Schopenhauer 431

Suggestions for Further Reading on Optimism and Pessimism 441

Index 443

About the Contributors 447