Confrontations with the Reaper: A Philosophical Study of the Nature and Value of Death

What is death? Do people survive death? What do we mean when we say that someone is "dying"? Presenting a clear and engaging discussion of the classic philosophical questions surrounding death, this book studies the great metaphysical and moral problems of death. In the first part, Feldman shows that a definition of life is necessary before death can be defined. After exploring several of the most plausible accounts of the nature of life and demonstrating their failure, he goes on to propose his own conceptual scheme for death and related concepts. In the second part, Feldman turns to ethical and value-theoretical questions about death. Addressing the ancient Epicurean ethical problem about the evil of death, he argues that death can be a great evil for those who die, even if they do not exist after death, because it may deprive them of the goods they would have enjoyed if they had continued to live. Confrontations with the Reaper concludes with a novel consequentialist theory about the morality of killing, applying it to such thorny practical issues as abortion, suicide, and euthanasia.

• A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality (Hackett Philosophical Dialogues)
• Suicide: The Philosophical Dimensions
• The Mind's I: Fantasies And Reflections On Self & Soul
• Philosophy Before Socrates: An Introduction with Texts and Commentary
• Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo (Hackett Classics)
• Nicomachean Ethics
• Essentials of Geology (Fifth Edition)
• There Are Two Errors in the the Title of This Book, Revised and Expanded: A Sourcebook of Philosophical Puzzles, Paradoxes and Problems
• The Philosophy of Death
• The Oxford Book of Death (Oxford Books of Prose & Verse)