Philosophy: Death and Dying

Explores explores issues concerning death and dying, such as whether it makes sense to fear death, using the tools of philosophical argument and analysis. Content, readings, and assignments vary by section and instructor. Credit not awarded for both PHIL 1675 and versions of the course offered as PHIL 1010 to 1029.

Credit not awarded for both PHIL 1675 and versions of the course offered as PHIL 1010 to 1029; Open to degree and PACE students

We are all going to die. Everyone we know and everyone we care about is going to die. This, at least, is one truth we must all confront and it raises a host of interesting philosophical questions. Will we cease to exist when we die? Is there an afterlife? What should the prospect of our non-existence or this afterlife mean to us? Should we fear it, loathe it, despair at its inevitability? Hope for it, pray for it? Should we prepare for death and how could we? Can thinking about death be good for us? These questions are as old as philosophy itself. Socrates claimed that philosophy teaches us how to die and we will try to understand what that could me. We will consider some contemporary debates regarding these arguments as well, their role in philosophical reflection, and what they are meant to teach us about what our attitudes toward death should be. We will also consider end of life decision making and the ethical implications of our own deaths and the deaths of others. Finally, we will consider whether and how death relates to questions of “the meaning of life” and whether death renders life meaningless or meaningful.