If I Should Die

. Ed(s): Rouner, Leroy S.

ISBN 10: 0268031614 / ISBN 13: 9780268031619

Published by University of Notre Dame Press, 2001

About this Item

The contrtibutors to this collection offer personal, philosophical and historical views on questions about death. Contributors include: John Lachs, Jurgen Moltmann, David Roochnik, Aaron Garrett, David Schmidtz, David Eckel, Brian Jorgensen, Rita Rouner, Peter Gomes and Wendy Doniger. Editor(s): Rouner, Leroy S. Series: Boston University Studies in Philosophy & Religion. Num Pages: 216 pages. BIC Classification: HP; JHBZ. Category: (G) General (US: Trade); (P) Professional & Vocational; (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 230 x 151 x 14. Weight in Grams: 354. . 2002. New ed. Paperback. . . . . Books ship from the US and Ireland.

Seller Inventory # V9780268031619

Bibliographic Details

• Title: If I Should Die
• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0268031614
• ISBN 13: 9780268031619
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

What does “death” really mean? Is there life after death? Is that idea even intelligible?

Despite our constant confrontation with death there has been little serious philosophical reflection on the meaning of death and even less on the classical question of immortality. Popular books on “death and dying” abound, but they are largely manuals for dying with composure, or individual “near death” experiences of light at the end of the tunnel.

This lively conversation includes various views on these matters, from John Lachs’s gentle but firm insistence that the notion of immortality is philosophically unintelligible, to Jürgen Moltmann’s brave and careful examination of various arguments for what happens to us when we die. David Roochnik searches the Platonic dialogues for a metaphorical immortality which might satisfy the human longing for some meaning which does not die with us. Aaron Garrett traces the naturalization of the idea of immortality from Scotus to Locke in the history of Western philosophy, and David Schmidtz offers autobiographical reflections in shaping his philosophy of life’s meaning. David Eckel takes us through a synopsis of Buddhist ideas on these issues, and Brian Jorgensen offers a response. Rita Rouner uses the poems she wrote after the death of her son to chronicle a survivor’s struggle with life and death. Peter Gomes casts a critical eye on our death rituals, and defends a classical Christian view of death and immortality, while Wendy Doniger examines the literature on those who were offered immortality by the gods and chose instead to remain mortal.

About the Author

Leroy S. Rouner (d. 2006) was the Professor of Philosophy, Religion and Philosophical Theology and Director of the Institute for Philosophy and Religion at Boston University. He edited a number of books and is the author of Within Human Experience: The Philosophy of William Ernest Hocking and To Be at Home: Christianity, Civil Religion and World Community.