“Bernard Williams is a distinguished twentieth-century english moral philosopher” (Jacobsen, p. 104). His perception of death and desire varies greatly from Lucretius who was a Roman follower of the ancient atomism and defended the views of Epicurus who like Lucretius, declared that death is a bad thing for people. On the contrary, Williams asserts that death gives meaning to life and that immorality might not be such a good thing and rather he believes that it is to be undesirable. The reasons as to why Williams thinks that a person’s death is a bad thing is due to the fact that when a person dies they are no longer able to fulfill/satisfy the desires we had when we were alive. Williams first beings by classifying desires into two categories. One category of desires are classified as, conditional desire, which are desires we have and we would like to satisfy but only if we live long enough. It is also called conditional desires because the desire is conditional on our existence. For instance, I would like to travel the world when I retire but only if I'm still alive then. So it follows that I would like to fulfill this desire if I am …show more content…
These types of desires are ones that we live for, they give us reasons for wanting to live and not die so that we can fulfill them. An example of a categorical desire would be that I want to spend time with my loved ones and my friends, and help people in suffering, ultimately I look forward to accomplishing these desires and it gives me a reason to continue to live and progress through life. Additionally, categorical (unconditional) desires are also things that keep our interest in living. Consequently, if I were to know that I would not be able to achieve my categorical desires my interest in life would substantially decrease (Jacobsen, p. 104). Further, if we are not capable of satisfying our categorical desires, death can be more reasonably seen as
Mortality, the subject of death, has been a curious topic to scholars, writers, and the common man. Each with their own opinion and beliefs. My personal belief is that one should accept mortality for what it is and not go against it.
In Thomas Nagel’s work, Death, he argued that death is bad. In this essay, I will present Nagel’s thesis and explain how Nagel believes that death is harmful. Then I will address the three objections and rebuttals provided in his paper. Finally, I will evaluate Nagel’s response to the asymmetry objection.
In his paper “The Makropulos case: reflections on the tedium of immortality” Bernard Williams asserts his central claim that when immortality is feasible it is intolerable; further, it is reasonable to regard death as an evil. He argues his position by utilization of The Makropulos case, or the case of E.M. This character and circumstance is derived from a play by Karel Capek. E.M. is a woman of three hundred and forty two years. She has survived so long due to an immortality draught concocted by her father, a physician, long before the play’s action. E.M. explains her problem with immortality is that her unending life has become incredibly dull, her emotions have become cold and indifferent. She feels that in the end, everything has happened before and life has become unsatisfying. She stops taking the immortality draught and death overtakes her. This invokes the optimistic thought that immortality may be rewarding, if certain desires continue to be satisfied. Williams expands on the idea of these desires, called categorical desires and inherent motivation, but first we should confirm the views of death that make the conversation of immortality desirable.
The justification of death in a Utilitarian or Aristotelian scenario rely on omissions from the norm or however seems fit the individual. the gray space between the rules of either theory allows for interpretations (misguided or educated guesses) and keeping facts only between the parties involved. Although Utilitarianism is a way to control the masses and allow for best possible performance out of the people following it, Aristotle’s Virtue Theory allows for the emotional understanding of a situation, as well as an individualized decision per scenario, without disrupting the norm.
There have been many attempts at formulating a theory that accounts for our intuitions regarding the harm of death. Most theories attempt to account for this intuition by attributing the harm of death to a deprivation of some sort. That is a person is harmed when she dies because she is deprived of some good thing. This paper is a defense of Epicurius's argument regarding death as a response to deprivation theories.
Desire Satisfaction Theory states that: a life goes best if and only if desires for that life are satisfied. The variability of desires from person to person, along with Desire Satisfaction Theory, makes it possible to have many types of lifes that are different yet all of them making the life of anyone who desire to live them go well; for example if someone desires to make a living as an engineer, the fulfillment of that desire makes his life go best, and at the same time another person who desires to write music would be better off studying music rather than engineering.
He conforms with political figure Ross Beaton’s worries as to the fall of right-to-die laws, and gives an alternate, arguably more realistic, standpoint to the presence of family members in a time of dying. He also connects to the reader on an emotional level by giving examples of certain circumstances. This process of emotional stimulant is intrinsic to the strength of his argument and the development of his writing. Watt’s analysis focusing on the moral aspects of the subject is visible in the other authors’ assertions making his the most powerful and agreeable.
The change of views on death altered an individual through special personal conflict by expectations and reality of death. ''Henry tried to picture someone dead… Lowering them in… And
In Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire, main character Blanche Dubois to begin with seems to be a nearly perfect model of a classy woman whose social interaction, life and behavior are based upon her sophistication. The play revolves around her, therefore the main theme of drama concerns her directly. In Blanche is seen the misfortune of a person caught between two worlds-the world of the past and the world of the present-unwilling to let go of the past and unable, because of her character, to come to any sort of terms with the present.
Death is one of life’s most mysterious occurrences. It is sometimes difficult to comprehend why an innocent young child has to die, and a murderer is released from prison and gets a second chance at life. There is no simple explanation for this. Though, perhaps the best, would be the theological perspective that God has a prewritten destiny for every man and woman. In J.D. Salinger’s
In Thomas Nagel’s “Death,” he questions whether death is a bad thing, if it is assumed that death is the permanent end of our existence. Besides addressing whether death is a bad thing, Nagel focuses on whether or not it is something that people should be fearful of. He also explores whether death is evil. Death is defined as permanent death, without any form of consciousness, while evil is defined as the deprivation of some quality or characteristic. In his conclusion, he reaffirms that conscious existence ends at death and that there is no subject to experience death and death ultimately deprives a person of life. Therefore, he states that Death actually deprives a person of conscious existence and the ability to experience. The ability to experience is open ended and future oriented. If a person cannot permanently experience in the future, it is a bad or an evil. A person is harmed by deprivation. Finally, he claims that death is an evil and a person is harmed even though the person does not experience the harm.
Thomas Nagel begins his collection of essays with a most intriguing discussion about death. Death being one of the most obviously important subjects of contemplation, Nagel takes an interesting approach as he tries to define the truth as to whether death is, or is not, a harm for that individual. Nagel does a brilliant job in attacking this issue from all sides and viewpoints, and it only makes sense that he does it this way in order to make his own observations more credible.
The point he is making is that all actions done by a person are motivated by the desire for their own happiness and since all desires are ones own, all desires must be aimed at self-love.
Tennessee Williams’ psychodrama, A Streetcar Named Desire, explicates the benevolent yet intricate personality of Dubois Dubois, and dives into the uncontrollable tempest that she physically and psychologically battles. Dubois’ intense desire to reinstate a permanent and devoted relationship with someone into her life manipulates her behavior around people. Her psyche - as a result of the sheer nature of this ruling passion - eventually overflows causing repressed emotions, feelings, and impulses to be freely expressed. Throughout the play, Dubois goes on a rampage to find a new mate – she feels that she deserves another life partner, especially after the death of her first and former lover, Allan. She believes to repay herself by starting
Aside from the holy force that propels the world, Thomas also examines how we alter the way our lives should naturally progress. Death is a stage of life; as a rose is bent or killed by the cold so should we age and eventually die in due time. However, Thomas analyzes human and natural...