The Cambridge Companion to Life and Death

This volume discusses the philosophical issues connected with the nature and significance of life and death, and the ethics of killing.

Steven Luper (Edited by)

9781107022874, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 February 2014

368 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.1 cm, 0.66 kg

'… written with students in mind, and those looking for an up-to-date and accessible account of scholarship in a particular area. The 19 contributors here are all philosophers who write well and clearly about life and death from various perspectives … if one of the functions of philosophy, whether secular or not, is to help us to think more clearly, then this is what this Companion achieves admirably.' Robin Gill, Church Times

This volume meets the increasing interest in a range of philosophical issues connected with the nature and significance of life and death, and the ethics of killing. What is it to be alive and to die? What is it to be a person? What must time be like if we are to persist? What makes one life better than another? May death or posthumous events harm the dead? The chapters in this volume address these questions, and also discuss topical issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and suicide. They explore the interrelation between the metaphysics, significance, and ethics of life and death, and they discuss the moral significance of killing both people and animals, and the extent to which death harms them. The volume is for all those studying the philosophy of life and death, for readers taking applied ethics courses, and for those studying ethics and metaphysics more generally.

Introduction Steven Luper
Part I. The Metaphysics of Life and Death: 1. The nature of life Mark A. Bedau
2. The nature of people Eric T. Olson
3. Persistence and time Katherine Hawley
4. The malleability of identity Marya Schechtman
5. The nature of human death David DeGrazia
Part II. The Significance of Life and Death: 6. Assessing lives Noah Lemos
7. On the length of a good life Eyjólfur K. Emilsson
8. Mortal harm John Martin Fischer
9. When do we incur mortal harm? Jens Johansson
10. The symmetry problem James Warren
11. Posthumous harm Simon Keller
12. Life's meaning Steven Luper
Part III. The Ethics of Life and Death: 13. Enhancing humanity Nicholas Agar
14. Procreating David Archard
15. Abortion Michael Tooley
16. Killing ourselves Thomas Hill, Jr
17. Killing in self-defense Kadri Vihvelin
18. Imperfect aiding Matthew Hanser
19. Killing and extinction Krister Bykvist.

Subject Areas: Medical ethics & professional conduct [MBDC], Ethical issues & debates [JFM], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ], Philosophy [HP]