Financial Times
(September 14, 2009)
Book Review: Better late than never
Who is afraid of the reaper? Not the logicians – they have long relished in tearing off Death’s robes, mocking his fabled sting and pointing and laughing at his bony behind.
“When we exist”, wrote the philosopher Epicurus, “death is not; and when death exists, we are not.”
In defending the desirability of immortality, Fischer, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, also claims to have common sense on his side. But as with defending death’s badness, there is a long tradition of thinkers who have argued the opposite. These curmudgeons, as Fischer calls them, believe that death gives shape and meaning to our lives. Immortality, according to them, would reduce us all to disaffected teenagers kicking tin cans down a never-ending street.
“When we exist”, wrote the philosopher Epicurus, “death is not; and when death exists, we are not.”
In defending the desirability of immortality, Fischer, a professor at the University of California, Riverside, also claims to have common sense on his side. But as with defending death’s badness, there is a long tradition of thinkers who have argued the opposite. These curmudgeons, as Fischer calls them, believe that death gives shape and meaning to our lives. Immortality, according to them, would reduce us all to disaffected teenagers kicking tin cans down a never-ending street.
Story Last Updated: 2009-09-14 11:19:20