Death and the Value of Life

Death seems bad. We mourn those who die and generally regard continued life as something precious. But what exactly makes death bad?

One possibility is that death deprives us of a valuable future: the experiences, relationships and projects that we would otherwise have had. But perhaps death is bad for some other reason. And if more life is valuable, what should we make of immortality? Would living forever really be better than having a finite life?

On the other hand, perhaps mortality itself contributes something to human life. Does having a limited amount of time give our choices greater significance, or make certain forms of meaning and value possible? Or are these supposed benefits of mortality merely intuitions that don't withstand scrutiny?

We will explore these questions together, considering different philosophical perspectives and challenging each other's ideas.

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