2. Is Immortality an Attractive
Option?
Benefits of Immortality Negatives of Immortality
We get to spend eternity with
close friends and loved ones
A wealth of different
experiences are open to
us, we can learn all manner of
new skills.
Death is bad, and immortality
means we never die, so we
never experience the badness
of death.
Unless others are also
immortal, we’ll outlive all
of our friends and loved
ones; a solitary immortality
would be lonely
Reduces the meaning and
significance of our
accomplishments
We would get bored
3. Three Claims Williams
Defends
1. It is rational to fear death.
2. A longer life is better than a shorter one.
3. Immortality would not be a good thing for
us.
?-How can all three of these claims be true?
4. What’s Really Wrong with the
Stoic View
Stoics neglect what actually makes our lives
better.
Our lives are better to the extent that we
experience more of life’s benefits, and worse to
the extent that we experience less of them.
Thus, death is an evil, generally speaking, and
longer lives are better than shorter ones.
5. Why it’s Rational to Fear Death
1. If I desire something, then I prefer a state of
affairs in which I get it over one in which I do
not.
2. To desire something is to have a reason for
resisting what excludes having that thing.
3. Death is a state of affairs in which none of my
desires are satisfied.
4. Therefore, desiring something gives one a
reason to resist death.
5. Thus, it is rational to fear death.
