PHIL 78.001 – FYS: Death as a Problem for Philosophy: Metaphysical & Ethical

This course will explore the nature and significance of death by drawing on works in philosophy, literature, and film. The questions we will consider include: Do we survive our bodily deaths, and if not, should we fear death? Do our lives have meaning? Does our mortality have any implications for the way we should live? Beginning with Plato’s account of the trial and death of Socrates and ending with Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich, the course will also include readings by Joan Didion, Viktor Frankl, and C.S. Lewis.