• Home
  • Services
    • Website Design
    • E Commerce
      • Compare Package
    • SEO
  • Digital Coin
  • Business
  • Marketing
  • Design
  • E coomerce
  • SEO
  • Branding
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Log in
  • Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • RSS
Malaysia Marketing Community
  • April 22nd, 2018
  • Account
  • Profile
  • Register
  • Advertising
  • Write For Us
  • Log in
Malaysia Marketing Community
  • Home
  • Services
    • Website Design
    • E Commerce
      • Compare Package
    • SEO
  • Digital Coin
  • Business
  • Marketing
  • Design
  • E coomerce
  • SEO
  • Branding
  • Shop
  • Blog
Home
Digital Coin

Thomas Nagel And His Article On Death

April 7th, 2018 Kavir Digital Coin 0 comments
Thomas Nagel And His Article On Death

Thomas Nagel begins his collection of essays with a most intriguing discussion about death. Death being one of the most obviously important subjects of contemplation, Nagel takes an interesting approach as he tries to define the truth as to whether death is, or is not, a harm for that individual. Nagel does a brilliant job in attacking this issue from all sides and viewpoints, and it only makes sense that he does it this way in order to make his own observations more credible.

He begins by looking at the very common views of death that are held by most people in the world, and tells us that he will talk of death as the “unequivocal and permanent end to our existence” and look directly at the nature of death itself (1). The first view that Nagel decides to discuss is the view that death is bad for us because it deprives us of more life. Most people are in the view that life is good; even though some experiences in life can be bad, and sometimes tragic, the nature of life itself is a very positive state. Nagel also adds that when the experiences of life are put aside, this state is still positive, and not simply “neutral” (2).

Nagel goes further to point out some important observations about the value of life. Mere “organic survival” cannot be said to be a component of value (2). Nagel gives the example of death and being in a coma before dying. Both of these situations would be equally bad situations. Another observation is that “like most goods” the value can become greater with time (2).

Looking now at what is bad about death instead of what is good about life, Nagel presents some obvious thoughts regarding this point. Life is good because we have the conscious ability to experience and appreciate all that life has to offer. So death is bad because it deprives us of these experiences, not because the actual state of death is bad for us.

The next point that Nagel makes is that there are certain indications that show how people do not object to death simply because it “involves long periods of nonexistence” (3). It is said that people would not look at the temporary “suspension” of life as a terrible misfortune, because the fact that it is temporary tells us that this will ultimately bring the state back to that of conscious life. Also, we do not look at the state being before we are born as a misfortune, or deprivation of life, because that life has not yet begun and, (as Nagel states later), he refutes the possible argument that the person could have been born earlier and had more life, with the fact that if that person was born substantially earlier, he would cease to be that person, but instead someone else entirely.

Nagel discusses next three problems. The first is a view that there are no evils that are not rooted in a person consciously “minding” those evils. Nagel puts this view in to easier terms by saying that this is the same as saying “what you don’t know can’t hurt you” (4). There are several examples that can illustrate this theory. People who think this way would say that it is not a harm for a person to be ridiculed behind his back, if he doesn’t know about it. If he doesn’t experience the evil, it is not bad for him. Nagel thinks this view is wrong. The natural discovery here is that it is bad to be betrayed, this is what makes the whole situation unfortunate; not because the discovery of this betrayal makes us unhappy.

The second problem is that which has to do with who the subject of harm caused by death is, and when exactly this occurs. Harm can be experienced by a person before death, nothing can be experienced after death, so when is death itself experienced as a harm? The third problem deals with posthumous and prenatal existence.

Contemplating the good or bad aspects of death, Nagel observes that we must look at the possible circumstances surrounding a death, and the pertinent history of the person who dies. This is important because we miss a lot that is important to the argument if what we take into consideration is exclusively the state of the person at the moment of death. Nagel gives an example of a very intelligent man sustaining an injury that causes him to regress to the mental capacity of an infant. His needs can be fulfilled like those of an infant and be kept happy as long as simple needs are met. His family and friends would look at this as a terrible misfortune, even though the man himself is not aware of his loss. This situation is unfortunate because of the deprivation of what might have been had he not been injured in this way. He could have gone on to accomplish great things for the world and his family, and live out his life through old age as an accomplished and acclaimed individual. This would have lead him to great happiness, but it can be observed that this same man in a state of mental capacity to match that of a child is also happy, but Nagel agrees that what happened to this man is a tragedy because of the terrible loss of the life the intelligent man could have led. This situation can relate to death in this way of thinking about deprivation. Death is bad because it robs you of what could have been.

After making these observations, Nagel states that “This case should convince us that it is arbitrary to restrict the goods and evils that can befall a man to non-relational properties ascribable to him at particular times” (6). There are endless circumstances and happenings going on that affect a person’s fortune or misfortune. Many of these never coincide directly to the person’s life. We must consider that there is no way to pinpoint the exact position of a misfortune in a person’s life, nor a way to define the origin. People have dreams and goals in life that may or may not be fulfilled. There is no way to find all of the circumstances and possibilities that go into whether or not these hopes and dreams are eventually fulfilled, but Nagel tells us that we must simply accept that “If death is an evil, it must be accounted for in these terms, and the impossibility of locating it within life should not trouble us” (7).

There are some who view the time before birth and the time after death as the same. We exist in neither, though Nagel argues that there is a difference. This whole essay has expressed exactly his view that though we do not exist in either case, death deprives us of time that we could have been living our lives.

Nagel makes an interesting observation about whether we can assign as a misfortune an event or aspect of life which is normal to all humans in general. We all know that we all will die and that the maximum amount of life is somewhere around 100 years. So is it still plausible to say this is a misfortune? He also gives the example of moles, which are blind. It is not a misfortune for a mole to be blind because they are all blind, and they will never know sight and be able to appreciate it. But Nagel also presents the example of a situation in which everyone goes through six months of pain and anguish before dying. Everyone knows that this is going to happen, but does that make the event any less of an event to dread and fear?

We are brought into this world and brought up with aspects of our lives that we appreciate. The deprivation of these things that we learn to appreciate is a misfortune, because we have learned to live with these privileges. It is unfathomable for a human being to grasp the concept of a finite life, in the truest meaning of understanding. We do not think of our lives right now as a set out plan or a finite sequence of events. We do not live day to day thinking of what we should do according to how much time we have left. Our lives are essentially an open-ended sequence of good and bad circumstances and possibilities. Death is the abrupt interruption of this sequence that we cannot help but be in the mindset will never end. This is how death is a deprivation, and ultimately, a bad thing for a person.

In conclusion, Nagel offers a good argument in his essay on death about death itself being a harm. Whether a person believes in the immortal life or not, it must still be considered that dying deprives you of the goods and experiences of life. This view seems unavoidable. A person who dies at age 92 has lived a full life to the best of his ability and has experienced more than someone who dies at age 32. The person dying at age 32 had many things that he wished to accomplish and experience in his life, and since the event of death has taken away all possibility of any of these goals coming to pass, and undermines all the work that he has put forth up to that point in pursuit of his goals, death is a terrible tragedy for him.

Work Cited

Nagel, Thomas. Mortal Questions. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1979.

Source by Emily Crawford

  • Tags
  • bitcoin
  • bitcoin gold
  • bitcoin Malaysia
  • bitcoin mining
  • bitcoin news
  • bitcoin price
  • bitcoin price chart
  • bitcoin wallet
Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Previous article New Career at 50
Next article Branding Yourself For Success In Network Marketing
Kavir

Kavir

Related Posts
Step By Step Directions for Milking the Prostate

Step By Step Directions for Milking the Prostate

April 22nd, 2018
Deep Throat Techniques - 7 Practical Steps To Learn How To Deep Throat

Deep Throat Techniques - 7 Practical Steps To Learn How To Deep Throat

April 22nd, 2018
Help, My TI-83 / Ti-84 Won't Graph

Help, My TI-83 / Ti-84 Won't Graph

April 21st, 2018
Products
  • Malaysia Business E-commerce Package Business E-commerce Package RM5,840.00
  • Malaysia Enterprise E-commerce Package Enterprise E-commerce Package RM9,900.00
  • Malaysia Professional E-commerce Package Professional E-commerce Package RM7,350.00
  • SEO Enterprise Package RM1,999.00
  • Malaysia Enterprise Package Website Design Enterprise Package Website Design RM3,690.00
e-Business News
An Introduction to Ivy Bot
Digital Coin

An Introduction to Ivy Bot

Jan 7th, 201818
Reviews of ICO (Initial Coin Offerings)
Digital Coin

Reviews of ICO (Initial Coin Offerings)

Jan 7th, 201818
5 Reason Why Gold will Continue to Rise on Value
Digital Coin

5 Reason Why Gold will Continue to Rise on Value

Jan 16th, 201814
5 Best Commodity Market Ideas
Digital Coin

5 Best Commodity Market Ideas

Jan 16th, 201815
What Cryptocurrencies Are Good to Invest in?
Digital Coin

What Cryptocurrencies Are Good to Invest in?

Dec 18th, 201716
Why Invest in Forex Trading?
Digital Coin

Why Invest in Forex Trading?

Jan 7th, 201815
How to Get Bitcoin
Digital Coin

How to Get Bitcoin

Dec 19th, 201715
Tips on Successful Forex Trading
Digital Coin

Tips on Successful Forex Trading

Jan 7th, 201815
Timeline
Apr 5th 3:00 AM
Marketing

How Can You Adopt the Best Marketing Strategy for Your Nonprofit?

Apr 4th 6:13 PM
E coomerce

Water Yam – What a Wonderful Unnoticed Food

Apr 4th 6:10 PM
Branding

Famous Swedish Brand Names

Apr 4th 2:59 PM
Marketing

Strategic Customer Attraction Marketing Blueprint

Apr 4th 6:13 AM
E coomerce

How to Choose a Professional Email Address

Apr 4th 6:09 AM
Branding

4 Promotional Ideas For Brand Name Printing

Apr 4th 2:58 AM
Marketing

Can Marketing Videos Help Your Online Business Plan?

Apr 3rd 6:12 PM
E coomerce

Wealth Creation Through Global Forex Trading

Today Most Viewed
Business Plan - Purpose and Objectives
Business

Business Plan - Purpose and Objectives

14
Newsletter Names - Creative Ideas for Newsletter Titles
SEO

Newsletter Names - Creative Ideas for Newsletter Titles

27
Acupuncture Marketing - Top Acupuncture Marketing Tips to Beat the Recession - Getting Referrals
Marketing

Acupuncture Marketing - Top Acupuncture Marketing Tips to Beat the Recession - Getting Referrals

15
Marketing and Advertising - Similarities and Differences
Branding

Marketing and Advertising - Similarities and Differences

16
Internet Marketing Strategies - Approaching People For Integration Marketing Offers
Marketing

Internet Marketing Strategies - Approaching People For Integration Marketing Offers

14
Marketing Plans for Commercial Real Estate Office Sales or Leasing
Business

Marketing Plans for Commercial Real Estate Office Sales or Leasing

15
Report Writing - How to Format a Business Report
Business

Report Writing - How to Format a Business Report

14
Beliefs Associated with Nautical Star Tattoos
Design

Beliefs Associated with Nautical Star Tattoos

14
Business: 8 Experts Tips To Start An Internet Home Business
Design

Business: 8 Experts Tips To Start An Internet Home Business

15
Think Big Start Small - SPQR - 10 Ways to Small Profits - Quick Returns
Business

Think Big Start Small - SPQR - 10 Ways to Small Profits - Quick Returns

15
About
  • About Us
  • Advertising
  • Contact Malaysia Marketing
  • Copyright
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
Blog
  • Branding
  • Business
  • Design
  • E coomerce
  • Marketing
  • SEO
Community
  • Directory
  • Members
  • Password Reset
  • Register
  • My Profile
  • Write For Us
© Malaysia Marketing Community 2018. All rights reserved.