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The human predicament : a candid guide to life's biggest questions / David Benatar.

By: Publisher: New York : Oxford University Press, [2017]Description: xix, 264 pages ; 19 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780190633813 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 128 23
LOC classification:
  • BD435 .B44 2017
Contents:
Preface -- A reader's guide -- 1. Introduction (Life's big questions ; Pessimism and optimism ; The human predicament and the animal predicament ; To tell or not to tell?) -- 2. Meaning (Introduction ; Understanding the question ; The (somewhat) good news [Meaning sub specie hominis ; Meaning sub specie hominis communitatis ; Meaning sub specie humanitatis] ; Conclusion) -- 3. Meaninglessness (The bad news ; The theistic gambit ; Nature's 'purposes' ; Scarce value ; Discounting the cosmic perspective; Focusing on terrestrial meaning ; Sour grapes and varieties of meaning worth wanting ; Conclusion) -- 4. Quality (The meaning and quality of life ; Why people's judgment about the quality of their lives are unreliable ; The poor quality of human life ; Why is there more bad than good? ; Secular optimistic theodicies ; Conclusion). 5. Death (Introduction ; Is death bad? [Hedonism (and its discontents) ; The deprivation account ; Annihilation ; When is death bad for the person who dies? ; The symmetry argument ; Taking Epicureans seriously?] ; How bad are different deaths? ; Living in the shadow of death) -- 6. Immortality (Delusons and fanatsies of immortality ; Sour grapes ; Conclusion) -- 7. Suicide (Introduction ; Responding to common arguments against suicide [Suicide as murder ; Suicide as irrational ; Suicide as unnatural ; Suicide as cowardice ; Interests of others ; The finality of death] ; Broadening the case for suicide [A more accurate assessment of life's quality ; Does meaninglessness in life warrant suicide? ; Restoring an individual's control] ; Conclusion) -- 8. Conclusion (The human predicament in a nutshell ; Pessimism and optimism (again) ; Responding to the human predicament).
Holdings
Item type Current library Shelving location Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Book Book NMC Library Stacks BD435 .B44 2017 (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 33039001427672

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-255) and index.

Preface -- A reader's guide -- 1. Introduction (Life's big questions ; Pessimism and optimism ; The human predicament and the animal predicament ; To tell or not to tell?) -- 2. Meaning (Introduction ; Understanding the question ; The (somewhat) good news [Meaning sub specie hominis ; Meaning sub specie hominis communitatis ; Meaning sub specie humanitatis] ; Conclusion) -- 3. Meaninglessness (The bad news ; The theistic gambit ; Nature's 'purposes' ; Scarce value ; Discounting the cosmic perspective; Focusing on terrestrial meaning ; Sour grapes and varieties of meaning worth wanting ; Conclusion) -- 4. Quality (The meaning and quality of life ; Why people's judgment about the quality of their lives are unreliable ; The poor quality of human life ; Why is there more bad than good? ; Secular optimistic theodicies ; Conclusion). 5. Death (Introduction ; Is death bad? [Hedonism (and its discontents) ; The deprivation account ; Annihilation ; When is death bad for the person who dies? ; The symmetry argument ; Taking Epicureans seriously?] ; How bad are different deaths? ; Living in the shadow of death) -- 6. Immortality (Delusons and fanatsies of immortality ; Sour grapes ; Conclusion) -- 7. Suicide (Introduction ; Responding to common arguments against suicide [Suicide as murder ; Suicide as irrational ; Suicide as unnatural ; Suicide as cowardice ; Interests of others ; The finality of death] ; Broadening the case for suicide [A more accurate assessment of life's quality ; Does meaninglessness in life warrant suicide? ; Restoring an individual's control] ; Conclusion) -- 8. Conclusion (The human predicament in a nutshell ; Pessimism and optimism (again) ; Responding to the human predicament).

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