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This study group provides an opportunity to explore fundamental philosophical problems surrounding death.

The Philosophy of Death study group provides an opportunity to ask questions such as: “What does it mean to die and who or what is the ‘person’ that dies? Is it merely a physical body, or is it also something like a soul, and, if so, does the existence of a soul indicate that there is some hope of immortality? What should our attitude toward death be and what effect should that have on the way we live our lives?” The study group uses a number of prominent philosophical and literary works—including those by Plato, Tolstoy, Montaigne, Jonathan Swift, Walter Kauffmann and Lucretius—to think about death philosophically.

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Runs Sept. 19, 2011 to Nov. 4, 2011
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Activity Wall Discussion #2 (Due 10/13, Follow-Up 10/16) [Sept. 18, 2011, 8:39 p.m.]

DISCUSSION #2 on ACTIVITY WALL

(Initial comments by October 13^th; follow-up comments by October 16^th)

Core Reading: Leo Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich

After completing Unit 2, please post your comments on the following philosophical issues on the P2PU Activity Wall for this study group:

Explain the philosophical consequences of the attitude that death is the end of a person by theorizing about personal identity.
Describe how physicalism affects one’s notion of personhood during life and after death.
Discuss how Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich propounds specific attitudes about death that are often associated with existentialism.

Post your initial comments on the P2PU Activity Wall by midnight (Eastern time) on October 13^th Then, between October 13^th and October 16^th please make certain to read the comments of other study group members and post a few follow-up comments that engage your colleagues’ comments. Please make sure to reply to the initial posts by midnight (Eastern time) on October 16^th.