"Does the fact that death follows life — does that produce any interaction effects between the two, which need to be added into our formula — added into the mix as well?
...Let me start briefly by mentioning a possibility for a positive interaction effect. Because of the fact that you're going to die, obviously enough, it's not just that you'll get whatever life you get, but there's a finite amount of life that you're going to get. Life is a scarce resource. It's precious. And we might be attracted to the thought that the value of life is increased by its very preciousness. There's a kind of aspect of value for many of us where we feel that something's especially valuable if it won't endure, if it's fragile, or if it's rare. This can enhance the value of something. And so, arguably, the fact that life is precious, that it won't endure, could actually increase its value for us.
... So, it's possible that the very fact that we're going to die causes an interaction effect with our life so there's an upside to it. It makes our life fragile, ephemeral, and as a result of that, more precious."
© Shelly Kagan
Yale Lectures on Philosophy of Death, 2007
...Let me start briefly by mentioning a possibility for a positive interaction effect. Because of the fact that you're going to die, obviously enough, it's not just that you'll get whatever life you get, but there's a finite amount of life that you're going to get. Life is a scarce resource. It's precious. And we might be attracted to the thought that the value of life is increased by its very preciousness. There's a kind of aspect of value for many of us where we feel that something's especially valuable if it won't endure, if it's fragile, or if it's rare. This can enhance the value of something. And so, arguably, the fact that life is precious, that it won't endure, could actually increase its value for us.
... So, it's possible that the very fact that we're going to die causes an interaction effect with our life so there's an upside to it. It makes our life fragile, ephemeral, and as a result of that, more precious."
© Shelly Kagan
Yale Lectures on Philosophy of Death, 2007
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