Is Death Bad For Us Thomas Nagel Analysis

Death has been of interest to philosophers since the ancient times. One lingering question that has yet to be definitively answered by the majority is, “Is death bad for us,”. Some philosophers believe that death is not bad for people because it elevates them to a higher state of being or an afterlife. Some philosophers also theorize that nobody can truly know what awaits a person after death, and that people should never fear the unknown. Socrates is an example of one of these philosophers. However, these assumptions of an afterlife are met with some controversy. On the other side of the spectrum, philosophers feel that death is bad because it will hurt people or will rob people of valuable experiences, possessions, or people. They feel that people do not continue after death and that it is ludicrous to think that. The

Thomas Nagel is an American philosopher and professor. He wrote an argumentative essay on death that was published in the 1970’s. His main argument for the paper and his answer to that question is that death is, in fact, bad for us. He asserts his opinion on the basis that “…if death is an evil at all, it cannot be because of its positive features, but only because of what it deprives us of,” (Nagel 74). He makes it very clear the he is talking only about a permanent death, one in which there is no existence beyond death. He also makes a clear distinction between survival through material bodies versus normal life and death. He argues that it is not appealing to live on in a coma to people. This means that life is characterized by more than just our material bodies; something psychological or immaterial must also contribute. For example, when a person is