Book contents
- Religion and the Meaning of Life
- Cambridge Studies in Religion, Philosophy, and Society
- Religion and the Meaning of Life
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Why Should We Care about Meaning?
- 2 Boredom
- 3 Denial of Death
- 4 Acquiring Meaning
- 5 Suicide
- 6 The Divine One
- 7 Life after Death
- 8 Obstacles
- 9 How Should We Live So as to Die Well?
- Epilogue Facts the Heart Can Feel
- Notes
- References
- Index
7 - Life after Death
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 March 2020
- Religion and the Meaning of Life
- Cambridge Studies in Religion, Philosophy, and Society
- Religion and the Meaning of Life
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Why Should We Care about Meaning?
- 2 Boredom
- 3 Denial of Death
- 4 Acquiring Meaning
- 5 Suicide
- 6 The Divine One
- 7 Life after Death
- 8 Obstacles
- 9 How Should We Live So as to Die Well?
- Epilogue Facts the Heart Can Feel
- Notes
- References
- Index
Summary
Chapter 7 continues unpacking the enhancement thesis with a focus on life after death: believing in life beyond death can enhance the meaning of life. It can do so because with life after death there is a larger context, there is an additional virtue, namely, hope, the urge to “transcend” oneself can be satisfied better, and existential boredom can be cured. This chapter, too, ends with an “existential move”: those who do not believe in life beyond death should be distressed by the thought that there is no life after death. The chapter responds to Bernard Williams’s claim that an eternal afterlife would be boring, and it discusses the existential harm of death with extinction.
Keywords
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- Information
- Religion and the Meaning of LifeAn Existential Approach, pp. 112 - 134Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020