The Nature of Death and Believing in One's Mortality - Lecture 15

Explore the philosophical concept of death in this Yale University lecture, delving into the complexities of defining death and the human struggle to accept mortality. Examine exceptions to the standard definition of death, such as sleep and coma states. Analyze the psychological phenomenon of disbelief in one's own mortality, using Tolstoy's character Ivan Ilych as a case study. Investigate Freud's arguments on imagining death and their potential flaws. Consider the distinction between intellectual acknowledgment and emotional acceptance of bodily death. Through this 44-minute discussion, gain deeper insights into the nature of death and its impact on human consciousness.

- Chapter 1. Introduction -- Accommodating Sleep in the Definition of Death .
- Chapter 2. Specification: The Ability to Engage in P-Functioning .
- Chapter 3. Nobody Believes that they will Die: An Analysis .
- Chapter 4. Can Imagining Death Work? Flaws in Freud's Argument .
- Chapter 5. Nobody Believes in Bodily Death: The Death of Ivan Ilyich .