Publication Details
Morrison, G. J.
(2008).
Book Review: Geoffrey Scarre, Death, Chesham, Acumen, 2007.
Heythrop Journal, 49 (3), 539-540.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2265.2008.00395_38.x
Abstract
The question of the meaning of being has led philosophers on towards formulating theories and questions on a variety of subjects such as time, God, personhood, otherness and death. Geoffrey Scarre has chosen the subject of death to explore not only its meaning and truth, but also its relation to life and its effects upon others and the world. Traversing the philosophical tradition of death, Scarre brings into conversation centuries of wisdom and reflection upon the meaning and rationalisation of death. Taking the position of the unlikely occurrence of any form of afterlife, it is not surprising that Scarre re-creates a Heideggerian inspired logic of death as our ‘ownmost possibility’, that is to say, life in the shadow of death demands that we make the best of our finite time available.
Keywords
Peer-reviewed
