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Immortality
Is there life after death or do we simply cease to exist? Renowned scholar Paul Edwards has compiled Immortality, a superb group of philosophical selections featuring the work of both classical and contemporary authors who address the topics of immortality, soul and body, transmigration, materialism, epiphenomenalism, physical research and parapsychology, reincarnation, disembodied existence, and much more.In addition to a 70-page editorial introduction offering an in-depth discussion of the forms which belief in immortality has taken, this volume includes selections from Thomas Aquinas, A.J. Ayer, Paul and Linda Badham, John Beloff, C.D. Broad, Joseph Butler, Rene Descartes, C.J. Ducasse, Paul Edwards, Hugh Elliot, Antony Flew, John Foster, Peter Geach, John Hick, John Hospers, David Hume, William James, Raynor Johnson, Immanuel Kant, John Locke, Lucretius, Donald MacKay, John Stuart Mill, Derek Parfit, Plato, H.H. Price, Joseph Priestley, Thomas Reid, Tertullian, Peter van Inwagen, and Voltaire. Also included is a detailed annotated bibliography.
- GenresPhilosophy
350 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1997
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Paul Edwards
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August 17, 2024
AN ANTHOLOGY OF WRITINGS BY PHILOSOPHERS FROM PLATO TO MODERN TIMES
Paul Edwards (1923-2004) was an Austrian-American philosopher, who was the editor-in-chief of MacMillan's eight-volume The Encyclopedia of Philosophy (8 Volumes in 4), and lectured at New York University, Brooklyn College and the New School for Social Research. He has written/edited other books such as 'Reincarnation: A Critical Examination,' 'Heidegger's Confusions,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1997 collection, "This book is not only about immortality but also about two of the most fascinating and difficult philosophical problems---the mind-body problem and the nature of personal identity. Immortality cannot be seriously discussed without an understanding of these problems... In making the selections I have been motivated by the desire to do justice to all viewpoints and arguments that deserve to be taken seriously. I believe that the selections do not exhibit any bias. However, in the introduction I have not refrained from occasionally expressing my own views... Many of the selections deal with immortality as it has been debated by Western philosophers and religious thinkers, but the book also contains extensive coverage of reincarnation."
The selections are presented in roughly chronological order, and are not broken down into sub-topics. Edwards provides an introduction (even if just a bibliographic footnote) to each selection. Philosophers in this anthology include Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Voltaire, Kant, Mill, William James, C.J. Ducasse, John Hick, A.J. Ayer [his famous "What I Saw When I Was Dead" essay], John Hospers, and others.
He notes in his Introduction, "a believer in survival claims no more than that human beings will survive the death of their bodies, leaving it an open question whether they will go on existing forever. This view is entirely consistent with acceptance of eventual annihilation. A believer in immortality ... makes the stronger claim that human beings will go on living for ever. It is worth observing that some of the evidence for life after death would, if cogent, merely prove survival. This is certainly true for all of the evidence derived from parapsychology... The same is of course true of 'near death experiences'..." (Pg. 2)
In his own essay on "Karmic Tribulations," Edwards observes, "I cannot share the sentiments of Martin Gardner and the Rev. Alger ['A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future life'] concerning the 'singular beauty' and 'moral grandeur' of the karmic scheme. It has always seemed to me cruel and inhuman to blame people for their genetic defects or to tell them that disasters which wrecked their lives are fully deserved." (Pg. 203)
This wide-ranging and very diverse anthology will be of considerable interest to anyone studying the concept of life after death.
Paul Edwards (1923-2004) was an Austrian-American philosopher, who was the editor-in-chief of MacMillan's eight-volume The Encyclopedia of Philosophy (8 Volumes in 4), and lectured at New York University, Brooklyn College and the New School for Social Research. He has written/edited other books such as 'Reincarnation: A Critical Examination,' 'Heidegger's Confusions,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1997 collection, "This book is not only about immortality but also about two of the most fascinating and difficult philosophical problems---the mind-body problem and the nature of personal identity. Immortality cannot be seriously discussed without an understanding of these problems... In making the selections I have been motivated by the desire to do justice to all viewpoints and arguments that deserve to be taken seriously. I believe that the selections do not exhibit any bias. However, in the introduction I have not refrained from occasionally expressing my own views... Many of the selections deal with immortality as it has been debated by Western philosophers and religious thinkers, but the book also contains extensive coverage of reincarnation."
The selections are presented in roughly chronological order, and are not broken down into sub-topics. Edwards provides an introduction (even if just a bibliographic footnote) to each selection. Philosophers in this anthology include Plato, Thomas Aquinas, Descartes, Locke, Hume, Voltaire, Kant, Mill, William James, C.J. Ducasse, John Hick, A.J. Ayer [his famous "What I Saw When I Was Dead" essay], John Hospers, and others.
He notes in his Introduction, "a believer in survival claims no more than that human beings will survive the death of their bodies, leaving it an open question whether they will go on existing forever. This view is entirely consistent with acceptance of eventual annihilation. A believer in immortality ... makes the stronger claim that human beings will go on living for ever. It is worth observing that some of the evidence for life after death would, if cogent, merely prove survival. This is certainly true for all of the evidence derived from parapsychology... The same is of course true of 'near death experiences'..." (Pg. 2)
In his own essay on "Karmic Tribulations," Edwards observes, "I cannot share the sentiments of Martin Gardner and the Rev. Alger ['A Critical History of the Doctrine of a Future life'] concerning the 'singular beauty' and 'moral grandeur' of the karmic scheme. It has always seemed to me cruel and inhuman to blame people for their genetic defects or to tell them that disasters which wrecked their lives are fully deserved." (Pg. 203)
This wide-ranging and very diverse anthology will be of considerable interest to anyone studying the concept of life after death.
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