I describe myself as working at the theoretical end of applied ethics, with interests in the value and meaning of life, animals, environment, death and personal identity. I work mostly in York, the Lake District, and the Cotswolds. And I am friendlier towards children and animals than many would believe.
Kripke's opponents claim chat gold, in all possible worlds, is a yellow metal. They believe t... more Kripke's opponents claim chat gold, in all possible worlds, is a yellow metal. They believe that the atomic number can vary from world to world. Kripke inverts this, holding chat while gold is, in all possible worlds, the element with atomic number 79, its surface properties may vary widely from world to world. Both views are flawed, but of the two, the rival is to be preferred. There is a better view. Gold is, in all possible worlds, the element with atomic number 79. And (given certain specifiable conditions) it is, in all possible worlds, a yellow metal. Only insofar as they give rise to familiar and important surface properties is there reason to maintain chat structural properties are at the essence or nature of things
This chapter examines the connection between value and desire with regard to death. It argues tha... more This chapter examines the connection between value and desire with regard to death. It argues that having categorical desires is a necessary condition for death to be bad for those who die, and that the degree to which death is bad bears a close relation to the number and strength of those desires. The chapter also analyzes the principles espoused by Jeff McMahan in his book “The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life.”.
... Imagen de portada del libro Filosofía del medio ambiente. Información General. Autores:Christ... more ... Imagen de portada del libro Filosofía del medio ambiente. Información General. Autores:Christopher Belshaw; Amalia Vijande Martínez ( trad. ... y aboga por un enfoque conciliador antes que por la confrontación. Fundación Dialnet. Acceso de usuarios registrados. ...
Immortality—living forever and avoiding death—seems to many to be desirable. But is it? It has be... more Immortality—living forever and avoiding death—seems to many to be desirable. But is it? It has been argued (notably by Williams, recently by Scheffler) that an immortal life would fairly soon become boring, trivial, and meaningless, and is not at all the sort of thing that any of us should want. Yet boredom and triviality presuppose our having powerful memories and imaginations, and an inability either to shake off the past or to free ourselves of weighty visions of the future. Suppose, though, that our capacities here are limited, so that our temporal reach is fairly significantly constrained. Then, I argue, these alleged problems with immortality will recede. Moreover, similar limitations might help us in the actual world, where life is short. If we cannot see clearly to its end points, both ahead and behind, life will seem longer.
The ever-present possibility of death forces upon us the question of life’s meaning and for this ... more The ever-present possibility of death forces upon us the question of life’s meaning and for this reason death has been a central concern of philosophers throughout history. From Socrates to Heidegger, philosophers have grappled with the nature and significance of death. In Annihilation, Christopher Belshaw explores two central questions at the heart of philosophy’s engagement with death: what is death; and is it bad that we die? Belshaw begins by distinguishing between literal and metaphorical uses of the term and offers a unified and biological account of death, denying that death brings about non-existence. How our death relates to the death of the brain is explored in detail. Belshaw considers the common-sense view that death is often bad for us by examining the circumstances that might make it bad as well as the grounds for thinking that one death can be worse than another. In addition, Belshaw explores whether we can be harmed after we die and before we were born. The final chapters explore whether we should prevent more deaths and whether, via cryonics, brain transplants, data storage, we might cheat death. Throughout Belshaw shows how questions of personhood and life’s value are bound up with our views on the sense and significance of death. Annihilation’s in-depth analysis and insightful exposition will be welcomed not only by philosophers working on the metaphysics of death but also by students and scholars alike looking for a foundation for discussions of the ethics of abortion, euthanasia, life-support and suicide.
Suppose we accept that punishment can be legitimate. What form should it take? Many of us believe... more Suppose we accept that punishment can be legitimate. What form should it take? Many of us believe that it can be acceptable to fine or imprison someone, but that capital punishment, along with corporal punishment in its various manifestations, is wholly unacceptable. I suggest that it is hard to account for or justify this distinction. But granting that resistance to these latter forms is unlikely to be dislodged, and granting too that imprisonment in particular is hardly problem-free, it is worth considering whether there might be alternatives. And I argue here that we should consider enforced coma as a procedure having many advantages over the more familiar methods of delivering a penalty. Of course, there are disadvantages also. The aim isn’t to offer a detailed and practical solution to the problem of crime, but to explore some of the presumptions and principles involved in our thinking about punishment.
... National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Belshaw, Christopher, 1952-Environ... more ... National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Belshaw, Christopher, 1952-Environmental philosophy Includes bibliographical references and ... Finally to John Shand, Steven Gerrard at Acumen and Kate Williams, for patience, encouragement and always intelli ...
Kripke's opponents claim chat gold, in all possible worlds, is a yellow metal. They believe t... more Kripke's opponents claim chat gold, in all possible worlds, is a yellow metal. They believe that the atomic number can vary from world to world. Kripke inverts this, holding chat while gold is, in all possible worlds, the element with atomic number 79, its surface properties may vary widely from world to world. Both views are flawed, but of the two, the rival is to be preferred. There is a better view. Gold is, in all possible worlds, the element with atomic number 79. And (given certain specifiable conditions) it is, in all possible worlds, a yellow metal. Only insofar as they give rise to familiar and important surface properties is there reason to maintain chat structural properties are at the essence or nature of things
This chapter examines the connection between value and desire with regard to death. It argues tha... more This chapter examines the connection between value and desire with regard to death. It argues that having categorical desires is a necessary condition for death to be bad for those who die, and that the degree to which death is bad bears a close relation to the number and strength of those desires. The chapter also analyzes the principles espoused by Jeff McMahan in his book “The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life.”.
... Imagen de portada del libro Filosofía del medio ambiente. Información General. Autores:Christ... more ... Imagen de portada del libro Filosofía del medio ambiente. Información General. Autores:Christopher Belshaw; Amalia Vijande Martínez ( trad. ... y aboga por un enfoque conciliador antes que por la confrontación. Fundación Dialnet. Acceso de usuarios registrados. ...
Immortality—living forever and avoiding death—seems to many to be desirable. But is it? It has be... more Immortality—living forever and avoiding death—seems to many to be desirable. But is it? It has been argued (notably by Williams, recently by Scheffler) that an immortal life would fairly soon become boring, trivial, and meaningless, and is not at all the sort of thing that any of us should want. Yet boredom and triviality presuppose our having powerful memories and imaginations, and an inability either to shake off the past or to free ourselves of weighty visions of the future. Suppose, though, that our capacities here are limited, so that our temporal reach is fairly significantly constrained. Then, I argue, these alleged problems with immortality will recede. Moreover, similar limitations might help us in the actual world, where life is short. If we cannot see clearly to its end points, both ahead and behind, life will seem longer.
The ever-present possibility of death forces upon us the question of life’s meaning and for this ... more The ever-present possibility of death forces upon us the question of life’s meaning and for this reason death has been a central concern of philosophers throughout history. From Socrates to Heidegger, philosophers have grappled with the nature and significance of death. In Annihilation, Christopher Belshaw explores two central questions at the heart of philosophy’s engagement with death: what is death; and is it bad that we die? Belshaw begins by distinguishing between literal and metaphorical uses of the term and offers a unified and biological account of death, denying that death brings about non-existence. How our death relates to the death of the brain is explored in detail. Belshaw considers the common-sense view that death is often bad for us by examining the circumstances that might make it bad as well as the grounds for thinking that one death can be worse than another. In addition, Belshaw explores whether we can be harmed after we die and before we were born. The final chapters explore whether we should prevent more deaths and whether, via cryonics, brain transplants, data storage, we might cheat death. Throughout Belshaw shows how questions of personhood and life’s value are bound up with our views on the sense and significance of death. Annihilation’s in-depth analysis and insightful exposition will be welcomed not only by philosophers working on the metaphysics of death but also by students and scholars alike looking for a foundation for discussions of the ethics of abortion, euthanasia, life-support and suicide.
Suppose we accept that punishment can be legitimate. What form should it take? Many of us believe... more Suppose we accept that punishment can be legitimate. What form should it take? Many of us believe that it can be acceptable to fine or imprison someone, but that capital punishment, along with corporal punishment in its various manifestations, is wholly unacceptable. I suggest that it is hard to account for or justify this distinction. But granting that resistance to these latter forms is unlikely to be dislodged, and granting too that imprisonment in particular is hardly problem-free, it is worth considering whether there might be alternatives. And I argue here that we should consider enforced coma as a procedure having many advantages over the more familiar methods of delivering a penalty. Of course, there are disadvantages also. The aim isn’t to offer a detailed and practical solution to the problem of crime, but to explore some of the presumptions and principles involved in our thinking about punishment.
... National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Belshaw, Christopher, 1952-Environ... more ... National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Belshaw, Christopher, 1952-Environmental philosophy Includes bibliographical references and ... Finally to John Shand, Steven Gerrard at Acumen and Kate Williams, for patience, encouragement and always intelli ...
This is a pre-publication version of the Introduction to my book The Value and Meaning of Life (R... more This is a pre-publication version of the Introduction to my book The Value and Meaning of Life (Routledge, 2020) . It is, unsurprisingly, intended to give the reader a good idea of the book's contents.
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