What Is the Deprivation View of the Badness of Death

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The Answer is The deprivation view of the badness of death is the idea that death is bad because it deprives us of the goods and experiences that we would have had if we had continued to live. This view suggests that the badness of death is based on the loss of future opportunities and experiences.

The Symmetry Argument is an argument that challenges the deprivation view of the badness of death. It posits that if the deprivation view is true, then it should also be bad to not have been born earlier, as this would have deprived us of the goods and experiences we could have had if we had been born earlier. However, most people do not consider the non-existence before birth to be bad in the same way that they consider death to be bad. Therefore, the Symmetry Argument is supposed to provide reason to reject deprivationism.

Timmerman's argument against the Symmetry Argument is that the non-existence before birth is not bad because there is no subject who is deprived of goods and experiences. In contrast, death is bad because it involves the loss of goods and experiences for a subject who has already existed. Timmerman argues that this crucial difference undermines the Symmetry Argument and supports the deprivation view of the badness of death.

Timmerman's argument is sound because it highlights the important distinction between non-existence before birth and death. Non-existence before birth does not involve any deprivation for a subject, whereas death does. This supports the idea that the badness of death is based on the deprivation of goods and experiences.

Timmerman argues for an asymmetry with respect to late-births and early-deaths, suggesting that early-deaths are worse than late-births because early-deaths involve the loss of goods and experiences for a subject who has already existed, whereas late-births do not involve any deprivation for a subject. Whether or not we should accept this asymmetry depends on our ethical and philosophical beliefs. Some may argue that all forms of non-existence are equally bad, while others may agree with Timmerman's asymmetry based on the distinction between non-existence before birth and death. Ultimately, the acceptance of this asymmetry is a matter of personal perspective and philosophical reasoning.

What Is the Deprivation View of the Badness of Death

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