Event Detail

Wed Apr 11, 2012
Toll Room, Alumni House
4:10–6 PM
Howison Lectures in Philosophy
Jonathan Barnes
Death and the Ancient Philosophers

All the ancient philosophers, pagans and Christians alike, agreed that death is the separation of a soul and a body. While there was much disagreement on the precise relationship between a being and his soul, as well as what sort of thing they took a soul to be, it is the agreement among the philosophers rather than their differences that calls for critical attention. In this lecture, Barnes will examine the question: “Why did ancient philosophers believe that beings were composed of two parts, the divorce of which is his death?”