Dead people and living interests. (2nd January 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Benziman, Yotam
• Is Part Of: Mortality. Volume 22:Number 1(2017)
• Page Start: 75
• Page End: 86
• Publication Date: 2017-01-02
• Subjects: Ethics -- mortality -- interests -- harm -- inter-personal relations; Thanatology -- Periodicals; Mortality -- Periodicals; Bereavement -- Periodicals; Undertakers and undertaking -- Periodicals; 304.64
• DOI: 10.1080/13576275.2016.1162776
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1357-6275

Abstract

Abstract: Suppose that my dearest-of-all dies suddenly, and that instead of playing the piece of music she loved at her funeral, I play a song she despised. Have I wronged her and acted in contrast to her interests? In part I of this paper I criticise the prevailing attempts to prove that the dead have interests, and show that these attempts rest on a logical contradiction. I conclude that we cannot wrong the dead and that they have no interests. How then can we account for our strong feeling that we ought to respect the interests of the people who are dear to us, even when they are dead – and perhaps even more so? In part II I show that such a feeling does have a sound philosophical-moral basis, stemming from the interests of the living who remain behind. This feeling is based on our relationship with our dear ones while they were still alive and has to do with our being interested in their interests, and our obligation to represent these people when needed. When we represent them we, in a sense, re-present them.