Deck 28: The Significance of Future Generations

Question 1

Which of the following does Scheffler ask us not to consider when reflecting on the Doomsday Scenario?

A) That the things we value will no longer be valued.
B) That there will be no new generations of human beings.
C) The deaths of our loved ones.
D) The institutions we are members of will cease to exist.

Answer 1

The deaths of our loved ones.

Question 2

According to Scheffler, what is a reason we engage with various traditions and social groups?

A) To give ourselves a sense of belonging to a future social world.
B) To make friends and be less lonely.
C) To entertain ourselves when we are not doing philosophy.
D) Because social media targets us with ads to get us to engage with traditions and social groups.

Answer 2

To give ourselves a sense of belonging to a future social world.

Question 3

Altshuler suggests that confidence in the afterlife may support each of the following EXCEPT:

A) Our ability to value.
B) A sense of meaning in life.
C) Calming our fear of death.
D) Our capacity for violence.

Answer 3

Our capacity for violence.

Question 4

Hans Morgenthau holds that nuclear war would destroy our attempts to seek meaning because:

A) It would destroy the technologies we rely on to pursue meaningful projects.
B) It would destroy the religious traditions through which we strive for immortality.
C) It would destroy the civilizations through which we aim to achieve immortality.
D) It would weaken the international trust on the basis of which we pursue collective meaning.

Question 5

Which of the following is the problem of action Beauvoir is trying to solve?

A) We cannot truly commit ourselves to projects, but we need to commit ourselves to projects in order to live meaningful lives.
B) We cannot avoid committing ourselves to projects, but all projects seem meaningless because they come to an end.
C) The fact that we will die means that everything we care about is ultimately meaningless.
D) We need others' help to pursue meaningful projects, but others will always let us down.

Question 6

Altshuler argues that we can attain immortality in which of the following ways?

A) Through engaging with projects that future generations will care about.
B) By building robotic bodies for ourselves and uploading our memories into them.
C) By going to heaven after our bodily deaths.
D) By becoming one with the universe so that we can exist as long as it does.

Question 7

Explain some of the ways in which Scheffler believes the afterlife contributes value and meaning to our projects. Does the afterlife seem to be equally significant in every case? Can you think of some projects that seem more or less dependent on the afterlife? Do you think a life worth living could be entirely independent of the afterlife?

Question 8

Compare Scheffler's view with Morgenthau's and Beauvoir's. How does Morgenthau's emphasis on immortality differ from Scheffler's reflections on why the afterlife matters? How does Beauvoir's view of why the flourishing and freedom of others differ from Scheffler's view of why we care about these things?