Living with the Dead

J. Jeremy Wisnewski is Professor of Philosophy at Hartwick College in upstate New York. His previous books include The Politics of Agency (Routledge, 2016), Heidegger (2013), Understanding Torture (2010), and Wittgenstein and Ethical Inquiry (2007).

• Part 1: The Dead Among Us 1. Introduction 2. An Encounter with the Corpse 3. Promises and Respecting the Ends of the Dead: An Arm-twisting Argument and a Kantian Framework for Respect 4. Disturbing Bodies: Art, Science, and Exhumation 5. Human Resources: The Cases of Cannibalism and Organ Harvesting 6. Memento Mortuis: The Obligation to Remember the Dead 7. Dialogues with the Dead: Memorials, Monuments, and the Duties of History Part 2: The Immortal Dead 8. The Argument for Modest Immortality 9. Is the Immortal Life Worth Living? 10. Ars moriendi: Learning to Live with Death and the Dead

"Wisnewski does a remarkable job of addressing a number of central issues in the philosophy of death in the course of presenting a clever, creative, and cross-traditional argument for a modest form of immortality. This book is an invaluable addition to the literature on this topic."Adam Buben, Leiden University, The Netherlands“Wisnewski develops a systematic overall account of our relationships to corpses and the dead, and relatedly, the proper attitudes we should have toward our own future demise and possible immortality … [He] explores the nuanced philosophical terrain with subtlety, insight, and good judgment … This book is rich with insights about some of the deepest and most mysterious features of human existence.”John Martin Fischer in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews