耶鲁大学哲学公开课《死亡》21 死亡的其他坏处（二）

这节课主题 Further bad aspects of death are considered, including ubiquity普遍存在, or the fact that death may occur at any time and strike anyone.
死亡的不可预知性，其实是件好事，因为我们会假设永生——事实是有很长的一段时间，100岁之前，这个大约的大前提。所以一般情况下我们根本无须考虑死亡，只是享受生活就可以了。
假如知道你的时限，你会怎么办，这是个经常性的问题。大仙的班上曾经有个学生是被癌症判了死刑的，还能过一两年，他的目标是，把学上完，还是还是上一半就死了。上他这个死亡的课真是难以想象大仙是怎么讲课的。
死亡，其实是可以看作一个对比物，反衬了“生”的可爱，而且还产生了其他一些影响。为什么人们喜欢冒险，比如跳伞活动，比如登山，类似等等，都是因为他们潜在面临死亡的挑战，所以才尤其显得可贵可爱。这个体验，直面死亡，给人刺激，让人思想，同时也给那些实在觉得这世界无可玩的人们找到了可以继续的由头？
这个课程一直在讲死亡，实际上是在讲述生命。人类向死而生，两者形式是一样的。终于，shelly直接将话题转入生死的结合考察。entire combination
在死亡作为背景之下考察或感觉生命，有利也有弊，因为Life is a scarce resource. It's precious.因为认识到其稀有而更加宝贵珍视。非常有趣的是，举例一个科幻，讲述在宇宙间只有人类的生命是有限的，其他生物都是长生不老的，这反而引起了其他生物的妒忌，因为只有人类才觉得生命，短暂的生命，是宝贵的。
但也可能是这样的：First possibility I think of under the heading "A Taste is Just a Tease." It's as though we live life for a while, getting a feel for all the wonderful things life could offer us, and then a moment later, as it were, it's snatched away from us. It's sort of adding insult to injury that we're offered just a whiff. It's as though somebody brought in this delicious meal to a hungry--before a hungry person--allowed them to see what it looked like, allowed them to smell the delicious aromas, perhaps gave them just one little tiny forkful to see just how beautifully delicious the food was. And then they snatched the whole thing away.
或许 Maybe the best response to the facts of death is just put it out of your mind. Don't give it any thought at all.
意识到死亡，会极大影响到人们的生活，这毫无疑问，但也是利弊同在。小孩子当然最好不要考虑这个事情。 
Finally, the question is raised as to whether it could be appropriate to refuse to face the facts about our mortality. Professor Kagan distinguishes between two ways in which thinking about these could influence human behavior. On the one hand, it may give one the reason to behave differently; on the other hand, it may just cause a change in behavior.