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Religion

Death and Eternal Life

(Text as at 26/12/2010 13:14:53)

This is a place-holder¹: see the reading-list below. The most highly recommended texts (marked with “*”) are Phillips and Thomas. Some others in the automatically-generated list are those I’ve collected over the years.

Peter Vardy’s lecture hand-out was "Vardy (Peter) - Death and Eternal Life".

The hand-out for the student-led Seminar was by Pete Mansell – "Heythrop Student - Seminar Paper: Philosophy of Religion - I Will Survive".

Following a discussion² with Peter Vardy, I intend to do both my Dissertation (12,000 – 15,000 words) and the long (4,000-word) essay for this Module on this general area. Rather than my originally-intended question “Can a human being have eternal life?”, I’ll probably treat both dualism and the general possibility of post-mortem survival divided between the two pieces of work.

I have a (skeleton) Note on Death³ as part of my PhD studies into Personal Identity; only useful currently for the reading list. Of particular interest are:-

• "Badham (Paul) & Badham (Linda) - Immortality or Extinction"
• "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Death and the Afterlife",
• "Blackmore (Susan) - Dying to Live: Near-Death Experiences"
• "Edwards (Paul), Ed. - Immortality"
• "Edwards (Paul) - Reincarnation: A Critical Examination"
• "Feldman (Fred) - Confrontations with the Reaper: A Philosophical Study of the Nature and Value of Death"
• "Fischer (John Martin), Ed. - The Metaphysics of Death"
• "Flew (Antony) - Merely Mortal?"
• "Johnston (Mark) - Surviving Death"
• "Kagan (Shelly) - Death"
• "Lizza (John) - Persons, Humanity, & the Definition of Death"
• "Penelhum (Terence), Ed. - Immortality"
• "Penelhum (Terence) - Survival and Disembodied Existence"
• "Perrett (Roy W.) - Death and Immortality"
• "Perry (John) - A Dialogue on Personal Identity and Immortality"
• "Rosenberg (Jay) - Thinking Clearly About Death"
• "Valberg (J.J.) - Dream, Death, and the Self"

Books/Articles

• "Davies (Brian) - Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology", Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000, Part VII. [Articles₄.]
• "Donnelly (John), Ed. - Language, Metaphysics and Death: A Metaphysical Reader", Fordham University Press, 1978, Chapters 2, 8, 13, 14, 17. [The Price article on disembodied existence is recommended₅.]
• "Hick (John) - Death and Eternal Life", Collins, London, 1976. [Good, basic, general survey.]
• Meynell, H – ‘People and Life After Death', in Davies, "Davies (Brian) - Philosophy of Religion: A Guide to the Subject", Cassell, London, 1998, Chapter 10.
• "Peterson (Michael), Hasker (William), Reichenbach (Bruce) & Basinger (David) - Reason and Religious Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion", Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1991, Chapter 10. [Basic, but a good starting point.]
• "Peterson (Michael), Hasker (William), Reichenbach (Bruce) & Basinger (David) - Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings", Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001, Part 9. [Articles by / extracts from H H Price, Richard Swinburne, Linda Badham, and John Hick.]
• (*) "Phillips (D.Z.) - Death and Immortality", Macmillan, London, 1970. [It is important to be aware of Phillips' model of God as this has a considerable bearing on his approach to this topic. This book is warmly recommended as a starting point.]
• "Phillips (D.Z.) - Dislocating the Soul", Religious Studies (December 1995).
• "Quinton (Anthony) - The Soul", The Journal of Philosophy 59 (1962).
• "Russell (Bertrand) - Do We Survive Death?" in his "Russell (Bertrand), Edwards (Paul) - Why I am not a Christian and other essays on religion and related subjects", George Allen & Unwin, London, 1957, pp. 70-74. Also in "Davies (Brian) - Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology", Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000, Chapter 64.
• (*) "Thomas (Janice L.) - Mind and Person in the Philosophy of Religion" (University of London External BD Subject Guide, 1999₆). [In the library on reserve. Very good on different understandings of dualism, monism, etc. and is highly recommended.]
• "Ward (Keith) - The Battle for the Soul", Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1985.
• Peter Vardy’s Note: If Eternal Life is to be seen as some form of survival₇ after death, the main problem will be the identity criteria that must necessarily be satisfied if the post mortem person is to be the same person as the one who died (rather than a copy). This will, in turn, depend on the view taken of what it is to be a person. The identity issue is crucial.

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In-Page Footnotes:

Footnote 4: In addition to an introduction, questions for discussion and advice on further reading, these are:-

• "Davis (Stephen T.) - Philosophy and Life After Death: The Questions and the Options",
• "Plato, Gallop (David) - Phaedo" (extract, retitled as “Life After death: an ancient Greek view”),
• "Russell (Bertrand) - Do We Survive Death?" (retitled as “Belief in life after death comes from emotion, not reason”)
• "Geach (Peter) - Immortality" (retitled “What must be true of me if I survive my death?”).

Footnote 5: The recommended Chapters are:-

• "Van Evra (James) - On Death as a Limit",
• "Donnelly (John) - Death and Ivan Ilych",
• "Price (H.H.) - Survival and the Idea of 'Another World'",
• "Sutherland (Stewart R.) - Immortality and Resurrection", and
• "Williams (Bernard) - The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality".

Footnote 6: I’ve taken the 2000 – Second – Edition.

Footnote 7: This is to subvert the thought that we (only) have eternal life now.

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Table of the Previous 2 Versions of this Note:

Date	Length	Title
18/12/2010 12:00:00	3496	Death and Eternal Life
20/11/2010 07:23:31	2646	Death and Eternal Life

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Note last updated	Reading List for this Topic	Parent Topic
26/12/2010 13:14:53	None available	Heythrop - Philosophy of Religion

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Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note

Awaiting Attention (Religion)

Death

Vardy_101213

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Summary of Notes Citing This Note

Heythrop - Philosophy of Religion

Immortality

Life After Death

Resurrection

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Authors, Books & Papers Citing this Note

Author	Title	Medium	Extra Links	Read?
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Immortality	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Life After Death	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Resurrection	Paper		Yes

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References & Reading List

Author	Title	Medium	Source	Read?
Badham (Paul) & Badham (Linda)	Immortality or Extinction	Book - Cited	Badham (Paul) & Badham (Linda) - Immortality or Extinction	5%
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Death and the Afterlife	Paper - Cited	The Oxford Handbook for the Philosophy of Religion, William Wainwright, ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005): 366-391	81%
Blackmore (Susan)	Dying to Live: Near-Death Experiences	Book - Cited	Blackmore (Susan) - Dying to Live: Near-Death Experiences	2%
Davies (Brian)	Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology	Book - Cited	Davies (Brian) - Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology	4%
Davies (Brian)	Philosophy of Religion: A Guide to the Subject	Book - Cited	Davies (Brian) - Philosophy of Religion: A Guide to the Subject	2%
Davis (Stephen T.)	Philosophy and Life After Death: The Questions and the Options	Paper - Cited	Davies (Brian) - Philosophy of Religion: A Guide and Anthology, Chapter 33 (pp. 330-336)	No
Donnelly (John)	Death and Ivan Ilych	Paper - Cited	Donnelly (John) - Language, Metaphysics and Death: A Metaphysical Reader (First Edition)	67%
Donnelly (John), Ed.	Language, Metaphysics and Death: A Metaphysical Reader	Book - Cited	Donnelly (John), Ed. - Language, Metaphysics and Death: A Metaphysical Reader	3%
Edwards (Paul), Ed.	Immortality	Book - Cited	Edwards (Paul), Ed. - Immortality	4%
Feldman (Fred)	Confrontations with the Reaper: A Philosophical Study of the Nature and Value of Death	Book - Cited	Feldman (Fred) - Confrontations with the Reaper: A Philosophical Study of the Nature and Value of Death	Yes
Flew (Antony)	Merely Mortal?	Book - Cited	Flew (Antony) - Merely Mortal?	2%
Geach (Peter)	Immortality	Paper - Cited	Edwards - Immortality, pp, 225-234	No
Heythrop Student	Seminar Paper: Philosophy of Religion - I Will Survive	Paper - Cited	Seminar Hand-out, 2010	Yes
Hick (John)	Death and Eternal Life	Book - Cited	Hick (John) - Death and Eternal Life	1%
Kagan (Shelly)	Death	Book - Cited	Kagan (Shelly) - Death	Yes
Penelhum (Terence), Ed.	Immortality	Book - Cited	Penelhum (Terence), Ed. - Immortality	7%
Perrett (Roy W.)	Death and Immortality	Book - Cited	Perrett (Roy W.) - Death and Immortality	3%
Perry (John), Ed.	Personal Identity	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	Yes
Peterson (Michael), Hasker (William), Reichenbach (Bruce) & Basinger (David)	Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings	Book - Cited	Peterson (Michael), Hasker (William), Reichenbach (Bruce) & Basinger (David) - Philosophy of Religion: Selected Readings	2%
Peterson (Michael), Hasker (William), Reichenbach (Bruce) & Basinger (David)	Reason and Religious Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion	Book - Cited	Peterson (Michael), Hasker (William), Reichenbach (Bruce) & Basinger (David) - Reason and Religious Belief: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion	Yes
Phillips (D.Z.)	Death and Immortality	Book - Cited	Phillips (D.Z.) - Death and Immortality	2%
Phillips (D.Z.)	Dislocating the Soul	Paper - Cited	Religious Studies Vol. 31, No. 4, Dec., 1995 (pp. 447-462)	13%
Plato, Gallop (David)	Phaedo	Book - Cited	Plato, Gallop (David) - Phaedo	30%
Price (H.H.)	Survival and the Idea of 'Another World'	Paper - Cited	Penelhum (Terence) - Immortality, 1973	No
Quinton (Anthony)	The Soul	Paper - Cited	Perry - Personal Identity	Yes
Rosenberg (Jay)	Thinking Clearly About Death	Book - Cited	Rosenberg (Jay) - Thinking Clearly About Death	2%
Russell (Bertrand)	Do We Survive Death?	Paper - Cited	Russell - Why I am not a Christian	Yes
Russell (Bertrand), Edwards (Paul)	Why I am not a Christian and other essays on religion and related subjects	Book - Cited	Russell (Bertrand), Edwards (Paul) - Why I am not a Christian and other essays on religion and related subjects	9%
Sutherland (Stewart R.)	Immortality and Resurrection	Paper - Cited	Religious Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1967), pp. 377-389	25%
Thomas (Janice L.)	Mind and Person in the Philosophy of Religion	Book - Cited	Thomas (Janice L.) - Mind and Person in the Philosophy of Religion	Yes
Van Evra (James)	On Death as a Limit	Paper - Cited	Analysis, Vol. 31, No. 5 (Apr., 1971), pp. 170-176	33%
Vardy (Peter)	Death and Eternal Life	Paper - Cited	Heythrop Lecture Hand-out, 2010	Yes
Vardy (Peter)	Heythrop MA Philosophy of Religion Lectures	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	93%
Ward (Keith)	The Battle for the Soul	Book - Cited	Ward (Keith) - The Battle for the Soul	2%
Williams (Bernard)	Problems of the Self	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	37%
Williams (Bernard)	The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality	Paper - Cited	Williams - Problems of the Self	Yes

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Text Colour Conventions

1. Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2026

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