Q&A: A Question About Death
A Question About Death
Question
Hello Rabbi,
A friend and I disagree about a philosophical question, and I’d be happy if you could help us.
My claim: the question, “Will I die?” is an oxymoron.
I argue that death is not a property. Therefore, the sentence “I will die” is equivalent to the sentence x will become y (where x and y are different from one another). From this it follows that there is no answer to the question, “Will I die?” because I will never turn into death. If there is death, I will not be there.
My friend’s claim: the question, “Will I die?” does have an answer.
He argues that I am confusing the question, “Will I die?” in the future, with the question, “Am I dying?” in the present. I won’t be able to answer the present-tense question, because when I die there will be no one to ask it. But the future question can be answered, because a person can imagine the future in his mind.
What does the Rabbi think? Which of us is right?
Answer
He is right.
Clearly the question has meaning. “I will die” means “I will cease to exist.” In other words: does there come a moment from which onward I no longer exist? See a discussion of this in column 270.
He is of course not right that you cannot answer the question “Am I dead?” The truth is that you cannot ask it at all, because the one asking does not exist.