Lecture notes · The Philosophy of Death · Lecture 1

Course Introduction

Yale PHIL 176 Death: an introduction to philosophy, lecture 1, explained in plain English

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Part 1 · 0:00–10:00

This opening lecture explains what the course will and won't cover, how the professor will teach it, and the common beliefs about death he plans to challenge.

Key ideas

This is a philosophy class on death, so it will not cover psychology or social topics such as grief, funerals, or how culture treats the dying. It will cover philosophical questions about death. 0:48
The first half of the course is about metaphysics, the nature of death and of what we are. The second half is about value theory, whether death is bad and how it should affect how we live. 3:10
Unlike a neutral class, this professor will argue for his own views. He first lists common beliefs, such as that we have an immaterial soul that could survive death, so he can later argue against them. 7:05
Many people hope for a soul because it would make survival after death possible. Living forever would be wonderful, so losing that chance makes death feel terrible. 9:02

Words to know

metaphysics: The branch of philosophy that asks what things fundamentally are, such as what kind of thing a person is and what death really is.
value theory: The branch of philosophy that asks what is good or bad, and how we should judge things like whether death is bad.
soul: In this class, something immaterial, meaning not made of physical stuff, that is separate from the body and might survive death.
personal identity: The question of what makes a person the same person over time, such as whether the lecturer on Thursday is the same person as the one lecturing today.

Example

The lecturer says that the person who teaches on Thursday is probably himself, even though he is a different moment in time. Asking why we count that person as the same is the kind of question about personal identity the course will explore. It is like asking whether a river is the same river after months of flowing water.

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Part 2 · 10:00–20:00

The professor explains the goals of the course, how it will be run, and how to take part in it.

Key ideas

The professor says the common view is that death is terrible, life is wonderful, and suicide is both immoral and always irrational. He plans to argue that this view is mistaken, including that there is no soul and that suicide can sometimes be justified. 10:23
His main goal is not for you to agree with him. He wants you to think for yourself and look honestly at death, even if you end up disagreeing with him. 11:17
This is a philosophy class, so it uses reason rather than religious authority. Students who hold religious beliefs can keep them, but they must give reasons that make sense to everyone. 13:57
The class meets twice a week for lectures and once a week in smaller discussion sections. The readings listed on the syllabus should be finished by the start of each week, even if the lectures move faster or slower than planned. 15:22
You are invited to ask questions during lectures. Raise your hand and wait to be called on instead of speaking out, since other students probably have the same confusion. 18:21

Words to know

secular: Not based on religion. A secular argument relies on reason and evidence, not on religious teachings.
revealed authority: Truth that is believed to come from God, usually through holy books or religious leaders, rather than from human reasoning.
syllabus: The course outline. It lists the topics, the reading for each week, and the class rules.
discussion section: A smaller weekly class meeting, led separately from the big lectures, where students talk through ideas in more detail.

Example

Imagine a friend tells you a bridge is safe to cross. A good thinker does not just accept it because the friend said so. They look at the evidence and decide for themselves, which is the kind of independent thinking this course asks for.

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Part 3 · 20:00–30:00

Professor Kagan explains how grades work in his class: what each letter means, how papers are graded, and how improvement over the semester can raise your final grade.

Key ideas

Professor Kagan says he has a reputation as a harsh grader, but he does not know if it is deserved, because Yale does not publish grading averages. 21:19
A B means good work, an A means excellent work for a first philosophy class, and an A does not mean the paper is publishable. 23:48
Writing a good philosophy paper is a skill that improves with practice, so many students will start with weaker papers and get better. 27:39
Each of the three papers officially counts for 25% of the grade, but if you improve, later papers will count for more. 28:43
If you do poorly at first, the advice is not to drop the class but to learn from what went wrong and do better on the next paper. 29:50

Words to know

Grade inflation: When grades slowly get higher over time, so that good grades no longer show how well a student really did.
Blue book: A small booklet of paper used for writing exams or short written answers at a university.
TAs (teaching assistants): Graduate students who help a professor by grading papers and leading discussion sections.
Aptitude: A natural ability or talent for doing something well.

Example

Think of learning to play a musical instrument. Your first few practice sessions will sound rough, but with regular practice you improve. Professor Kagan treats philosophy writing the same way, so later papers can count for more because they show you have learned.

3 checked practice questions for this part are in the app.

Part 4 · 30:00–40:00

The professor explains how grades work in this course (papers, discussion, and improvement), why he thinks honest grading is a form of respect, and how to get the most from discussion sections, readings, and lectures.

Key ideas

If your early paper goes badly, do not drop the class. Find out what you did right and wrong, and make your next papers better. Showing improvement can strongly raise your final grade. 30:00
The professor expects roughly 25% of students to get an A, 50 to 55% a B, and 20 to 25% a C. A few percent may do worse. He says he will not know until the end whether the class is harder than average, because of the improvement policy. 30:45
Papers make up 75% of your grade. Discussion section makes up the other 25%. To do well in discussion, you must come prepared, listen, and respond with real arguments, not just agree or disagree. 32:42
Respectful participation can raise your discussion grade, but it cannot lower it. Skipping section or not showing up will lower it. 34:45
An intro class is your first philosophy class. It does not assume you already know philosophy, but that does not mean it is easy. The readings are dense, and each topic could be studied much more deeply. The readings and lectures complement each other, so you need both. 35:51

Words to know

intro: Short for introductory. It means a first course on a subject, which does not assume you already know it.
complementary: Things that work well together because each adds what the other is missing.
dense: Packed with a lot of hard ideas in a small space, so it takes slow, careful reading.
presuppose: To assume something is already true or already known before you start.

Example

Think of a first draft of a cooking recipe that comes out too salty. If you learn from it and make the next batch better, the cook gets credit for that improvement. This is like the professor's policy: a rough first paper does not lock in your final grade if your later work gets better.

3 checked practice questions for this part are in the app.

Part 5 · 40:00–45:44

Shelly Kagan reads aloud student course reviews and comments on how he teaches, how he grades, whether to read, and what he hopes students gain.

Key ideas

Students gave mixed reviews of his teaching. Some found him repetitive and a little slow, but others said he worked through arguments in front of them, which helped them think on their own. 40:46
Students disagreed about grading. Some said it was harsh, and others said it was not hard. One student said the grade reflects the effort you put in. 42:58
The course has no final exam, and a student could probably pass without the readings. Kagan still says the readings are an important part of learning the course material. 44:42
Kagan says his aim is to help students think, and he welcomes them back to class. 45:28

Words to know

evaluation: a review or judgment of how good something is, such as a course or a teacher.
anonymous: written by someone whose name is not known or shown.
credit/D/fail: a grading option where you get a pass or fail mark instead of a regular letter grade.
litmus test: a simple test that gives a clear answer about something, used here as a quick way to tell if a class is right for you.

Example

Think of a hiking guide who walks ahead and shows you how to cross a tricky stream, then lets you cross the next one yourself. You learn the skill by doing it, even though the guide's talking can sometimes feel slow or repetitive.

3 checked practice questions for this part are in the app.

Notes written by AI (Claude) from the lecture's official transcript, so check anything important against the lecture. Open Yale Courses · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 · not affiliated with or endorsed by Yale. These notes are shared under the same license.

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