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#6 – How should we feel about death? Fischer on the symmetry of our post-mortem & pre-natal condition.
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In this episode, I consider how we should feel about our own death given how we tend to be indifferent about when we came into existence. Lucretius takes this indifference as a reason to likewise feel indifferent about our own deaths, as our future post-mortem condition is a mirror image of our past pre-natal condition. This is called the "Symmetry Argument," of which Fischer identifies two formulations that turn out to be problematic. I reformulate both versions multiple times then respond to what I regard as the best formulation in terms of which attitude of ours is most fitting about an early death and a late birth. Fischer identifies two kinds of responses to the Symmetry Argument, one class based on denying that an earlier birth is even possible, while another justifies past indifference on the basis of a general indifference regarding past benefits and harms, yet I argue that a better response is to challenge the premise that indifference regarding our creation is fitting to begin with.
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