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    If a person would have been worse off in a relevant count... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→Posthumous harm is doubtful or impossible.

    If a person would have been worse off in a relevant counterfactual world due to posthumous events, the concept of harm applies without presupposing backwards causation.

    ?Rate how convincing each reason is below to see the overall strength.
    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
    ?
    • 1.Harm can be understood comparatively: a person is harmed if their actual life goes worse than their counterfactual alternative.
      ?

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    • 2.Posthumous events affect how a life is evaluatively completed; a broken promise after death diminishes the value of the whole life lived.
      ?

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    • 3.We need not invoke backwards causation if harm is defined by comparative world-states rather than causal influence on the person.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.A person who dies cannot be worse off because they cease to exist; non-existent subjects cannot exemplify the property 'being harmed.'
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Comparative harm requires the same subject in both worlds; posthumous events cannot retroactively change whether a dead person experienced harm.
      ?

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    • 3.If harm applies without backwards causation, we lose the conceptual connection between harm and actual negative impact on a person's wellbeing.
      ?

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    Connections

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    Afterlife & Death1 linked

    Related

    A person who dies cannot be worse off because they cease to exist; non-existent ...Comparative harm requires the same subject in both worlds; posthumous events can...Harm can be understood comparatively: a person is harmed if their actual life go...If harm applies without backwards causation, we lose the conceptual connection b...
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    Posthumous events affect how a life is evaluatively completed; a broken promise ...Posthumous harm is doubtful or impossible.We need not invoke backwards causation if harm is defined by comparative world-s...

    Details

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    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit