(2023-03-09, 11:04 AM)David001 Wrote: His mental state at 97 was awesome!
To me, the remarkable fact is that as a philosopher, it doesn't seem to have even occurred to him that there might be an afterlife - or at least if did, he didn't choose to mention it.
I'm not surprised. I think by and large philosophers work and think and live according to a tradition, in this case the Western canon of philosophy, and they will be shaped by its limits and biases. Same thing goes for a lot of the liberal arts, soft sciences, etc. Of course there will exceptions. They live in a world of ideas, more than the average person, that in a way enriches or expands their perspectives but also imposes limits. Thoughts are always in reference to ongoing tradition and dialogues. "Afterlife" is usualliy not part of that tradition!