The Solace: Finding Value in Death through Gratitude for Life

In this sharp work, philosopher Glasgow (Four Views on Race) combines the analytic thought of philosophy with his personal reflections to examine whether there is comfort to be found and offered when responding to the inevitability of human death. Glasgow, whose mother’s cancer diagnosis formed the impetus for this exploration, begins with the assumption of there being no afterlife and death as the “awful deprivations” of the goodness of life: a path that leads “out of the frying pan and into the abyss.” Glasgow then questions if the idea of immortality might be the path to understanding solace in the human condition, but determines an immortal life would change the values by which humans live: considering “the value of immortality drives us into a tangle of ignorance and incommensurability.” What’s left, the philosopher argues, is a third route that begins with gratitude for the good that life is and the good things that can only be appreciated by embracing mortality. A stimulating sideline of this argument is the way it allows for “imperfections.” For instance, an ugly sweater knit by a loving grandmother is meaningful and good despite its unattractiveness: “you store that ugly sweater for safekeeping.” While readers looking for simple comfort to share when confronted with death won’t find it here, those seeking a fresh view on death’s meaning will have much to ponder. (Nov.)