Topics Death

Question I am a student at Lafayette College and last weekend, we celebrated Marquis de Lafayette's 250th birthday. Is such a celebration valuable to Marquis himself, even when he is dead? Since we are all going to die, should we all try to make an effort to be remembered by future generations? To whom is that valuable? Thank you.

Accepted:
September 17, 2007

Comments

You raise an interesting question, one that philosophers have worried about. Assuming that there's no afterlife, and that once you're dead you're dead, then how can someting that happens after your death harm you? After all, you're not around to experience it.

This presupposes, however, an experiential account of harms. And we might think that there can be harms that exist outside of our experiences. Suppose that your best friend secretly hates you and is talking about you behind your back, although she's perfectly pleasant to you and so her behavior has no effect on your experience. Would you mind? Insofar as you would mind, and I certainly would, then you probably think that harms can occur outside of experience. And so, even though the Marquis no longer has any experiences, maybe he can stil be harmed or benefitted by things that occur.

Then again, your institution may not even have any pretense of having a celebration that's for the value of the Marquis himself. It could have value for the College community instead -- team building? instilling institutional pride? giving everyone a day off from classes? Think of wakes or memorial services. In many ways, these events are really for the living. They allow survivors to experience catharsis, to come together after a loss and find comfort in other people, etc. etc. So even if your celebration has no value for your college's namesake, that's not to say it has no value.

And that leads to one final point: in allowing yourself to be remembered by future generations, then, you might well be doing them a favor.

My hometown is Bethlehem, PA, and I spent plenty of time around Lafayette and downtown Easton growing up, so I had to respond to this. I hope things are well there with you.

I agree with my colleague Amy Kind that people can harmed (or benefited) even if they're unaware of it, and so in a sense even the dead can be harmed (or benefited). A colleague of mine used to speak of harm in terms not of experience but interests, and one of the the interests that some people have might be described as a narrative interest--that is, an interest in the story of their life. Most of us, I think, have an interest in our reputations. Some of us maintain an interest in producing a reputation that endures after we've died. Such an interest might, I think, be something not terribly admirable--a product of vanity and excessive pride or ambition. But an interest in an enduring reputation might be morally virtuous to the extent it, say, sustains a family name or enhances the reputation of a good institution (perhaps a college or a nation) to which one was connected. So, celebrating the Marquis's memory not only in a strange way benefits him. It also benefits France, the United States, his descendants, etc. (But, of course, harm and benefit aren't exactly the terms you used. As to whether or not the celebration is "valuable" to him, I'd have to say that strictly speaking it's not.)

Now, should we all try to be remembered by future generations? Generally, no. Having a famous ancestor is a good thing for many people and institutions, but hardly necessary. Institutions are for the most part fully well capable of flourishing whether or not any famous dead people are connected to them.

Having said that, it is nevertheless, important to recognize this: regardless of whether it benefits the Marquis to celebrate him, it's a good thing for us to remember past people who have made valuable contributions to our present condition. I might go so far, in fact, to say that the cultivation of an historical memory of this sort is a key ingredient of to civilization. There are lots of reasons for celebratory historical memory being a good thing for us. The dead often present useful role models, they serve as better reminders of important principles and values than abstract ideas, they can inspire and motivate us, and remember them contributes to a sense of self-worth and identity.

So, don't be concerned very much with being remembered and celebrated yourself, but do turn to the past and dig up someone to remember and to celebrate.

And Go Leopards!