Death and Finitude: Toward a Pragmatic Transcendental Anthropology of Human Limits and Mortality

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Death and Finitude offers an examination and defense of a pragmatic transcendental anthropology applicable to the concepts of limit, finitude, and mortality that are constitutive of human life as we know it. Sami Pihlstrm develops a special kind of philosophical anthropologya pragmatic yet transcendental examination of the human conditionthat interprets what is worth preserving in the tradition of transcendental philosophy in such a manner that this unusual combination will crucially enrich our understanding of a human problem we all share: mortality. In some sense, all serious philosophy inevitably reflects on the human condition and is thus philosophical anthropology, broadly conceived. There can hardly be any more serious problem concerning the human condition than the problem of death. Yet, mainstream analytic contributions to the philosophy of death usually addresses death in general, and it is far from obvious that such contributions are philosophically relevant in the sense of addressing the agony of an individual human being trying to understand their own mortal condition. Continental philosophy of death may be frustrating in a different sense, as it often fails to be conceptually as clear and argumentatively as rigorous as the analytic literature. Claiming to address my being-toward-death, such contributions may also fail to speak to the mortal individual if they end up in endless pseudo-philosophical jargon. It is against this background of frustration that Death and Finitude contributes to humanitys on-going reflections on death, dying, and mortalityfrom a pragmatist yet transcendental perspective, seeking to accommodate these topics within a broader philosophical anthropology. The book is primarily intended for academic philosophers, but the potential readership includes not only scholars but also both graduate students and advanced undergraduates, as well as general educated readers. It is relevant to the concerns of philosophers specializing in transcendental philosophy, philosophical anthropology, pragmatism, Wittgenstein, and the philosophy of religion. As the book may be said to be an attempt to philosophize historically, it is in principle of interest to both systematically and historically oriented philosophers and students.

Reviews

Pragmatic naturalism has received considerable attention in recent years, and Sami Pihlstrom's most recent work is a strong addition to that literature: 1) it deepens his own ongoing transcendental approach to pragmatism and pragmatic naturalism in intriguing and forceful ways ; 2) it engages extensively with relevant analytic literature, as well as sources in other traditions, thus expanding the reach of pragmatist considerations, and 3) it offers a range of conceptual and existential insights into fundamental questions of death, dying, and mortality. This is a work that well rewards careful reading. -- John Ryder, American University of Malta

Author Bio

Sami Pihlstrm is professor of philosophy of religion at the Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki.