ABSTRACT
Assuming that death is sometimes a bad thing for the one who dies, what factor or factors determine how bad it is for the one who dies? According to the Deprivation Approach, a person’s death is bad for her to the extent that she would have been on balance intrinsically better off if it had not taken place. One common objection to this view is that it overestimates the severity of death by underestimating the significance of psychological unity. Another common objection is that the Deprivation Approach underestimates the severity of death in “preemption” cases. This chapter questions these objections, partly by focusing on various ways in which badness is, and is not, related to prudential reasons.
