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Personal Identity

Ivan Ilych

(Text as at 06/07/2023 00:43:12)

Plug Note¹

• Thesis Text:
  1. Tolstoy’s short novella "Tolstoy (Leo) - The Death of Ivan Ilyich" tends to feature in discussions on the philosophy of death².
  2. I first came upon it via "Kagan (Shelly) - The nature of death (continued); Believing you will die". The contention in Kagan’s lecture was that Tolstoy’s novella taught that no-one really expects to die, an idea Kagan rejects.
  3. My own view is that this isn’t really what the novella is about, but is rather about how we should live our lives – or at least how we should not live them.
  4. In this Note, I intend to consider two main questions:-
     1. Does Tolstoy suggest that no-one really expects to die?
     2. What is the aim of the novella?
  5. As I’m not a literary critic, I’ll be somewhat briefer with regards to the second question than Tolstoy’s work deserves.
  6. The explicit passage on the expectation of death is where Ivan – on hearing that he is about to die – observes that the syllogism beginning “all men are mortal” applies to “all men”, but not specifically to him.
  7. Of course, no-one really believes they are immortal³ (or, at least, that they are not going to die) but the reality of personal death⁴ is pushed so far into the background that it is hardly taken into account in our plans (other than in the making of rather impersonal provisions), until it is just around the corner. Our plans always extend infinitely on, without the explicit acknowledgement until the last possible minute that we – and more urgently our faculties – will not continue on for ever, and that we need to eke out our time more carefully.
  8. No doubt this is especially true of the young, but I can vouch for the fact that it’s still true of at least one person aged 62₅.

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  Further Remarks:
  1. In the overall context of the work, this is something of a side-show and there’s much else of value
     in Tolstoy’s novella. It is discussed more widely in the papers in the reading list below.
  2. In the ethical context of the novella, bridge and related card-games appear in a negative light! I’m interested in the question “What references to card games appear, and what is the implied objection to them?”, but it is scarcely relevant.
  3. Tolstoy’s main purpose is moral – to encourage us to live less conventional and more authentic lives.
  4. There’s a helpful footnote in "Kamm (F.M.) - Rescuing Ivan Ilych: How We Live and How We Die":-
     • In brief, this is the way Ivan lived. He conformed to the social code, having a profession, a wife, and a family, but he was driven by concern for social and professional climbing, had no deep feelings for others, enjoyed having power over them, and got pleasure from superficial pursuits.
     • We may not agree that everything was all wrong with his mature years. For example, he was an incorruptible judge. This should count for something positive, at least if the laws he applied had any justice in them. One may even argue that the real pleasure he took in his last interior decoration project can be defended.
     • However, when Tolstoy has Ivan say that his life was all not right, Tolstoy may have in mind that the reasons why Ivan did even the useful acts in his life were wrong. That is, the principle (or maxim) of his conduct was competitive social climbing. Tolstoy would then be suggesting that when we judge our lives, we focus on the maxim at the root of it, rather than on behavior.
     • But surely it would be correct to feel better about a life in which we did not kill someone (due to an accidental intervention) than one in which we did, even if the deep maxim in each life that led us to act as we did was equally wrong.
     • This is the problem of moral luck. Even if this were true, we should remember that Tolstoy’s point is that someone who was not a bad person in the most obvious criminal way can still have a remarkably worthless life. Since most people are not criminals, this makes Ivan’s story of greater relevance to them.
  5. Note that “Ilych” is sometimes spelled “Ilyich”.

References

• Relevant Works cited above:
  1. "Kagan (Shelly) - The nature of death (continued); Believing you will die", 2007, External Link, Read
  2. "Kamm (F.M.) - Rescuing Ivan Ilych: How We Live and How We Die", 2003, Internal PDF Link, Read = 11%
  3. "Tolstoy (Leo) - The Death of Ivan Ilyich", 1886, Write-Up Note⁶, Read
• For a Page of Links⁷ to this Note, Click here.
• Works on this topic that I’ve actually read⁸, include the following:-
  • Aeon:
    1. "Baillie (James) - We all know that we will die, so why do we struggle to believe it?", 2019, External Link, Internal PDF Link
  • General:
    1. "Cook (T.C.B.) - The Death of Ivan Ilyich & Other Stories: Introduction", 2004, No Abstract
    2. "Gawande (Atul) - Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End", 2015, Book
    3. "Kagan (Shelly) - Dying alone; The badness of death, Part I", 2007, External Link
    4. "Kagan (Shelly) - The nature of death (continued); Believing you will die", 2007, External Link
    5. "Lichterman (Boleslav) - Medical Classics: The Death of Ivan Ilych", 2008, Internal PDF Link
    6. "Tolstoy (Leo) - The Death of Ivan Ilyich", 1886, Write-Up Note⁹
• A further reading list might start with:-
  • General:
    1. "Donnelly (John) - Death and Ivan Ilych", 1978, Annotations, Read = 75%
    2. "Feldman (Steven P.) - The Professional Conscience: A Psychoanalytic Study of Moral Character in Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Ilych'", 2004, Internal PDF Link, Read = 13%
    3. "Felps (Maryann) - How to Live? What We Can Learn from Ivan Ilych's Death", 2012, Internal PDF Link, Read = 33%
    4. "Gavin (William J.) - En Attendant La Mort: Plato's Socrates, Tolstoy's Ivan Ilych, and Beckett's Waiting for Godot", 1981, Internal PDF Link, Read = 13%
    5. "Kamm (F.M.) - Rescuing Ivan Ilych: How We Live and How We Die", 2003, Internal PDF Link, Read = 11%
    6. "Napier (James J.) - The Stages of Dying and 'The Death of Ivan Ilych'", 1983, Internal PDF Link, Read = 22%
    7. "Olney (James) - Experience, Metaphor, and Meaning: 'The Death of Ivan Ilych'", 1972, Internal PDF Link, Read = 17%
    8. "Pachmuss (Temira) - The Theme of Love and Death in Tolstoy's the Death of Ivan Ilyich", 1961, Internal PDF Link, Read = 17%
    9. "Perrett (Roy W.) - Death and the Meaning of Life", 1987
    10. "Pope (Stephen J.) - Compassion and Self-Deception: The Unity of Love and Truthfulness in Leo Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich'", 1999, Internal PDF Link, Read = 17%
    11. "Wexelblatt (Robert) - The Higher Parody: Ivan Ilych's Metamorphosis and the Death of Gregor Samsa", 1980, Internal PDF Link, Read = 8%

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• For a list of Works that have been considered, but have missed the cut for inclusion in this Section of my Thesis, see the following:-
  1. Read: No items to list.
  2. Further Reading: No items to list.
• This is mostly a place-holder¹⁰.

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In-Page Footnotes:

Footnote 5:

1. When I originally wrote this in February 2016.

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Table of the Previous 7 Versions of this Note:

Date	Length	Title
20/09/2022 11:24:00	5674	Ivan Ilych
16/05/2022 21:18:43	5293	Ivan Ilych
14/02/2021 12:51:50	5074	Ivan Ilych
26/09/2020 19:58:05	4623	Ivan Ilych
12/07/2018 10:36:29	6756	Ivan Ilych
05/04/2016 23:19:41	4232	Ivan Ilych
22/02/2016 11:58:34	3408	Ivan Ilych

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Note last updated	Reading List for this Topic	Parent Topic
06/07/2023 00:43:12	None available	Death

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Summary of Notes Referenced by This Note

Awaiting Attention (Personal Identity)	Death	Immortality	Ivan Ilych	Note Links Explanation
Plug Note Apologia	Works Read - Explanation

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Summary of Notes Citing This Note

Baker - Materialism with a Human Face	Death	PID Note, Book & Paper Usage, 2, 3, 4	Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Thesis - Chapter 12 (Conclusion)
Thesis - Current Stance	Thesis - Personal Identity, 2, 3	Thesis - References, 2	Website Generator Documentation - Functors, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

To access information, click on one of the links in the table above.

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Authors, Books & Papers Citing this Note

Author	Title	Medium	Extra Links	Read?
Aeon	Video - Fifty per cent	Paper		Yes
Baillie (James)	We all know that we will die, so why do we struggle to believe it?	Paper		Yes
Donnelly (John)	Death and Ivan Ilych	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
Donnelly (John)	Language, Metaphysics and Death: A Metaphysical Reader	Paper
Dresser (Sam)	How to not fear your death	Paper		Yes
Feldman (Steven P.)	The Professional Conscience: A Psychoanalytic Study of Moral Character in Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Ilych'	Paper
Felps (Maryann)	How to Live? What We Can Learn from Ivan Ilych's Death	Paper
Gable (Robert S.)	Efforts to expand the lifespan ignore what it’s like to get old	Paper		Yes
Gavin (William J.)	En Attendant La Mort: Plato's Socrates, Tolstoy's Ivan Ilych, and Beckett's Waiting for Godot	Paper
Gawande (Atul)	Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End	Book		Yes
Hofstadter (Douglas)	Reflections on D.E.Harding's 'On Having No Head'	Paper		Yes
Kagan (Shelly)	Dying alone; The badness of death, Part I	Paper		Yes
Kagan (Shelly)	The nature of death (continued); Believing you will die	Paper		Yes
Kamm (F.M.)	Rescuing Ivan Ilych: How We Live and How We Die	Paper
Lichterman (Boleslav)	Medical Classics: The Death of Ivan Ilych	Paper	2	Yes
Napier (James J.)	The Stages of Dying and 'The Death of Ivan Ilych'	Paper
Rowlands (Mark)	The Clearing	Paper		Yes
Thompson (Jon W.)	Personal Identity and Resurrection: Early Modern Philosophical Perspectives	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 11 (Resurrection)	Paper	2, 3, 4, 5, 6	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Chapter 12 (Conclusion)	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Current Position	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Death	Paper		Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - Personal Identity	Paper	2, 3	Yes
Todman (Theo)	Thesis - References	Paper	2	Yes
Ward (Warren)	Sooner or later we all face death. Will a sense of meaning help us?	Paper		Yes

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References & Reading List

Author	Title	Medium	Source	Read?
Aeon	Video - Fifty per cent	Paper - Referencing	Aeon, 28 September 2021	Yes
Baillie (James)	We all know that we will die, so why do we struggle to believe it?	Paper - Cited	Aeon, 04 November, 2019	Yes
Baker (Lynne Rudder)	Materialism with a Human Face	Paper - Referencing	Corcoran - Soul, Body and Survival, Chapter 10	Yes
Cook (T.C.B.)	The Death of Ivan Ilyich & Other Stories: Introduction	Paper - Cited	Tolstoy (Leo) - The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories, 2004	Yes
Corcoran (Kevin), Ed.	Soul, Body and Survival: Essays on the Metaphysics of Human Persons	Book - Referencing (via Paper Referencing)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	99%
Donnelly (John)	Death and Ivan Ilych	Paper - Cited	Donnelly (John) - Language, Metaphysics and Death: A Metaphysical Reader (First Edition)	67%
Donnelly (John)	Death and Ivan Ilych	Paper - Referencing	Donnelly (John) - Language, Metaphysics and Death: A Metaphysical Reader (First Edition)	67%
Feldman (Steven P.)	The Professional Conscience: A Psychoanalytic Study of Moral Character in Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Ilych'	Paper - Cited	Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 49, No. 4 (Feb., 2004), pp. 311-328	13%
Felps (Maryann)	How to Live? What We Can Learn from Ivan Ilych's Death	Paper - Cited	The English Journal, Vol. 102, No. 1 (September 2012), pp. 52-56	33%
Gable (Robert S.)	Efforts to expand the lifespan ignore what it’s like to get old	Paper - Referencing	Aeon, 24 August 2023	Yes
Gavin (William J.)	En Attendant La Mort: Plato's Socrates, Tolstoy's Ivan Ilych, and Beckett's Waiting for Godot	Paper - Cited	Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 64, No. 2 (Summer 1981), pp. 217-232	13%
Gawande (Atul)	Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End	Book - Cited	Gawande (Atul) - Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End	Yes
Hains (Brigid) & Hains (Paul)	Aeon: A-B (& General)	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	100%
Hofstadter (Douglas)	Reflections on D.E.Harding's 'On Having No Head'	Paper - Referencing	Hofstadter & Dennett - The Mind's I - Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul	Yes
Hofstadter (Douglas) & Dennett (Daniel), Eds.	The Mind's I - Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul	Book - Referencing (via Paper Referencing)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	14%
Kagan (Shelly)	Death	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	Yes
Kagan (Shelly)	Dying alone; The badness of death, Part I	Paper - Cited	Open Yale Courses, 2007	Yes
Kagan (Shelly)	The nature of death (continued); Believing you will die	Paper - Cited	Open Yale Courses, 2007	Yes
Kamm (F.M.)	Rescuing Ivan Ilych: How We Live and How We Die	Paper - Cited	Ethics, Vol. 113, No. 2 (January 2003), pp. 202-233	11%
Lichterman (Boleslav)	Medical Classics: The Death of Ivan Ilych	Paper - Cited	BMJ: British Medical Journal, Vol. 337, No. 7678 (Nov. 8, 2008), p. 1117	Yes
Napier (James J.)	The Stages of Dying and 'The Death of Ivan Ilych'	Paper - Cited	College Literature, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Spring, 1983), pp. 147-157	22%
Olney (James)	Experience, Metaphor, and Meaning: 'The Death of Ivan Ilych'	Paper - Cited	The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Autumn, 1972), pp. 101-114	17%
Pachmuss (Temira)	The Theme of Love and Death in Tolstoy's the Death of Ivan Ilyich	Paper - Cited	The American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 20, No. 1 (Feb., 1961), pp. 72-83	17%
Perrett (Roy W.)	Death and Immortality	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	3%
Perrett (Roy W.)	Death and the Meaning of Life	Paper - Cited	Perrett - Death and Immortality - 1987, Chapter 4	No
Pope (Stephen J.)	Compassion and Self-Deception: The Unity of Love and Truthfulness in Leo Tolstoy's 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich'	Paper - Cited	The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics, Vol. 19 (1999), pp. 115-129	17%
Thompson (Jon W.)	Personal Identity and Resurrection: Early Modern Philosophical Perspectives	Paper - Referencing	Faraday Institute On-Line Seminar: January 30, 2024 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm	Yes
Tolstoy (Leo)	The Death of Ivan Ilyich	Paper - Cited	Tolstoy (Leo) - The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories	Yes
Tolstoy (Leo)	The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories	Book - Cited (via Paper Cited)	Bibliographical details to be supplied	30%

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