“Priorism”: If it seems strange to say that death is bad for Beth at a time she no longer exists, one might be tempted to an alternative position, according to which death is bad for Beth before she dies.21 However, that also seems strange, for how can something that happens later be bad for somebody who existed earlier? Some have suggested that this view commits one to a dubious metaphysical claim of “backward causation”—something earlier being caused by something later.
