Ive never really understood why people feared dying. for nearly every religion i can think of(and religion is a hobby to me, ive studied dozens) death either means you go to god a little early, which doesnt seem to be to bad to me, or you start your life over, which i wouldent mind, i could use a little extra youth.
If your an atheist, death is the end, thats it its over- and once your dead you pretty much stop caring about whether your dead or not.
So fill me in- why the great fear of death? (BTW, im getting sick of biological reasons, if humans dont have to do what we are biologicly designed for, none of these should be appliccable anyway)
Here is what I feel. All people that adhere to a religion only fear death because they are uncertian in their belief. They don’t have full faith. If they were so certian about their religion then there would be no fear, also death would be a happy thing.
I myself an athiest don’t fear death but I have the fear of not getting a last good by to my friends and family or leaving on a sour note with somebody.
EZ$
but thats my point. if you died, you wouldent care if you got to say goodbye, tests show that death severley limits your capacity for any emotion
It’s not our death that is so troubling; it is the death of our loved ones which drives us mad.
I am an atheist and I believe in reincarnation. Where you repeat life until you find enlightenment or complete self-awareness. Only then will you break the cycle and be completely, truely free and at peace.
I see death as the end, and look at it as something neutral – it’s neither pleasure nor pain. However, my life is pleasureable, and I do not look forward to a less pleasureable state. I won’t care when dead, but I do care now. That’s why I don’t recklessly go about doing every dangerous thing I feel would be fun 
As a result, if my life ever becomes a constant state of more pain than pleasure, and there are no indications of things getting any better, I will choose death. It’s neutral, after all.
I think the “fear” of death in people who believe it’s the end, is simply the love for life. In other people, who are uncertain about what death really is, their fear is that of the unknown – like easymoney said.
I don’t fear death, but I prefer life.
celox, that is exactly my philosophy. i guess what i dont get is why people put so much energy into avoididng death when they should be enjoying what life they have
That is your opinion. You can’t possibly say everyone is exactly like you. Some people think pain is pleasure. S&M, bondage, etc. (i do not practice this; only examples). In some cultures people hang from hooks and the pain is so pleasurable that they, as they decribe it, become one with what most religions believe to be God.
I am leaning more toward the fear of the unknown theory. I have learned a lot about death in the past and the more I learn the more I become less afraid of it. I am starting to welcome it, actually. It is very comforting, just like life.
I don’t prefer either. If I did I wouldn’t be … what was that word you used again? … oh yes, neutral.
Borramakot no need to be a smartass to me about it with “tests show that death severley limits your capacity for any emotion.” I’m not a moron. It is very sad that you have to be that way. According to that comment then all emotion is pointless because you will be dead someday and then you’re everything you did will not matter. Maybe I missed your point… or maybe you came to this forum thinking your always right?
EZ$
I didn’t make any claims about other people before paragraph three. However, I do believe that people act out of pleasure – even when inflicting pain upon themselves. People derive pleasure from different things. But that’s another discussion.
What do you mean when you say that you have learned a lot about death? Are you talking about reincarnation (which you mentioned earlier)? I think that a belief in reincarnation or a “life on the other side” can be very reasuring. It can be a beneficial belief for some, as long as the life they know is real doesn’t become just a preparation for the afterlife…
If the person believe that he will be rewarded or that everything will simply end, I see no reason to fear death. But I can understand the fear of the unknown. However, I agree – worrying about death is not a good way to spend ones life…
“If your an atheist, death is the end, thats it its over- and once your dead you pretty much stop caring about whether your dead or not.”
How do you know this? By the way, I am a Jew. I don’t belive in any of what you have said about religion. Your views are very naive.
Can you see my difficulties?
Homo Mysticus
My point was that who are you to say that death is a less-pleasurable state? I consider death just as pleasurable as life. Neither one better than the other, because whether or not death is “pleasurable” it is still only your opinion and there are many other opinions. You seem to say that people naturallly are afraid of death because (you say) it is less pleasurable. Well I have just shown you that death isn’t less pleasurable to some people. So what about these people?
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"I have just shown you that death isn’t less pleasurable to some people. "
You have shown nothing! You have also stated an opnion.
Can you seee my difficulties?
Homo Mysticus
I think you missunderstood me. I’m simply saying that I believe death to be a less pleasurable state, for me, than the life I’m currently living. I even stated (in my first post) that if at some point that were no longer true, I would choose death. I don’t see death as inherently less pleasurable than life, I just look at it as less desirable in my current situation. I may be wrong, death may be eternal bliss. But I happen to have arrived at the personal conclusion that death is probably the end, as I see no convincing evidence to the contrary.
Religion can be a source of comfort OR fear in relation to death ( “I’m going to heaven”…“Am I going to hell?”).
I don’t fear death, evidence suggests that I will now nothing about it, (my brain will cease to function).
The nature of my death may entail fear, however, if it involves violence or the prospect of prolonged suffering.
More appropriate than fear might be sadness. Sadness of loss… of sentience, of loving and being loved, of having to say goodbye.
Lucretius claimed it is irrational to fear death and his arguments were based around the idea that we do not fear the period of nonexistence before we are born and as such, we should not fear the period of non existence after our death.
A cookie for whoever can tell me why he’s talking nonsense.
sorry i seemed like a smartass, i actually make these posts for the sole purpose of being influenced, i phrased my comment like that because im a sarchastic ass who likes to piss people off in my spare time.
homo mysticus, if your a jew, that comment doesnt apply to you. if your comment was supposed to apply to my religious veiws, you should know that im not an atheist myself, im a devout agnostic who realises that we have no way to know for sure if there is a god or not, or what plan he/she/it has for us, if any.
as for how i know, i dont- but for the most part, atheist belive that you die dead, and stop thinking. so in short, i dont see your difficulties.
OBw, much as id like the cookie, i see his point and cant help you
Death is frightening in part because it is fully unknown to us. No matter what follows death, heaven, hell or oblivion it will be a state that is completely alien to our current state.
Also dying will happen to the vast majority of us without our willing it. The angel of Death will not ask permission nor make an appointment.
Only wild adventurers, Timothy Leary comes to mind, look forward to the experience.
That seems to be the only valid theory here, but since so many people have said it before you, xanderman doesnt get the credit for it
Before I was born there was no Me. There had never been any Me. There was no Me to fear the lack of my own existence. It is pointless fearing that previous condition now, as it is past, and I have the incredible good fortune of existing.
But now I have it, I am aware of it’s nature, I can fear it’s loss, fear it being plucked from me once more, fear for the future, fear the unknown, fear all those stories I have been told about eternal damnation, of maybe NOT going back to sweet oblivion.
Make it chocolate chip!