why does one fear death?

[pAranoiaTTack]

first off, i was inspired to write this by the "What have you got to loose?" thread. and my response, simply stated, is my life.

another thing, is that i feel somewhat inferior to the people on this board, partly due to my age and education. so please excuse any grammatical errors.



so like the title reads, why does/would one fear death? and is it possible/when does one overcome that fear?


why i fear it.
i fear death mainly because, at the not so ripe age of 17, i have yet to experience all of the things i would like to...education, travel, books, visit family members as much i would like to, love/experience more of it, etc. (poor examples but you get the point)

another thing that influences my opinion, is that i do not believe in an afterlife. since my life is all i have, i think it to be somewhat absurd for me to view death without apprehensiveness or with indifference.


how one would overcome it.
the only way i can imagine that one wouldent fear death is by having a 100% conviction that there is something beyond this life.(the only way i imagine this happening is by having a very persuasive personal experience, most likely with god/mary/jesus etc.) this is the only way that i believe soemone can have absolutly no fear of death. the slightest bit of doubt would be amplified so much, so that the last remaining moments of life(if one has the pleasure or displeasure of having thoes moments) would be spent either praying that there is a afterlife, contemplating that there isent, asking what they did what their life, and if it is complete.

i believe the fear of death may also be escaped by being completely content with everything that one has done. this would entail that the individual has experienced EVERYTHING they have ever wanted to. i see this to be highly unlikely due to the infinite amount of things that one can experience.




so my somewhat grim and very cliche conclusion would to "live life to the fullest. or, have a very persuasive personal experience with god.






"One always dies too soon - or too late. And yet one's whole life is complete at that moment, with a line drawn neatly under it, ready for the summing up. You are - your life, and nothing else."
-sartre

[ClaesGefvenberg]

another thing, is that i feel somewhat inferior to the people on this boardJudging from your writing here, that would seem to be uncalled for. :)


so like the title reads, why does/would one fear death? and is it possible/when does one overcome that fear?I honestly do not fear death as such... It is the the passage between life and death that scares me: Will it hurt? How is it going to happen?


another thing that influences my opinion, is that i do not believe in an afterlife. since my life is all i have, i think it to be somewhat absurd for me to view death without apprehensiveness or with indifference.Likewise...


i believe the fear of death may also be escaped by being completely content with everything that one has done. If you modify that statement to read "reasonably content" I will happily go along with that.


so my somewhat grim and very cliche conclusion would to "live life to the fullest. or, have a very persuasive personal experience with god.Not so grim, in my opinion. Life should be enjoyed. Besides, those who fear death the most often seem to fear life as well.

/Claes

[Virgil]

I think it's a normal human reaction. It goes beyond rational conscious thought and linked to the nervous system.

[Whifflingpin]

pAranoiaTTack : "so like the title reads, why does/would one fear death? and is it possible/when does one overcome that fear? "

ClaesGefvenberg: "I honestly do not fear death as such... It is the the passage between life and death that scares me: Will it hurt? How is it going to happen?

I agree with you ClaesGefvenberg. Death itself is unknowable and unimaginable, so it cannot truly be feared. (Maybe it is possible to create fearful ideas about death, for example Hell or darkness, and then be afraid of the invented idea.)

Dying, on the other hand, in all its possibly horrible ways can give rise to very real and rational fears.

** ** **

Virgil: "I think it's a normal human reaction. It goes beyond rational conscious thought and linked to the nervous system."

Contrariwise, I think that there is no fear of death beyond rational conscious thought. The rational mind knows that death will occur, and considers possible versions of death that may generate fear.

The "heart" however, does not accept that death will ever occur. We feel that we are immortal, even if we know that we are not.

.

[cuppajoe_9]

another thing, is that i feel somewhat inferior to the people on this board, partly due to my age and education. so please excuse any grammatical errors.
Welcome to Lit-Net. Don't worry, we're a fairly egalitarian bunch. There are no 'inferiors' on this board (except for everybody who is not a mod). You took your name from a song by the Faint, so you're already in my good books.

English is a second or third language for the majority of the users on this board. The rest of us have consequently had to learn that grammatical errors are not an indication of reduced faculty of reason.
the only way i can imagine that one wouldent fear death is by having a 100% conviction that there is something beyond this life.Actually, I think I stopped being particularly afraid of death when I decided that there is no such place as hell. If that posibility is removed there's nothing to be afraid of, it's just a dreamless sleep or a change of scenery.

[holograph]

paranoid, welcome.

I'm 17, as well. But I can honestly say that I no longer fear death. I quite look forward to it, actually. I feared death for the majority of my life. I feared pain and the unknown. I feared what was to come and what was not to come. I feared perishing and being imperminent, meaningless, stagnant, linear. What most people fear. People are afraid of death because there comes a time in our human lives when we realize that "we ain't gonna live forever" and make a stark change, either in thought or in action or both. We realize that this flesh that we reside in ages and withers away and our minds become putty. It is hard to grasp, especially for young people (I would say "young people like us" but I don't feel too young). :) --Alina

[Nossa]

I think it's only normal that one can fear death, not for anything other than it's the "unknown"...I mean you get scared of anything you don't know...you're scared and worried about a job interview, cuz you don't know wether it'll go well or not, what they'll ask and so on...
So simply, the fact that we don't have anything to tell us what exactly will happen to us after out hearts stop beating, this makes us scared...
I have something to say about how having faith in a life beyond this life can make you have no fear of death..
Actually, I'm a strong believer, and I believe in God and the life beyond this life...but that doesn't mean that I don't fear death...in the sense that, I do wrong things in my life, and I'll sure be asked about them from God when I die...that's how I see it actually..and I think that THIS concept exactly is what makes believer and non believers differ, the fact that the later doesn't believe in the exsistance of God and so they're not afraid of doing anything wrong, but they might fear death cuz, as I mentioned before, it's a human nature to be afraid of the unknown...on the other hand believers who do believe in God's exsistance are afraid cuz they know they'll be asked about all what they've done in thier lives..and so on...

[miss tenderness]

I think it's a normal human reaction. It goes beyond rational conscious thought and linked to the nervous system.


:thumbs_up yes ,very true.

[ShoutGrace]

Any person who fears death simply hasn’t thought about the subject long enough.

The only way fear of death would apply for me is if I thought there might be an unreliable, unjust supreme being out there . . . in that case the afterlife is a crapshoot, and there's nothing you could have done about it, anyway.

Death is not to be feared.

“All goes outward and onward, nothing collapses,
and to die is different from what anyone supposed, and luckier.”

[Bookworm89]

To quote Shakespeare: "But that the dread of something after death, the undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveler returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of." I think that sums it up. As a Christian, though, I see nothing to be feared in death. It does seem a bit overwhelming, a permanent change in lifestyle, but not fearsome.

[Themis]

Any person who fears death simply hasn’t thought about the subject long enough.


I find myself thinking more and more about it. And yet I fear it. Or rather, I fear not death itself but rather what comes after it.
I do cling to the hopes of an afterlife but I have trouble believing it. If I did, wholeheartedly believe in it, I probably would not be scared. But I don't and I fear the end.
I've talked to my mother about it and she thinks that everything will end, once you're dead, that you just won't exist anymore. That distresses me because I can imagine it - I thought it must be like when you're going to sleep,normally one can't remember when exactly sleep overcame one. I know it's silly because should it happen that way, I won't care once I'm dead but since I am still alive ... I do worry about it.

[Turk]

I am not scared of death till i fell in love with a girl around 1,5 year ago. :)

I wasn't scared. Because when death come, i'll be gone. So there's nothing to fear. But now i fear of leaving her without me :). I should live, for people i love. That's why i fear death since 1,5 year.

[hipwr3]

We fear death because we have been conditioned to do so. It is all part of the grand scheme to Manipulate the population thru religion. Do what I say or ye will go to hell. Give me your money or you are selfish and evil.:)

[bazarov]

To quote Joyce: People are afraid of death because they like life too much.

[Hyacinth42]

I think we fear death as a survival instinct imprinted in us, but I think that intellectually I don't fear death. I may fear the actual act and would rather not die yet.

[quasimodo1]

Well, the unknown, as not many have come back with reliable reports. The life and death people have experienced that make one lean toward Buhdism and re-incarnation and the concepts of Bardo. The unknown will due for supply of fear but really it is what is after that process and I my guess is more process, spiritually speaking. As a friend of mine once said...I wasn't afraid before I was born so why be afraid after. Rhetorical question maybe. quasimodo1

[weepingforloman]

Fear of death is born out of the body's instinctive desire to keep living and the mind's fear of the unknown--because we are physically wired to protect our lives, our minds tend to make death an uber-fear (can anyone tell me how to type an umlaut?) in order to make survival easier (when you're afraid of something, you try desperately to avoid it).

[RaatKiRanii]

bazarov -"People are afraid of death because they like life too much."

Bookworm89 - ""But that the dread of something after death, the undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveler returns, puzzles the will and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of."

I think you guys hit the mark with these two quotes; people tend to fear the unknown. They get too used to the comforts of the known, the flow of things. Anything threatening to disturb that comfort is unsettling, and thus something to be feared. It's like when things are going great you fear that such and such is going to happen to disrupt your content little situation. That factor that'll alter our lives, what is it? what will happen? how will it happen? is it just around the corner? or do i have a few more years? You don't know. You don't want to know, because that will require leaving what you do know.

Life is unknown too, but we can see life and can even predict it sometimes, but death, we don't see death at least not personally, we don't experience it on a day-to-day basis. It happens and we think it's the end. The end is what scares us. It's so ultimate, so final. And death is the factor that threatens life, as we know it in this world, threatens to end it or so we think.

Personally, I figure that's a lot of unknown out in the world already and that if I’m afraid of everything that I don't know about then I’d be missing out on living. Life is a journey and as the womb was the door to enter it death is just another door to continue through it.

[hipwr3]

People fear death for many reasons, some because they do love life to much, for others it is the fear of the unknone, for some others it may be for religious reasons. I think it is a personal thing and maybe a better question would be, why do some people not fear death.

[chunwing]

Hi, this is my first post (other than in the intro forum).

I tend to think it's not because of the unknown but because of the known. These are the sort of images anyone would know from tv shows or movies: one minute you're ambitiously robbing a bank, next minute you're dead; one minute you're eating your favourite food, next minute you've choked and never again will you be able to eat; one minute you're having sex, next minute you've got a heartattack and you'll never do that again; 1 week ago you were chatting to your friend, 1 week later you see him in a coffin.

It's the fact that when you've living, you get to do all these things, which you know once you're dead you can't do, and that is regardless of whether there is an after life or not. If there is no afterlife, enough said. But even if there is, it PROBABLY wouldn't be the same. Of course, it could be a very exciting afterlife, but if in the realm of christianity you think of heaven where you get to be by Jesus's side, how would you picture it? If you ask me, I would think of everything being bright, everyone wears white, there is no violence, everything is friendly, there is no pain, everything moves slowly etc. This isn't what I don't know, but what I know! I don't mean I know that this is definitely what the after life is about, but it is an image which is in my head. And that image tells me it is not the same as robbing a bank, eating favourite food, having sex, or chatting to your best friend.

It is the thought that you wouldn't be able to do what we know we can do in this world - that is the scary part.

As to how to not fear death, that seems to be the million dollar question does it? I think there are many different ways, depending on what you believe. Ultimately though, it depends on whether you are comfortable NOW.

By that I mean, if you're religious, you know about afterlife, so you are not scared NOW.

But that's not confined to religious people (I am semi-religious myself). I can think of several chinese philosophers who have written about this. A simple theme that comes out is, if you believe in something really important, that you are willing to risk your life for it, then you won't be scared of death. Eg, back in imperial chinese days, once in a while you'll get a tyrant as emperor. And throughout history, there will always be a few guys around each time who will try to persuade the emperor to do good deeds even if it means they get killed (and most of the time they do). The sense of righteousness, justice, kindness etc is what gives them power to overcome the fear of death. This is the same as soldiers who go to war. If you believe in your cause, you have greater power. It doesn't necessarily mean all of a sudden you don't fear death, but it does mean you overcome it.

[ennison]

I reckon more people fear pain than death. But it is also a fear that we may die before completing some long cherished personal ambition. People may fear the extinction of a personality that has grown with them and of which they are increasingly aware. Waking in the middle of the night a human being may find the concept of eternal nothingness a rather grim prospect if life has offered some promise of sweetness. Christians may look forward to death rather than fear it. The bereaved may see death as a release - as may the seriously ill. There are those whose nature is so brutal or brutalised that they have not only no fear of death but actually seem in love with it.

[quasimodo1]

Really, the best text for understanding this afterlife vs. no-afterlife stuff is, I'm tired of saying, a gift of a book about Bardo, Death, Re-incarnation. The Tibeten Book of the Dead. It's never been out of print since it's first translation by a scholar from of all places, New Jersey, and he took more than a year to get it into English. There are many sites about it. It has, what would you say, the ring of truth. Somewhere to start anyway. quasimodo1

[Bii]

The reasons to fear death are doubtless biological in nature - a product of natural selection, if you like. In order to ensure the survival of the species, sufficient numbers must live to reproductive age or the species will die. Those that live longer have more chance of passing on more of their successful genes which in itself will perpetuate the fear of death. In my view, most human impulses/decisions are motivated by either survival or 'happiness' - in this case survival is the overriding instinct, and if we are to survive we must avoid those things which bring about the opposite, for as long as possible.

As a side issue death is inevitable and, unless you commit suicide, you've no control over it. A natural response to the inevitable is to resign to it, or fear it. Fear is natural. In some respects (but not all) fear is your friend.

[NickAdams]

We are afraid of the unknown- A rustle in the kitchen?! What. Who. Why is it.

This creates cognitive dissonance, which I believe is the cause of religion. What better way to except death, then to believe that there is an afterlife.

[ELizabeth McC]

We are afraid of the unknown- A rustle in the kitchen?! What. Who. Why is it.

This creates cognitive dissonance, which I believe is the cause of religion. What better way to except death, then to believe that there is an afterlife.

But tomorrow is the unknown too, although I admit we can take a pretty good guess at what tomorrow holds. Personally, I think while the unknown is a factor, I also think fear of death stems from a fear of pain and most of all from a terrible affront to the ego... "what me? not around anymore? but how will the world cope?" sort of thing... very philosophically phrased of me. R.I.P. :sick:

[Brady10]

Please note that this reply is being made without reading any other replies.

I think that some fear death because they are uncertain about the afterlife (or lack thereof).

Others may fear death because they feel that their life is not yet complete, because there is something that they need to experience before they die.

Others may be uncertain about their place in the world, or the purpose for which they are living, so they may be afraid that they did not accomplish what they were put here to do.


I myself to not fear death, because (whether it be heaven, hell, or a dark, empty cave like the Persians believed) I am eager to know what is on the other side.

[ELizabeth McC]

I think that some fear death because they are uncertain about the afterlife (or lack thereof).

Others may fear death because they feel that their life is not yet complete, because there is something that they need to experience before they die.

Others may be uncertain about their place in the world, or the purpose for which they are living, so they may be afraid that they did not accomplish what they were put here to do.



Put me down for all of the above :thumbs_up

[billyjack]

Well, the unknown, as not many have come back with reliable reports. The life and death people have experienced that make one lean toward Buhdism and re-incarnation and the concepts of Bardo. The unknown will due for supply of fear but really it is what is after that process and I my guess is more process, spiritually speaking. As a friend of mine once said...I wasn't afraid before I was born so why be afraid after. Rhetorical question maybe. quasimodo1

i like.

"we transcend death, not as individual memory systems, but only in so far as our true identity is the total process of the world as distinct from the apparently seperate organism." --THE NEW ALCHEMY, by allan watts