Death is something that many people fear. For many, just the subject of death causes uneasy feelings. Possibly because it forces people to think about their own mortality, and whatever it is, they believe comes after death. Death is something everyone has to deal with at some point. Not only in contemplating death at an individual level, but also having to see friends and loved ones die.
Death is an uneasy subject to approach because of how deeply it affects everything and everyone. In trying to get people to recognize it differently than they already do seems like a nearly impossible task. Personally, I do not think that death should be a source of fear, angst or anxiety. Death is death and it needs to happen.
Think about it this way: In what way would your life be improved by being able to live forever? Being immortal that is. By being immortal, you would no longer have the worry of death. However, just because you no longer have the worry, does not make your life any better. Your life would still be your life–with all of the other problems besides the worry of death you deal with on a daily basis. Being immortal to me would be one of the worst punishments imaginable. People worry about seeing their friends and loved ones die. Imagine being immortal and out living all of the people you have ever known and loved. Very few people deal with this in one lifetime–but in being immortal, they would experience this over multiple lifetimes. It would become a very lonely existence. In which someone’s quality of life dissipates the longer they live.
Death is something that should not cause fear. It happens sometimes in very sad ways that cause us to mourn and reflect. Nevertheless, we should recognize the importance of it at the same time. Immortality, if it were ever to be granted to someone, would not be a pleasant experience. Personally, I would rather be faced with the problems of death, than the problems of immortality.
Ruggles is a junior Philosophy major and can be contacted at aaron.ruggles@drake.edu
Aaron,
I agree with you that death is nothing to be feared, but not for the same reason. It is so easy to be so “philosophical” when one still has 60-80 years to live, but you may not feel the same way as you approach death’s door. The problem that you and so many other people have is that you are applying terrestrial standards to celestial matter which are beyond our comprehenision. If the “afterlife” were just floating around on clouds, strumming harps, and praising God 24/7, as orthodox religion seems to think, I would be in total agreement with you.
But it is not like that.
Let me suggest that you watch the BIO channel next Sunday — the program “I survived…Beyond and Back” It is a new program that just started tonight (Sunday). It is not going to give you a very clear picture of what the afterlife is like, but it will provide some food for thought. Don’t be brainwashed by those atheistic college professors.
Cool generalization, Mike.
Shall I introduce you to the number of professors I personally know who are of various faiths?
Making comments like “Don’t be brainwashed by those atheistic college professors” just makes you look like an idiot.
@Mike: It is not going to give you a very clear picture of what the afterlife is like…
How exactly do you “know” there is an afterlife? Before making unsubstantiated and unprovable claims, and chastising others for having views different than yours, perhaps you should do a little more studying yourself on the fallibility of the human mind, e.g., skepticism, epistemology, and the cognitive sciences.