ipl-logo

Epicurus And Lucretius: Is It Rational To Fear Death?

634 Words3 Pages

Is it rational to fear death? The scientific explanation for death is that it is the permanent ending of vital processes in a cell or tissue. Many philosophers have expressed their opinions on this frequently debated topic. A philosopher with a strong viewpoint on this is Epicurus. Epicurus was an empiricist, which means he thought that the only valid way to learn about the universe is through the senses. According to Epicurus, fear of death is irrational because the universe is limitless and eternal. Lucretius is a philosopher who holds a strong opinion on this subject. Lucretius was an atheist who rejected the existence of gods and souls. He believed that all of nature was composed of evolving substances. He thought that all of nature was made of continually changing matter. Lucretius was concerned that our fear of death would result in irrational beliefs and behaviors that might be destructive to society. …show more content…

Lucretius states in his book "The Nature of Things", " Death is nothing to us" and that since we cease to exist after death, we are unable to feel any emotions, including pain and fear. The no-harm argument is also related to Epicurus's thoughts about death. According to Epericus, "When we exist, death is not yet present, and when death is present, then we do not exist.". The article "Immortality and Fear of
Death" says. Death cannot be bad for the living since they are still alive, and it cannot be bad for the dead because they are no longer alive and no longer experience suffering. Furthermore, there is no need to be afraid of death if it cannot harm either the living or the dead. Ultimately, both philosophers agree that there is no harm in dying because there is no pain experienced when one is

Show More
Related

  • The Book Thief Persuasive Essay

    997 Words  | 4 Pages

    It’s only natural to be afraid of the unknown. However, The Book Thief adds irony to this fact, for humans and Death will haunt each other mutually until the end of time. People have harnessed Death time and time again and made him our own, so to think he cannot be partially controlled is a lie. Indeed, Death is unstoppable in natural scenarios, but he most definitely can be in human conflict. In a perfect world, crime and war would be nonexistent.

    Read More

  • Book Thief Death Quotes

    759 Words  | 4 Pages

    Death is like an object lit on fire. Once the object has been swallowed by the flames, there is nothing left but ashes of the object, it is irreversible, evil. When one is to think about death, they promptly think of things like wicked, evil, and darkness. they wonder, how can it have the nerve to be so cruel. Some could furthermore wonder if in some world, if death could be taken into a conscious form, what would it have to say for itself?

    Read More

  • Dr. Olberding's Analysis: Other People Die

    1479 Words  | 6 Pages

    Olberding brings to light the oppositional points of view of eastern and western philosophies about death. Firstly eastern philosophy on death revolves around the problem of other people dying. Differentiating directly with western philosophy on death because western philosophy focuses on the problem of your own death. With both ideologies in mind Dr. Olberding argues that it is equally important to find the best way to respond to personal mortality and to the death of others. With personal mortality, being a westerner herself, Dr. Olberding claims that philosophy is a formidable strategy for assuaging ones fear of their own inevitable death and mortality.

    Read More

  • Essay On Carl Rogers Vs Yalom

    1536 Words  | 7 Pages

    It roots to our idea of the philosophy of life, in terms of reflection on our existence as humans and not only the contingence but the limitations thereof. Death encompasses the individual’s fundamental existence on the one hand and reshapes our concepts of its nature complementing one another in order to enlighten the idea of it. The manifestation of an individual to herself/himself is made probable by nothingness. The notion of spirituality and death in existentialism.

    Read More

  • Mcmahan And The Upper Brain Criterion Of Death

    1370 Words  | 6 Pages

    Professor of philosophy, Jeff McMahan believes there is a need for two senses of death: a biological sense and one where you cease to exist. There is a difference between the organism dying and ceasing to exist. An organism can be dead, but the person does not cease to exist until it disintegrates because the organism’s body is still there. The upper brain criterion suggests that death occurs when there is an irreversible

    Read More

  • In Defense Of The Fear Of Death: Analyzing Socrates Apology

    1013 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Defense of the Fear of Death: Analyzing “Socrates’ Apology” Within “The Apology”, Socrates makes many claims about life and its meaning. One of the most controversial claims he makes is that fearing death is illogical and “amounts simply to thinking one is wise when one is not (40)”. I believe this claim is wrong for two reasons. Firstly, his claim comes from a place of ignorance towards fear and how it works. Also, this claim shows his hypocrisy, as his claim that death is not to be feared shows that he thinks he is wise when he is not.

    Read More

  • Atheist In A Foxhole And The Meaning Of Life Analysis

    949 Words  | 4 Pages

    The fear of death makes people irrational and cling to things that don 't make sense, like in John 11:25: "he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. " This shows that people are drawn to religion because they want to live forever and if they can be promised that then they can find consolation. Dr. Ronnegard points out that this is not needed for knowing that death is coming for all of us makes us look at life subjectively and makes this life even more important. We must come to terms of our demise and learn to embrace this life because looking at life objectively through a religious lens is a waste of emotion capital. The best way to look at life is with a subjective lens, making friendships, love, and life in

    Read More

  • Analyzing Plato's Apology

    313 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death is one of the most discussed topic that has always risen a lot of doubt and concerns . Many philosophers and writers, through the centuries, have tried to find a definition or a reason for this mysterious and inevitable event. Analyzing Plato’s Apology, he seemed to have a positive view about death. He claimed that death is a “state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness”; in fact he compared death with the act of sleeping. But since death is more deep and irreversible, humans cannot be bothering by dreams or thought while they’re died as could happen while they’re sleeping.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Death In Toni Morrison's Song Of Solomon

    2443 Words  | 10 Pages

    One of the core characters, Pilate, describes how there “ain’t nothin natural about death. It’s the most unnatural thing they is” (140), a rebuttal to the common approach that death is innate and will never cease and that it comes when it pleases. Pilate states “don’t nobody have to die if they don’t want to” (140), and the people themselves should

    Read More

  • A Hero's Journey

    1891 Words  | 8 Pages

    No matter what religion, or belief an individual hails from, it can be assumed that most still fear death. However people die around us all day, and if you watch the news, death is a popular subject. As a Metallica song is titled, “to live is to die.” To some scientific theorists, there is a belief that you are never truly dead (not an afterlife). Merely the simple concept of, “energy can never be created or destroyed,” and the belief is that you simply are energy, as the hallowed equation goes, E=mc2.

    Read More

  • Exemplification Essay: Plato's View On Death

    1005 Words  | 5 Pages

    However, because we don’t know what death is, it isn’t strange that we fear it. People like to have control over things. And when we can’t control something, we fear it. Throughout the years, we took more and more control over nature, for example, building a dam to protect ourselves from the water, but we still cannot control earthquakes, and therefore we fear them.

    Read More

  • Fear Of Existence In Plato's Apology

    872 Words  | 4 Pages

    Even though Socrates provides two options for what death is, no one knows what death truly is. Socrates simply assumes that we cannot fear what we do not know for certain; when in reality it is perfectly rational to fear death, even if it is a good thing. I found that he assumes that death, even including the complete end of existence, is not a bad thing because we do not know what it is – it is ignorant to fear the

    Read More

  • Tissue In Socrates's Apology

    665 Words  | 3 Pages

    Now that the "Death as nonexistence possibility has been found to be bad,and the"death as something happening to the soul possibility has been found to not necessarily be good, it no longer follows that death is not a bad thing; on thecontrary, death seems very likely to be a bad thing. Socrates should have consideredthis, too, as a man who purports to be wise by realizing he knows

    Read More

  • What Are Socrates Ideas About Death

    564 Words  | 3 Pages

    This quotation is significant because it represents Socrates’ ideas about death. He believes that fearing the unknown is unreasonable because we don’t know what happens after death. Socrates also believes that “being dead is one of two things” (Socrates 58); either you feel nothing at all or it is a “journey from here to another place” (Socrates 59). Fearing something we don’t now is not going to get us anywhere except limit our potential. Although, death is a frightful concept, it might also be a good thing.

    Read More

  • Fear Of Death In Epicurus's Letter To Menoeceus

    1012 Words  | 5 Pages

    Everyone has to face death. There are some people who fear death because it will take them away from their loved ones and rip them off what they have earned throughout their life, such as money, honor, and power. However, there are people claiming that they do not fear death since they have experienced many wonderful moments in their lifetime. Death sounds so terrifying because it means an end of someone’s life. Reading Epicurus’ “Letter to Menoeceus”, I will argue that a reason to not fear death is that we do not exist anymore after we die.

    Read More

More about Epicurus And Lucretius: Is It Rational To Fear Death?

Open Document