For the most part, I admire
the epicurean worldview. It is very logical, rational, and optimistic in the
way that it stresses ways in which to maximize happiness while living, by
ridding yourself of fear and pain. However, while, I do agree with his points
on this, I think that his view on not fearing death is a little unrealistic and
takes away an essential part of life. Death is one of the biggest fears common
to mankind, so naturally, one has to wonder if it is even possible to
completely rid yourself of this fear. The reality is that humanity will always
fear death, for the mere reason that it is in our nature. A fear of death
governs the way in which we live our lives, and the reality of knowing that we
are mortal, motivates us to maximize our existence by living life to the
fullest, and appreciating every moment. This is necessary to a healthy life and
is almost impossible if one does not fear death at all. Ultimately, not fearing
death would take away from the value of life. The best example that comes to
mind is from the book, Tuck Everlasting. The Tuck family could not die (so
obviously, they did not fear death). Taking away this element made them unhappy
and unfulfilled; thus, taking away from the way in which they valued their lives.
I wouldn't say that humanity will always fear death. Everyone and everything has its purpose of life and will eventually die sooner or later. No one knows exactly when or how they are going to die, so how can you fear death?
ReplyDeleteI think that while you make a good point about fearing death, I disagree with your opinion that it is "necessary to a healthy life" to fear death. Some people's greatest memories come from giving Death the bird and just doing what they want to do. So while most people do fear death, you won't find them all sitting at home afraid of the world.
ReplyDeleteI think you make some very excellent points however I think that there is a flip side to this. I believe that many extreme athletes can live life to the fullest by doing extreme stunts. The only reason they are allowed to do the things that they do is because they do not fear the consequences of their actions.
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