We are born and then we die, since no human is immortal, we must all endure this cycle of life. Since each human must endure the dying process, it is common that as humans we have and share mutual feelings and thoughts toward the experience of dying, such as a fear of death. In a poll of the top one-hundred phobias in America, Thanatophobia or the fear of death ranked number twelve, signifying that the experience of death is considered by many to be a very frightening thing ("Top 100 Phobia List." ). Numerous people may fear death; however, various philosophers have challenged this notion. Throughout the years, numerous philosophers have provided various valid points in order to alleviate our fears of death. After considering the reasons …show more content…
One of the main and most major reasons that people fear death is because of the unknowingness and uncertainty that accompanies death and the dying process. However, in On the Trial and Death of Socrates, Socrates argues that unknowingness and uncertainty of death is not a valid reason for someone to fear death. Socrates disproves the latter by providing two reasons (Ciraulo, p. 3-50), Socrates first reason is that since death is unknown, no one truly knows whether death is good or evil (Ciraulo, p. 3-50). Since, no one truly knows if death is good or evil, there is an equal opportunity that death may be good or evil. Since there is an equal opportunity, it is possible that death may be the greatest good, therefore why should one fear death if death is the greatest good? Fearing the greatest good is not only foolish, but rather just utter nonsense because how can one fear something that is …show more content…
The thoughts and ideology of Saint Augustine help to alleviate the unknowingness of death, which in turn alleviates one’s fear of death. In The Death of a Friend and the life of the Soul, Augustine speaks about death and the afterlife from a religious standpoint in order to alleviate the unknowingness of death. Augustine tells of how it is through the power of God that one is created through birth, therefore since we are created from God we will return to God through death (Ciraulo, p. 111-123). Since God is the greatest good, by returning to God it signifies that death is also the greatest good. This is an important concept because it relates back to Socrates’ ideology in which he challenged that death cannot be feared because there is a chance that death is the greatest good. Through religion Augustine validates that death is the greatest good, therefore validating the point that death cannot feared, since one cannot fear something that is
The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.” (Mark Twain). This quote from the famous American writer is the basis for what became one of the hardest ideas to comprehend, death. Death has always been a complex term, causing one to struggle with what the true definition is. It is also hard to wrap your mind around what does it truly mean to die. These are the questions we long for the answer. Whether we acknowledge it or not, death has always been feared by many. Death remains an impossible question, one that has been unexplained since beginning of time. Even though dying is a natural, we as a human race still fear it. What can be done to defeat this never-ending battle? According to Montaigne’s “To Philosophize is to Learn to Die” and Cory Taylor’s “Questions for Me About Dying” we can overcome this by living to the fullest, living with no regrets, living a legacy, and lastly not fearing the inevitable. If you want to conquer the question of life, live in the moment.
Death is an unknown place that people tend to avoid because of the fear that surrounds it. But, there should be fear or anxiety that has built up because being in a strange place will definitely add anxiety and fear to a person. Ron Scranton confirms this idea by saying. “learning how to die isn’t easy… I was terrified by the idea”. From the time when he was in the army, he had no choice but to face the idea of death. What seems to scare individuals the most is the thought and process
Death is the most inevitable and unknown aspect of life. It is unescapable, and by most of today’s population, it is feared in the utmost regard. Our materialistic views and constant desertion of religious ideals has forced our society to view death as an ultimate end. Socrates and St. Augustine’s views on death differ from many views on the subject in 2017, however, for their time, these men had the power to influence a plethora of individuals with their theories. For Socrates, death should never be feared and should be considered a blessing if our souls were to ascend to heaven, or death could be an extensive slumber without any dreaming whatsoever. With
However Socrates does not fear death. He figures that death could mean an afterlife that rewards those who are good- and since he feels he has been a good person, death would be welcoming. His other theory is that death equals non-existence, which most likely resembles a deep sleep. So both of these end results are not worthy of being feared.
“the hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways – I to die, and
Many people seem to fear death, but philosophers such as Socrates and Epicurus would argue that one has no reason to fear it. Socrates sees death as a blessing to be wished for if death is either nothingness or a relocation of the soul, whereas Epicurus argues that one shouldn't worry themselves about death since, once we are gone, death is annihilation which is neither good nor bad. Epicurus believes that death itself is a total lack of perception, wherein there is no pleasure or pain. I agree with Epicurus because Socrates doesn't give a sound argument for death as a blessing, whereas Epicurus' argument is cogent. I would also argue personally that death is not something to be feared because, like Epicurus, I see no sufficient evidence
The portrayal of Socrates, through the book “the trial and death of Socrates” is one that has created a fairly controversial character in Western history. In many ways, Socrates changed the idea of common philosophy in ancient Greece; he transformed their view on philosophy from a study of why the way things are, into a consideration man. Specifically, he analyzed the virtue and health of the human soul. Along side commending Socrates for his strong beliefs, and having the courage to stand by those convictions, Socrates can be commended for many other desirable characteristics. Some of those can include being the first martyr to die for his philosophical beliefs and having the courage to challenge indoctrinated cultural norms is part of
When people ponder death they wonder about the unknown with trepidation. As a young man, William Cullen Bryant wrote the "Thanatopsis." His thoughts progress from the fear of death to the acceptance of the event. People should not fear death because everyone dies and becomes a part of nature.
Throughout the course of the Phaedo, Socrates argues that the soul is immortal. Because he believes that his soul will live on forever, Socrates claims that he is not afraid to die. Socrates was sentenced to death and due to the fact that he took the poison earlier than when was necessary, many believe that he committed suicide. Contrary to what may be presumed about Socrates’ death, I will argue that he is a martyr and did not commit suicide.
Some of us come to term with the reality that everything in life is temporary, and that one day we will all die. But sometimes people face hard time facing the reality of death because is never easy to accept not breathing one day. Some people fear for a good reason because once someone dies there is no coming back and not knowing what happens in the afterlife makes dying even more painful. The sad thing about dying is that one never knows when they will die, which is why someone people hate thinking about dying because it makes them overthink when they will die. Everyone face the reality of death differently
Fear of the unknown, and fear of what is to come in our lives, has generations of people wondering what will our lives be like tomorrow or the next day. Death is always there and we cannot escape it. Death is a scary thing. Our own mortality or the mortality of our loved ones scares us to the point that we sometime cannot control how we are dealing with such a thing as the thought of death. Why do we fear such a thing as death? We don’t know what happens after we don’t how it feels. The fear of death is different for most but it is most certain to come and we cannot hide from it. For death is just around the corner and maybe it’s will come tomorrow or the next day! We fear not death but the unknown that comes from death, that is the scariest thing about death.
This philosophy on death makes us think that we cannot ever imagine what we don 't know. It 's argumentative whether it 's unreasonable to "fear the unknown", as fear is a human driven emotion. It can 't really be compared to thinking one is wise when one isn 't, because its knowledge does not lead to immediate engagement. Socrates perhaps readily accepts his fear of death, yet he has not fully vanquished it.
What does plato mean with the expression “contemplation of death”? Describe the doctrine of ideas as exposed in the Phaedo. Plato’s idea of reality can be explained through his doctrine of ideas. He argues the point through a dialogue argument between Socrates and his friends.
Socrates’ views of death as represented in “The Trial and Death of Socrates” are irrevocably tied to his beliefs of what makes life significant. For Socrates, life must be examined through constant questioning and one must hold the goodness of life above all else. Consequently, even in the face of the un-good, or unjust in Socrates’ case as represented in his trial, it would not be correct to do wrong, return wrong or do harm in return for harm done. Therefore, no act should be performed with an account for the risk of life or death; it should be performed solely on the basis of whether it is good and right.
Saint Augustine’s first significant encounter with death comes when his childhood friend falls ill and passes away. Augustine wrote that the two were always together and were “deeply dependent on one another”(Confessions 4.8, p. 57). This caused Augustine to fall into a deep state of depression. Describing his experience, he stated that “grief darkened [his] heart” and that “everything on which [he] set [his] gaze was death”(Confessions 4.8, p. 57). Augustine’s deep despair and grim view of the world around him are evidence of the absence