From Twain, Plato, and Lucretius’s perceptions of an afterlife, which one do I favor most?
Lucretius, translated by John Dryden, appeals to me on a higher level in it’s telling of an after life than Twain and Plato’s. Robert Hertz once claimed “each society constructs in its own image” an afterlife for it’s peoples souls to dwell in. The way in which I was raised and the societies I grew up around influenced me to understand the truths about death. It is trivial to spend time thinking of what waits for a human being after death because there is no way of knowing for sure. Lucretius wrote,“Death to us and death’s anxiety is less that nothing, if less cou’d be.” Lucretius points out that death is the one immovable truth in life; constantly worrying about death and prophesying what it will bring takes away from the life you are now currently living. In Twain’s piece, Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven, a man chases comets for thirty years after death and when he finally does reach heaven, he discovers it is vast and more complex beyond measure. Twain uses his story to speak out against the incongruities of popular christian beliefs during his time. How can the living know what the dead are
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When Stormfield finally does make it to heaven the repeatedly mention of America and Earth that fails to register with the clerk, as well as the multiple versions of heaven based on the culture and planet that resides in that area, exposes Christianity for it’s inclusivity and blatant disregard for the possibility that god honors all communities that follow a noble honor code. Twain can be understood as poking fun at Christianity in this story and whether or not he supports the actual portrayal can be pulled into question. Since the story was meant as more of a mockery, the afterlife is more figurative than functional and not eligible for true
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
Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations talks heavily about how “All things are implicated with one another” and briefly about his views of death.
Chuck Palahniuk once said, “The first step to eternal life, is you have to die.” In William Cullen Bryant’s poem “Thanatopsis”, he does not mention eternal life or anything religious, but speaks about death. He tells his readers that death is a natural thing and they should not worry about it. William Cullen Bryant, in his poem “Thanatopsis”, portrays a comforting view of death. Throughout the poem, Bryant encourages his readers by explaining that in death they are not alone, that death, like life, is a natural process, and that they will be among some of the finest people who walked the earth.
Marcus Aurelius' book Meditations gives a clear and concise view of what death is and how man should cope with it. There are many factors that Marcus must take into account when he is pondering about death. There is death on a physical plane of existence and there is death on a supernatural plane of existence. How man is related to both of these concepts can differ drastically but both are equally important concepts in man's view of death. The way that man approaches death and how he should view it in life are other factors that also play an important role in Marcus' philosophy of death.
Austrian-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, “The real question of life after death isn 't whether or not it exists, but even if it does what problem this really solves.” The idea that death is inevitable is well known by everyone, yet no one is certain as to what happens afterwards. Even though the subject of life after death has been argued for centuries by many philosophers and theologians. In the article Sign Here If You Exist, Jill Sisson Quinn adequately employs figurative language, rhetoric questionings, and personal anecdotes to demonstrate a controversial argument on the topic of life after death.
Death is a controversial and sensitive subject. When discussing death, several questions come to mind about what happens in our afterlife, such as: where do you go and what do you see? Emily Dickinson is a poet who explores her curiosity of death and the afterlife through her creative writing ability. She displays different views on death by writing two contrasting poems: one of a softer side and another of a more ridged and scary side. When looking at dissimilar observations of death it can be seen how private and special it is; it is also understood that death is inevitable so coping with it can be taken in different ways. Emily Dickinson’s poems “Because I Could Not Stop for Death” and “I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died” show both
As I read the reading “death”, I can conclude that the main idea for this reading that the author wants his readers to believe that the death is not something scary. We all should not be afraid about the fact that our bodies will cease to exist after death.
Speakers Note: Plato believed that the body was only a temporary vehicle for the soul. Death was the separation of the incorporeal part of living person, the soul, from the physical part, the body. After death the soul is guided to the next realm by guardian spirits.
When an individual hears the word “death,” they automatically believe it's something horrible, traumatic, unfortunate. However, what people don't consider is how death can also be a life-changing act, for the better. In the book Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury demonstrates how dying can change one's actions. Death isn't always physical; people also they mentally when they come to the moment of realization and are once again, born.
Plato's views on life after death were manifold, and developed over time as an examination of a bevy of his literature readily indicates. However, during all phases of his writing he does demonstrate that there is in fact life after physical death, which is widely attributed to his notion of the soul. Plat always viewed the soul as an entity that was distinct from the physical body. Moreover, while the physical body was destined to die, the soul was enduring, interminable, and destined to go on somewhere in some state of being. In just what sort of way the soul would endure was a matter of question, in which at various points in his career as a writer Plato offered different accounts. Yet the most consistent part of this conception of the author's was the fact that the soul was everlasting.
Around the world, people of all cultures, religions, and so on, each acquired their own beliefs on unique aspects of spirituality, and the life of a human and what happens after life on the planet. Though most people believe in a universal definition of life as being joyful, fruitful, and a positive subject, death, on the other hand, has numerous definitions between each person. Some people consider death to be morbid, horrifying, and a negative thing, whereas others celebrate death and believe that their soul will live forever. Each of the countless observations of life and death are portrayed in diverse types of literature. One contributor and writer of such literature includes Emily Dickinson. In her poems “Because I Could Not Stop for
Even though people have been dying since the start of life, we can never get use to the idea of leaving our loved ones behind. Therefore humans choose to disregard death and get pleasure from life, and consequently we tend to stray away from righteousness. Two works; Everyman by an unknown author, and The Pardoner’s Tale by Geoffrey Chaucer have been written to preach humans toward Christianity-the right way of living. These authors utilize plot to reveal the role of death in understanding life. This is achieve by drawing on the foolishness of mankind, their response to the inevitable death and the effect of death on protagonists which altogether helps the readers understand worldly treasures are temporary.
The final argument from Lucretius is the “proof from the structural connection of mind and body.” This
At the most basic level of subconscious thought, every living animal possesses a desire to stay alive. Usually, this instinct lays dormant, although in dire situations, we can be led to do unexpected things. In addition to this subconscious drive, there is a socially constructed motivation for fearing death. Thanks to the pervasive nature of religion throughout history, much of humanity has, at some point or another, feared the prospect of eternal damnation and torture during one’s life after death. Although not every religion has a negative aspect of the afterlife, or even any semblance of an afterlife at all, those religions which do contain some such construct receive much more attention in this regard. Throughout history, many
One of the most ancient mystery yet unsolved is the question pertaining to death and the afterlife. This mystery is one of the fundamental studies in both field of philosophy and religion. Comparing those who believe in a god-existing religion against those who don’t, we often see many differences in the answers relating to death. In the contrary, the similar answers to theist and atheist are evident strongly in two great thinkers and their works. The focus will be on Socrates’ speech in the Apology by Plato setting in 399 BCE and De Rerum Natura by Titus Lucretius 300 years later.