Death: A Misunderstood Concept

Death. People have feared both the word and the concept since the birth of cognitive thought. But I present a simple question; why? Perhaps it is the uncertainty of what comes after...or what does not.

So is this why we cling on to this, for lack of a more suitable word, ugly existence? This world is so full hate and greed, exploitation and war. This is what we have chosen to cling on to? We chose this because of our petty fear of death?

This world is nasty, brutish and cruel.... If I believed in hell, immortality on this plane of existence would most undoubtedly be such.

Death. People have feared both the word and the concept since the birth of cognitive thought. But I present a simple question; why? Perhaps it is the uncertainty of what comes after...or what does not.
So is this why we cling on to this, for lack of a more suitable word, ugly existence? This world is so full hate and greed, exploitation and war. This is what we have chosen to cling on to? We chose this because of our petty fear of death?
The simple fact of this matter is that we know what this life is like and has to offer. This world is nasty, brutish and cruel. What we do not know is death. We do not know any facet of what is to come. For death is just a word to describe a phase of existence. The only real thing we know concerning death is that our physical state ceases to be.
In closing, we should welcome death. We should embrace it like a gift. Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying we should all go "Jonestown" and drink the koolaid, but we should not shun such a gift as death. If I believed in hell, immortality on this plane of existence would most undoubtedly be such.

Further, if (as you said) death is a condition we simply don't know, why would we forsake what we do have some experience with for another wherein all we hold is ignorance? If I don't know how_something_feels, what precisely might motivate me to forsake what I do for a condition in which I can't conceive? There'd be no basis, no reason... no motivation.

Curiosity killed the cat!

Curiosity killed the cat!

Why not embrace what we do not know? Why fear it? Why be content with what we have some understanding of?

Pfft! Reow!

Death will come whether we want it to or not. So why don't we embrace what we have and then deal with death when death comes.

Can we value life while having no fear of death?

I understand your hesitance friend. That is no need for condescending tones.

Can we value life without the fear of death? Good question thats a thinker. Everybody looks at life different so is there an absolute answer?

Remember the old adage "that which doesn't kill you makes you strong"? Boy, didn't that turn out to be a crock?!

I think the truth of the matter, for many of us, is closer to the opinion of U.S. military psychiatrists in WWII, that a soldier can experience, on the average, 240 firefights before he cracks up. There are quite a few of us these days, especially in the U.S., I think, nearing or even past their "240" mark.

Apart from the real need to complete a little unfinished business, you know what gives me a reason to wake up yet one more morning? I recall that, for all practical purposes, I'm now an "expendable" person. Though I have no idea how or why, I wonder if a time or situation might occur, while I'm still functional, when an "expendable person" might prove useful? Perhaps I'll end up going out in some "blaze of glory"! Talk about delusional...

For the present, I just do what absolutely has to be done, then spend quite a bit of time in escapism: those books I never got around to reading, research into subjects of interest I never had time for, writing, music, message boards and such. I've deliberately put up shields and screens because, frankly, I don't think I can handle many more "hits". I'm saving my remaining mental energy for critical situations only.

Or, maybe I'm just afraid of death? Who knows?

rebecca

1+1=2 thats an absolute answer. Do we need to question words here, are we going to argue semantics?

Death. People have feared both the word and the concept since the birth of cognitive thought. But I present a simple question; why? Perhaps it is the uncertainty of what comes after...or what does not.
So is this why we cling on to this, for lack of a more suitable word, ugly existence? This world is so full hate and greed, exploitation and war. This is what we have chosen to cling on to? We chose this because of our petty fear of death?
The simple fact of this matter is that we know what this life is like and has to offer. This world is nasty, brutish and cruel. What we do not know is death. We do not know any facet of what is to come. For death is just a word to describe a phase of existence. The only real thing we know concerning death is that our physical state ceases to be.
In closing, we should welcome death. We should embrace it like a gift. Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying we should all go "Jonestown" and drink the koolaid, but we should not shun such a gift as death. If I believed in hell, immortality on this plane of existence would most undoubtedly be such.

Good points. Many expect death to be "sleep":annihilation of all consciousness. Nothing to fear if that's the case. I'd say the fear of death for these people is the same as their attachment to life. True, the world is not short on the ugly, but the beautiful lies in that same pile.

I agree that we should welcome death, but I trust it will patiently wait for us while we make the most of our brief span.

That was very well put. And I understand that the beauty lies in the same pile as the ugly. I see beauty everywhere. I think nature is an amazing spectical. But the ugly I speak of is not offset by a beautiful sunset or the wind making plants dance. I just now realized, while writing this, that I, in fact, fear life. I still function, but I really do fear what this life will bring...to me...to my friends...to the next generation.
My small empiphany aside, thank you Reconstructo. And thanks to all you other fine thinkers for your input. I hope to keep this dialogue going, but I will be posting something new later today. I look forward to hearing from you all.

What is beautiful then? Is the beauty worth living for?