Epicurean Thoughts

Death is the inevitable and permanent cessation of life and everything associated with it. Whenever something is inescapable, it presents a certain apprehension and anxiety, and in order to achieve happiness in life, one must rid the mind of such apprehension and anxiety. Whether the fear of death is long lasting or short-lived, it is almost definitely present among the beliefs of all people, and any fear, regardless of its basis, causes disturbance and stress. Epicurus, however, feels that happiness can be achieved, for this particular fear can be overcome simply by using reason. He argues that it is foolish to fear death, and he feels that the common goal of all should be to rid the mind of not only the fear of death, but rather fear in general. His arguments are logical and reasonable, but the fear of death is incredibly resistant to eradication.

In Epicurus’s “Letter to Menoeceus”, found in The Epicurus Reader, he states, “Death, the most frightening of bad things, is nothing to us; since when we exist, death is not yet present, and when death is present, then we do not exist” (29). Clearly enough, to anyone w

. . .
Epicurus says that fearing death is foolish and that only he who realizes there is nothing to fear in the absence of life will be able to realize there is nothing to fear in life itself.

Fearing death will still occur, even if and when one believes Epicurus’s arguments. Either it is annihilation, and the dead have no consciousness of anything; or, as we are told, it is really a change: a migration of the soul from one place to another. However, knowing that something such as death is unavoidable and being able to deal with that without fear is unimaginable; as a result, a life of happiness cannot exist unless one can allow for a coexistence of fear and faith. A line from the movie Braveheart ultimately exemplifies the idea of living without fear: “Every man dies. If Epicurus is correct, and “when death is present, then we do not exist” (29), there should be nothing to fear, and so he is justified in his assumption. The fear of death is not something that can just be forgotten in a moment.

As Socrates once said, “Death is one of two things. It is this lack of knowledge that leads to a feeling of insecurity; a fear. These judgements are based on a lifetime of experiences. His arguments are strong, yet lack the ability to alter one’s beliefs. ”

It is believed that death, while not present, causes unnecessary pain when simply anticipated.

If even the smallest amount of doubt is alive in the human mind as to whether or not death is the ultimate end, a fear is guaranteed to exist. “For all good and bad consists in sense-experience, and death is the privation of sense-experience” (29). With a little luck, the fear of death will be transformed into more of a suspicion, or curiosity, rather than a fearful anxiety; however, the mystery that is death will continue to create emotions that require conditioning in the human mind, for all eternity.

Common topics in this essay:
Socrates Death, According Epicurus, Luther Death, Reader Death, fear death, , rid mind, Letter Menoeceus, rid mind fear, death exist 29, death exist, happiness life, exist 29, achieve happiness, fearing death, apprehension anxiety, life happiness, human mind,

Approximate Word count = 955
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Already a member? Click here