Essay on "Epicurus's View on Death"

Essay 5 pages (2062 words) Sources: 15

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Epicurus's view on death

Death has remained the subject of many discussions in the past and the present. Many philosophers and historians have given their ideas about death. Many interesting ideas and philosophies have come into notice about death. Epicurus is one of the most well-known philosophers. This paper will highlight Epicurus's views on death.

Death these days has become one of the main topics that create increased anxiety and speculation. The same speculation and anxiety was seen at the time when Epicurus was laying down ways of life. The main aim of the paper is to highlight and analyze Epicurus's point-of-view in relation to death. If his view of death is summarized in short, Epicurus mentions that there is nothing to fear about death. When a human being is living his life happily, there is no reason of the person fearing death. There is no meaning to death while the person is living his life

It was claimed by Epicurus that people should not fear the death as death is one of the most frightening thing of all bad things. Based on this, there should be no importance of death for the person during his life. Based on the view that has been stated, it can be argued that the view is highly rational. Most of the people would definitely agree with the view but there is no doubt about the view being highly unrealistic. One of the generally accepted views on death that has been generally accepted is that death is of an evil nature and it is important that the person should give it importance while living his life. It is important that death is viewed and considered in a proper manner.

The focus of the ideology of Epicurus is that there are no meaning and importance of death, based on which one should not fear death. He further argues that it is a waste to fear the real sensation of death. Fearing death is senseless as once a person is touched by death, he or she ceases to exist. Once the person dies or ceases to exist, all sensations cease as well and there is a complete absence of all sensations, fears and feelings. From this, it has been argued by Epicurus that the death is not a sensation but is one kind of a lack. Death is the lack of sensations and feelings, thus according to Epicurus, death is a certain kind of lack. In accordance to Epicurus, death and existence are exactly opposite to each other

. While the person lives his life, there is no meaning or existence of death and when the person dies, there is no existence of the person. Similar is the case of sensations and fears. Epicurus believes that when a person lives and exists, there are sensations and fears but once the person dies and ceases to exist, there are no sensations or fear left

According to Epicurus, fear of death is a sensation and there is no use having the sensation as a living person cannot feel the real sense of death and after death, all sensations die so the person cannot sense death

. Therefore, he explains that there is no use fearing death. This does make sense but there is no doubt about the fact that there is a certain level of fear in the people of death as the life will cease to exist once there is death

. The view that has been presented by Epicurus is logical but there is no stopping to the sensation that the death is the ultimate cessation of existence

One of the main facts that can be mentioned here is that the Epicurus's view of death is simple in its own way and undeniable. There is no doubt about the fact that a person cannot sense and experience the cessation of his own life or his own death. Based on the senses that we have been given, we are able to experience the life, our surroundings, people around all the happenings and us. These are the senses that cease and stop working as soon after death. Thereby in the absence of senses, there is no way a person can experience death

Often it has been seen that Epicurus's view of death is confused by certain religious views given by the religious thinkers. In accordance to certain religious lobbies, there is no existence of death. In other words, it has been claimed that there are ways with the help of which death can be reversed as well as avoided. In contrast to this, when the viewpoint of Epicurus is taken into account, it can be seen that it is much narrower

. The view given by Epicurus is much more specific, simple and straightforward. There is no doubt about the fact that the Epicurus's view is much more credible and rational as compared to the views of religious lobbies. There is no refusing to the fact that the death exists and it will come to all of us. Death is an inevitable fact and it is irreversible. In addition, the one experience cannot be experienced firsthand

One of the main facts that need to be mentioned here is that the view of death given by Epicurus is one of the most important parts of the journey to purist Ataraxic. Ataraxia is the state of mind completely free of any fears or anxiety. There is no doubt about the fact that death is one fact that is feared by all. It is the one main kind of fear that creates anxiety in all of us. When an Epicurus's view is taken into account and is followed in a proper manner, it can be seen that the person can live fearlessly from the concept of death

These are the observations that lead to one of the most important admonitions of Epicurus, which are included in Tetrapharmakos. In accordance to the admonitions, the human beings simply stop fearing death or being anxious about death. It is not the fear but it in fact is the pangs of death. From here, one of the main facts that have been highlighted by Epicurus is that after the loved ones die or pass away, one should celebrate the life that he or she has lived rather mourning of his death

These are the viewpoints as given by Epicurus that have had an enormous impact on the western civilization for more than two thousand years. The man should live his life without fearing death or in the absence of an irrational fear for death. When the argument of Epicurus is taken into account in detail, there are two main parts of his basic argument

. These are

1. Death has nothing to do with pain or pleasure

2. While a person is living his life, there is only one thing worse for him and that is a pain

With these basic arguments, the conclusion given by Epicurus is that the man should not fear death. When the basic arguments are taken into account, it can be seen that the conclusion is a valid one. When the premises that have been given by Epicurus are taken into account, it can be seen that the first premise is based on atomicism and physicalism

Here it is important to take into account as to what was truly meant by Epicurus when he referred to death. By death, Epicurus did not refer to the main process of dying, that can prove to be painful thus being bad for the person. By the word death, Epicurus also did not refer to the main moment in which the death occurs to the person, which in some cases can be bad or good for most of us. This is the moment of which one has no experience and it cannot be experienced when it comes. Death according to Epicurus was being dead

. This is the argument that becomes acceptable in its metaphysical implication that after being dead, there is no existence of a person and there is no sign of life in the person

There are many reasons based on which death is the source of fear for many people. Firstly, people do not know what is to be expected from death, there is a fear in the people in relation to the punishment that they will get from the gods for the deeds that that they have done in the world and lastly there is a fear in the people that many tasks have been left incomplete

Conclusion

Epicurus has given many arguments for death and one of the strongest arguments comes from an Epicurus's belief that the soul is mortal as well as material. It is a well-known fact that Epicurus was an empiricist and all the arguments that he made were made based on his use of senses that used to provide him with ideas and conclusions in relation to the outside world. A strong belief… READ MORE

How to Reference "Epicurus's View on Death" Essay in a Bibliography

Related Essays:

Walt Whitman: Death and Immortality Essay

The parallel structure of the free verse and the repetition of the words "just as" illustrates how Whitman and the inhabitants of the ferry are doing the same things --… read more

Essay 4 pages (1390 words) Sources: 4 Style: MLA Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Adam Smith's Views on the Rise Essay

Adam Smith's Views on the Rise of the Modern World

In the first three chapters of the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith describes a model of the determinants of wealth… read more

Essay 5 pages (1464 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Economics / Finance / Banking

---

Epicurus on the Fear of Death Research Paper

Epicurus on the Fear of Death

You know, it's really very peculiar. To be mortal is the most basic human experience and yet man has never been able to accept… read more

Research Paper 6 pages (1887 words) Sources: 4 Topic: Aging / Death / Gerontology

---

Death and Dying Term Paper

Death and Dying

The five stages of dying as expressed in the Kubler-Ross theory may apply to some instances but they do not fit all cultural and individual cases. The… read more

Term Paper 1 pages (342 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Aging / Death / Gerontology

---

Death Is a Very Sensitive Topic Essay

Death is a very sensitive topic in our society. It is a topic which we do not understand much about. Even so, there are certain conventions which govern our reactions… read more

Essay 3 pages (1023 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Aging / Death / Gerontology

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>