Philosophy of Death: Epicurus

EPICURUS AND DEATH:

Epicurus believed that death should be nothing

 Epicurus lived from 341-271 B.C. His views and ideologies on death have come to surface through one of his few surviving texts, which was The Letter to Menoeceus. Here he spoke of death as an event that men feared during their life span. He believed that death should not be a cause of worry as when it would come we would not feel it. Thus he argued that the fear of death was an irrational fear and that we should not succumb to such fear. In doing so, he believed, that men are actually making the “morality of life less enjoyable”.

 Epicurus was, to a certain extent, very right in what he believed. Death is a fear that was very prominent during that period as people were very superstitious. They would fear the next life and the wrath of Hades, the god of death in ancient Greece. This fear was unjustified as one could not avoid it as it is the law of nature. All living things that are born must die some day. So fearing an event that is inevitable is quite irrational and Epicurus has rightly described this to be “foolishness”. People look at death as a very painful and harsh fact of life. They waste precious hours of that very life fearing and dreading the consequences of death which obviously is impossible to avoid. Living and cherishing life to the fullest is the most important thing as one can be certain of only the moment they are living as any could be their last. Life, when it reaches its end, almost always would seem less as one can never be satisfied with how much one has lived or experienced. The wish for an immortal life would be quite illogical as the nature of the human brain is such that it seems to get tired of everything around it, after a while the best of things or people or activities all seem monotonous and we wish it would end. The very fact that we would cease to exist one day actually makes our life more meaningful and enjoyable. It is then that we truly realize that our time in this world is limited and we try to make the most of it.

 In other cases, where one fears death as he is in a responsible position and there are a number of people that rely on his existence, he fears how things would be after he is gone. This too can be viewed as illogical because it is a wide belief that no human being can be indispensable. His fear is groundless as he can never alter the fact that he will die and then those people around him would have to learn to do without him. Thus by brooding over the consequences of his death he would only be making his life more miserable and difficult at the same time. Epicurus was correct in believing that when death comes we would not actually feel the pain of dying because we die. Therefore it is critical to understand that death is not a painful procedure. It is merely a happening like birth itself. A human being can never recall any pain in the event of his birth nor can he in the event of his death. Therefore one should not confuse the pain of death to the pain of dying as they might be related but are actually very different experiences. Once we are have been born and are leading our lives we seldom or never think about our birth, then it is quite rational to treat death in the same way as it should not be something we should concern ourselves with.

 It is evident that Epicurus was just in what he believed. His views on death were quite rational and it is not difficult to relate to it. The fear of death is indeed undesired and illogical. Death is a certainty but fearing it is optional. Death can be considered at par with birth. It is an absolute and there will never be any exceptions. One should not waste precious moments of their life dreading death, but realizing that life is not limitless and we must make the most of it while we our alive. We can only make a difference in our life time and not after it. All that we intend to accomplish can be achieved when we are alive. Hence fearing death is not the answer and we should have anything to do with it in our life.