A look at Epicurus (University Assignment Essay for Cultural and Ethical Values)

(341-271BC)

‘Death is nothing to us’

Life is immeasurably complex, and no human being can be expected to comprehend the subtleties of existence. Yet, the brain is a truly breathtaking miracle of engineering, and despite the fact that the experience of living seems far greater than the worry that one day you will die, human beings can’t help but fear death, forgetting that we should grasp the essence of what it is to be alive. Epicurus (341-271BC) believed that the fear of death itself was simply useless worry, as in death we feel no harm, so therefore it is irrational to be afraid of something that cannot harm you. So should we fear death?

The summary of Epicurus’ thesis is his well-known statement that “death is nothing to us” because as mortal beings, it is impossible to avoid death and at the moment we die—the moment we cease to exist—we experience nothing. (http://www.zainea.com/Beautifulevidence.htm 09/10/07) In my opinion, it is not death itself but the anticipation of the event that disturbs mankind.

“What is no trouble when it arrives is an idle worry in anticipation,” Epicurus explains in his Letter to Menoeceus.       (http://www.dimaggio.org/DoNotClick/death.htm 09/10/07) Epicurus believes worrying about something we have no control over, is painful because death isn’t terrible to us and we simply can’t avoid it. Warren Shibles, a scholar, notes that Epicurus' argument shows that "we cannot fear the state of death because we will not be conscious after death; we certainly can fear losing consciousness" (Shibles 1974, p. 38). But Epicurus would most likely reply, "that which gives no trouble when it comes, is but an empty pain in anticipation" (Bailey 1926, pp. 124–125).

Even though it is, in Epicurus’ opinion irrational to fear death, he doesn’t hold that it’s also irrational to fear losing loved ones, because that in itself is devastating. Considering the fact that “death is nothing to us” does not stop us from reminiscing about enjoyable memories with our loved ones and if you take death with an Epicurean perspective, the individual who loses a loved one is better off because past painful experiences are forgotten, with only the good memories left behind. (http://www.zainea.com/Beautifulevidence.htm 09/10/07) I believe that Epicurus wants people to take satisfaction in the life they are living and overlook past regrets and the worry you didn’t live your life to the fullest but rather remember the good times. Epicurus wants people to live a pleasant life, so anticipating what happens at the end of ones life is an exercise in futility. In my opinion, it is not ‘death’ that we fear, but rather losing something so precious to us: existence.

Ceasing to exist is something human beings must comprehend and not dwell upon because the annihilation of existence is inevitable. It is rather the awareness of having something so precious – like an enjoyable life – taken away from us for all eternity that we fear. It is here we must understand that life on earth is not to be taken for granted, for no one knows what happens after death. The notion that quality of life, rather than quantity of life, is the preponderance of pleasure over pain and it is the pleasure of living and existing we are afraid of one day losing. I believe Epicurus wants for people to accept death and move on, because being alive and existing is one of the greatest journeys of all, so accept the fact it will end, and don’t spend sleepless nights worrying about it but be satisfied with the fact that you had a chance to ‘exist’ in the first place.

Lastly, Epicurus argues that in death we experience nothing and so cannot be harmed, therefore being dead cannot be terrible for us. He does not say it is irrational to fear experiencing pain in death because that is a terrible thing. But why should we fear experiencing pain in death, when we no control over the time we die? I agree pain in death is a terrible thing, and that everyone wishes to die a peaceful death but it is our own revolutionary ideas of death and questioning of ‘how we are going to die’ and ‘what’s going to happen next?’ that makes us fear death.

I agree with Epicurus that “death is nothing to us”, because as we fall asleep at night, unless we dream, we are consciously unaware that we are in fact asleep. When you die, you don’t know that you are dead – you don’t experience anything because you simply don’t know. So being dead isn’t something to be afraid of, but rather something to accept, however the fear of experiencing pain before death and fearing losing those we love is inevitable and rational to fear.