Did he really o_O If you're not kidding then what were they??
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no, not joking at all and it was " Hell i don't have to pay taxes anymore"... lol damn
i think it reflects the weight of life being lifted off his 87 year old shoulders... i know if i live that old i'll be tired of life...
hahaha, that's awesome! I mean, it's not awesome that he died, but he was obviously in a decent place mentally when he went. When I go, I hope I have something absolutely hilarious to say before I die. I want my funeral to put the "fun" back in funeral!
As for the topic...because death is something that can't be known until it's experienced, I think that a certain degree of anxiety, if not fear, is pretty natural. We tend to naturally fear what we don't understand. Myself, I'm afraid, but not terrified. But I'm only afraid because I don't know what to expect.
Personally, I want to be aware when I die. I don't want to go in my sleep. I don't want to miss the experience. I mean, I'm more afraid of dying in my sleep than most other deaths. I would prefer to be aware when the greatest mystery of life reveals itself to me. Even if it's painful, because at least I can be certain the pain won't last forever. :P
I think I'm going to write my own obituary and eulogy. And yes, they'll both be funny as hell. :lol:
I agree with this. The thing about overcoming the fear of those things that aren't death (e.g., public speaking, etc.) is that one is able to experience them many times over and over, thus training the body and mind to not generate a fear response.
Of course with death, you get to "experience" it yourself one time and that's it. So I think the closest one can come to trying to overcome the fear of death is to continually meditate upon it. Even then, the biology of fear will likely kick in somewhat when death is actually imminent (if you are lucky enough to know you have a few days or hours left).
But perhaps meditation and imagination about the firsthand experience of death might make it more tolerable when it actually happens, so that you can die (or enter death) with full conscious awareness.
I'm not scared of death.
I'm very curious about what happens after death and I'm looking forward to finding out. If there is absolutely nothing after death I won't be around to complain will I? :D
There is a logical law of nature that says: Everything that lives strives to continue living whatever it takes, at all costs.
But does that mean that death, the end of life, scares us?
I think pretty much yes. And although i see lots of people in this thread saying that they are not afraid of death, I think they are somewhat lying to themselves, because the human specie is afraid of the unknown. And since we know almost nothing of death, I'd say it's normal to be afraid of it at all cost.
Of course there are those brave people, which for example are ready to give their own life in order to save someone else's. But I'd say those are people who act hastily and decide not to think about death, staying not-afraid.
I don't agree. I have been at a point in my life when I thought: Death is the most beautiful thing in the universe (I still do to a certain extent). And at that point I was thinking about dieing and bringing my life to an end. But I decided that death is something that will come inevitably and life is still so interesting, so I will live my life and strive to make it wonderful and be looking forward with excitement (couldn't really find the right word) at death, when it will come, which it will, hopefully not very soon.
And when you refer to laws of nature in that every organism strives to live as long as possible. Humans have been disobeying the laws of nature for a very long time now. And even some "lower" organisms don't obey that law in that they rather pass on their genes and create offspring than live without it.
Personally I don't think that i can love something (or someone) that i know nothing about.
And although I haven't been in a similar situation as you I share your views - that I have to live my life for as long as possible and also avoid death, because its so unknown and the unknown is scary shit for me.
It is true that we humans are different, but I probably just don't want to imagine people that would oppose this nature law and do it's opposite. It would be so... unnatural to be willing to just die.
Yeah.. I just thought that there is possible for people to dislike(hate) life if they are thrown out of their society. And nowadays the society is becoming pretty much global, so if you differ from it you will somewhat limit your whole life. Ehh, I feel I'm going way offtopic with this so I'll just leave it here.
Anyway, what I want to say is that humans are unique creatures, but even they(sometimes in their deepest 'roots') bow before nature and it's laws.
Okay, lets see if this makes the question easier to answer.
If a man walked up to you and held a gun to your head which would you say:
1. "Please don't shoot me!"
2. "Go ahead and kill me, I don't care!"
I'm afraid of death. I'm an atheist and don't have much hope for an afterlife but I love life and I don't want it to end. I've heard many reasons explaining that it's irrational (while you're alive you can't die), but I still fear it.
Most of it is probably just my survival instinct.
Edit: I've also just realised that it's 2010... :shock:
I'm a necroposting idiot... :(
I'm terrified of it.
Go to youtube and search of Shelly Kagan and death. Yale Online Courses posted an entire semester of Kagan's philosophy class in which he explors death, suicide, how we should react to death, if there is a soul (and should we expect it to die along with our bodies) and so on. It's a really interesting class, and lots of good stuff in there.
(Actually- linkage: YouTube - 1. Course introduction )
In 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich' sense if we *really* grasped our own mortality we would spend our days screaming at the horror of it. I think we're all secretly hoping that we will be the one person that actually does live forever, even those people that say they aren't afraid of death. But we cope with it, because despite all those stupid friggin' songs if we actually lived like we were dying most of us would be locked up fairly quickly.
I was sucidal since i was 8. Came close many times. I don't fear it at all.
I experienced nothing which made me realise we always have nothing to fall back on and at the core of everything there is nothing.
I think it is foolish not to think of death. I mean you work your ass off your whole life and then you die and none of that even matters. Your life is like a speck compared to infinity. you could die tomorrow. if you knew you were going to die tomorrow would you live differently? Can you even imagine awareness ending? As a little kid I used to ponder that. I had in one hand my christian religion which sounds ridiculous (eternity after a short life time in heaven or hell) and in the other logical scientific view (nothing happens you are only a physical being with a brain that somhow causes individual awareness and when that dies awareness dies)
Well since we're bringing this thread (ha) back to life anyway...
Of course I'm afraid of death. The end of existence. It's terrifying. And I'd argue that this is a perfectly appropriate response, like being afraid of a big evil dragon which breathes fire and squashes cities flat and is going to eat you. The purpose of fear, however, is not to just make you feel sad, it's meant to move you to act. Get enough exercise. Have a balanced diet. Avoid dangerous activities without commensurate payoffs, such as recreational drug-taking, or speeding, even when it seems so important to be at X on time. If you're feeling adventurous and/or have $300/year to spare sign up for cryonics. Of course the latter is more an insurance measure, and it's generally more worthwhile to pursue the previous short term measures.
I'm not saying one should be "irrationally afraid of dying immediately in any moment". Thinking about it constantly would obviously negatively affect your mental health. But it should inform your planning processes. Death is bad. Avoid it. But not so much your quality of life suffers.
No I'm not afraid of death. I'm not afraid of anything at all! Not lions, tigers, dragons, snakes, dracula or even tarantulas! Put me in a cage with a lion and I'll beat him to death with my bare fists!!!
LOLOL people who claim they are not afraid of death, wtf are they thinking? Fear is a part of the natural fight or flight reflex. Sure it might be cool to say "I don't fear death!" but to be honest, it's like saying "I never get hungry!". It only shows your apathy, not anything else. I also have had the desire to die, but being an emo-kid is just a game, when you face death, you will no longer be like "omg I want to die so badly", your suicidal tendencies will dissapear and suddenly you will go all "OMG PLEASE DONT KILL ME" and go all hysteric etc.
Anyway, if you truly do not fear death, how about you put your money where your mouth is? This world is overpopulated anyway. This is your chance to be a true hero and save the world! :D
Uh...there's a huge-ass difference between not fearing death/facing it with bravery and dignity, and actively seeking out death. People who don't fear death aren't necessarily suicidal...it just means that they don't worry about it or particularly care. I'm kinda curious about the great beyond, but I'm not going to go out of my way to get there. I still have stuff to live for here. But if death finds me, then so be it. I can't change that course. Might as well face it, accept it, and go out in peace.
Agreed there is a huge difference, but when you will face your death, you will feel fear. When you face the girl of your dreams, you will feel love. Isn't this obvious?
But you are saying "But if death finds me, then so be it. I can't change that course. Might as well face it, accept it, and go out in peace." claiming you will not fear death. You just claimed, that you do not possess the fight and flight reflex that all other people do have? Are you claiming that scientists and biology are a bunch of liars and that there is no such thing?
Fight-or-flight response - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I think it's funny how you say, when death finds me, I might as well face it and go out in peace. But a few weeks ago, you spammed my inbox full insults because I stepped on your toes. When you face me you go all crazy, but when you face death you will be all chill and relax and be like "ok im ready take me"?...........Buulllllllshit... unless you find my words more terrifying than death itself :lol:
1. You started it
2. Not spamming
3. You continue to inappropriately put words into my mouth. Stop it.
Now then. The fight-or-flight reflex is not absolute. It is something that can be overridden with training. It is your body's natural instinct to breathe, after all, but you can still hold your breath beyond what is comfortable. You can make the body feel pain, even if your instincts tell you to do otherwise. You underestimate the potential of the conscious mind. Through much introspection and thought, I have simply concluded that death is something not to be feared. Pain, certainly. I will run from pain. Pain is not pleasant and holds no immediate benefits. But I shall face death head-on when it comes, if for no other reason than to sate my curiosity.
As a final nail in the coffin of your pathetic argument, I'd like to point out that if your misinterpretation of the fight-or-flight principle were accurate, then there would be no such thing as a peaceful death. Everyone everywhere capable of conscious thought would go out of their way and do anything possible to avoid death. But, we do not see this. Some do, sure, but there are plenty of people who are perfectly content to peacefully slip away. There are thousands upon thousands of successful suicides each year. Look at Carl Sagan. He died with dignity, never backing down or cowering for forgiveness from some god.
It is natural to fear death and the unknown. However, I have been close to death before, once I almost froze to death on a mountain top. I didn't fear it and almost went through with it as it would've been a relief. It was my love for my son back home that made me decide to keep fighting to stay alive. Death is a release into a greater reality. It is like falling asleep and dreaming and waking up refreshed and replenished.
I thought that I was dead before when I was on various psychedelics. Mostly I was embarrassed of what my family and friends would think of the manner in which I died. But I was happy and peaceful.
Regarding suicide, there is only one religion that says that it is ok to commit suicide. But there is only one method in which they allow it, and that is to fast until you die. Therefore you have plenty of time to consider what you are doing and to change your mind. Most people who commit suicide do it while in an anxious feverish state. They don't give themselves time to think a bout it. I bet if all the people who commit suicide decided to starve themselves to death, they would not go through with it.
It is natural to fear death, but there is nothing to fear. I fear suffering.
I actually considered fasting to death before and after the first day I calmed down and decided not to