Afraid to Die?

[Blackraven]

At the moment, I'm still in my last year of being a teenager. For me though, I do not like the thought of dying......without finding the one thing or things that would bring me contentment (at the moment I'm still finding something that would make my life meaningful or at least..........well you know what I mean)

Strangely though, it's not the thought of dying that worries me right now but rather it is the though of living (in a time when things are becoming difficult). I say this because as life becomes harder and more difficult, I often wonder as to whether I can handle all these problems and challenges...

I just hope that I may be able to find strength and courage in order for me to face all these things.

P.S.
Anyways, while we are on the topic of this (incl. psychological and philosophical bla-bla), here's something to think about for ourselves:
Why do you matter? Why do you deserve to be here? More important than all else though, why would anyone else give a damn about you when there are >six billion people around you claiming the same thing? What makes your life more important than theirs?

[Valex]

I like living

[helix eternal]

I don't fear death, but I'd still like to live for a while yet.

[deathrazor]

Originally Posted by Cali

The only reason anyone should be afraid to die is if they dont have a firm believe in what will happen to them afterword. That or they believe there going someplace bad.

So you're saying I should be afraid to die?

[Ribos]

Originally Posted by Utah Teapot Dome Scandal

I've learned a lot from dead people. They've told me all about what it's like to be dead and I think it sounds just peachy to me.

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THE DEAD?
WILL YOU FORGIVE ME FOR LIVING?
CAN'T BELIEVE THE THINGS THAT THEY'VE SAID
"WONDERFUL DAY FOR A KILLING..."
IT'S KILLING MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

(No one will get that reference.)

In all seriousness, though, I like remaining alive. I have no reason to believe that there's an afterlife, and I think it's a silly sort of security blanket to believe thus without any sort of proof, so I have no reason to enjoy the state of being dead. Meanwhile, I have much reason to enjoy the state of being alive.

It seems to me that the rational thing is to definitely have an aversion to death.

[THE]

Originally Posted by Blackraven

Why do you matter? Why do you deserve to be here? More important than all else though, why would anyone else give a damn about you when there are >six billion people around you claiming the same thing? What makes your life more important than theirs?

We don't, it doesn't matter, because social importance is not measured on an objective basis, because I'm living it.

Also, this is a kinda silly question, because even if people may "choose" not to be afraid, their actual behavior when faced with the situation typically changes substantially and in ways that neither they nor others could predict. People think differently in real situations than they do when hypothesizing about things.

I'm not afraid to die in general, but I'm not going to do anything to aid the process.

Originally Posted by N.T.M.

“Once this is conceptualized (evolution), one could infer several
things: (1) Every motive should be selfish. (2) Moral obligation is a mere illusion used to
structure society. (and 3) Because eternal value is unachievable vanity doesn’t exist since
it’s a word defined by relativity and time will inevitably expunge all accomplishments -
ultimately, in a sense, everything would be vain (therefore it cannot exist). Application of
this understanding would permit a person to do anything without any need to ever justify
their action.”

This is not the case and does not even make sense; people evolved in a way that requires others, whether literally in terms of getting the necessary resources or simply because people require some degree of social interaction. Moral obligation is used to structure society, but it does exist to fulfill a need.

If you don't believe this try locking yourself in a dark box for a couple years and see how long it is before your beliefs start changing rapidly.

[deathrazor]

Originally Posted by Ribos

WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THE DEAD?
WILL YOU FORGIVE ME FOR LIVING?
CAN'T BELIEVE THE THINGS THAT THEY'VE SAID
"WONDERFUL DAY FOR A KILLING..."
IT'S KILLING MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

(No one will get that reference.)

Black Sabbath.

[Ribos]

Originally Posted by Damage, Inc.

Black Sabbath.

I'll bet you googled it.

Because no one seems to remember the Dehumanizer album AT ALL.

[Cali]

Originally Posted by N.T.M.

Well I myself am a Christian so I can empathize with you there, however I believe that people can cognitively circumvent the reassurance of an afterlife to still feel fine with the idea.

Christians arent the only people who think they are going somewhere after they die.

[N.T.M.]

Originally Posted by tornupsock

I'm afraid of situations where the possibility of dying is overshadowed by surviving as a vegetable.

THAT truly scares me.

YES!!! I'll admit things like that terrify me.

Originally Posted by Blackraven

Anyways, while we are on the topic of this (incl. psychological and philosophical bla-bla), here's something to think about for ourselves:
Why do you matter? Why do you deserve to be here? More important than all else though, why would anyone else give a damn about you when there are >six billion people around you claiming the same thing? What makes your life more important than theirs?

I wrote a paper about that actually. Maybe I'll post some parts here.

Originally Posted by A Joseph Smith Sphinx

This is not the case and does not even make sense.

You missed the point entirely. It says, excluding its aid in the past (evolution), presently we can cognitively transcend that since we are capable of realizing our insignificance.

Savy?

Originally Posted by Cali

Christians arent the only people who think they are going somewhere after they die.

Are you sure about that? Cuz I was certain that the belief of an afterlife was exclusive to Christianity.

lmao, I know! I just referenced the empathy since our perspectives coincide in that respect.

Originally Posted by Ribos

I think it's a silly sort of security blanket to believe thus without any sort of proof, so I have no reason to enjoy the state of being dead.

I'm not gonna go there =P. All hell will break loose.

[deathrazor]

Originally Posted by Ribos

I'll bet you googled it.

Because no one seems to remember the Dehumanizer album AT ALL.

I have the "Dio Years" compilation album somewhere on my computer, but yes I did google it.

[SAY HI TO A BRO]

Originally Posted by tornupsock

I'm afraid of situations where the possibility of dying is overshadowed by surviving as a vegetable.

THAT truly scares me.

Why? You wouldn't be conscious, any more than Terry "Grgblrlblbblrglblr" Schiavo was. Are you referring to a Johnny Got His Gun sort of thing? Because, yeah, that would suck.

[Ribos]

Originally Posted by Damage, Inc.

I have the "Dio Years" compilation album somewhere on my computer, but yes I did google it.

I say Heaven and Hell > Dehumanizer > The Devil You Know > Mob Rules, making Dehumanizer totally worth getting as a stand-alone if you can find it. H&H, meanwhile, is the Dio version of Paranoid. Except better. But then, I never liked Paranoid much anyways (the debut was better, as was Sabbath Bloody Sabbath).

Anyways, back on ze topic:

You missed the point entirely. It says, excluding its aid in the past (evolution), presently we can cognitively transcend that since we are capable of realizing our insignificance.

Savy?

Next time, you might want to consider spelling "Savvy" properly before assuming you're in the superior position.

I'll let Joseph Smith Sphinx reply to the actual point, though. I'm in agreeance with her general position anyhow.

But my take is that you are lying. You are not unafraid of death. I have two reasons proving that you - at least unconsciously - have not "transcended" your innate fear of death.

1. You find "thrill ride"-type activities fun. The fun derived from these activities is based off the adrenaline rush one gets from, say, bungee jumping (using this only as an example). The adrenaline rush is achieved because the body senses it is in a state of danger, and activates the fight-or-flight response, which is associated with fear. If you did not fear for your life, you would not receive this adrenaline rush and thus you would not find the activity fun.

2. You are a Christian. As a Christian, your body is a temple to the Lord. God gave you the gift of life, and to refuse one of God's gifts is to refuse God. That's why people who commit suicide are damned to suffering in Hell. One who legitimately has no fear of death (with the rare exception of genetic anomalies) would not truly care if they live or die, which, by the above points, is something akin to blaspheming. So from a Christian perspective, the people who are unafraid of death are the ones who truly deserve to be afraid.

[THE]

Originally Posted by N.T.M.

You missed the point entirely. It says, excluding its aid in the past (evolution), presently we can cognitively transcend that since we are capable of realizing our insignificance.

Savy?

Originally Posted by A Joseph Smith Sphinx

Also, this is a kinda silly question, because even if people may "choose" not to be afraid, their actual behavior when faced with the situation typically changes substantially and in ways that neither they nor others could predict. People think differently in real situations than they do when hypothesizing about things.

A lot of people believe that they can cognitively transcend fears like that, but in reality, these same people rarely demonstrate the same lack of fear.

People can and do override a gut instinct "not to die," but it rarely has anything to do with fear of death. If people can see an activity as fun, preserving their honor, or having some other benefit, they might do it even if there is a risk of death attached. However, people won't just disregard the presence of the risk (e.g. people normally don't just not care about traffic signals unless they hope to get some thrill out of it) in every day life precisely because they would be dead otherwise.

It's not transcending the fear of death, it's deciding that some benefits are worth the risk of dying. Not having this ability would still be an evolutionary disadvantage, because everything has some risk of dying.

Also, you asked about our opinions on the quote as well as on our fear of death. If I think an argument is full of shit because it disregards facts about the way humans work psychologically, then that is still my opinion on the matter.

[N.T.M.]

Originally Posted by Ribos

I say Heaven and Hell > Dehumanizer > The Devil You Know > Mob Rules, making Dehumanizer totally worth getting as a stand-alone if you can find it. H&H, meanwhile, is the Dio version of Paranoid. Except better. But then, I never liked Paranoid much anyways (the debut was better, as was Sabbath Bloody Sabbath).

Anyways, back on ze topic:


Next time, you might want to consider spelling "Savvy" properly before assuming you're in the superior position.

I'll let Joseph Smith Sphinx reply to the actual point, though. I'm in agreeance with her general position anyhow.

But my take is that you are lying. You are not unafraid of death. I have two reasons proving that you - at least unconsciously - have not "transcended" your innate fear of death.

1. You find "thrill ride"-type activities fun. The fun derived from these activities is based off the adrenaline rush one gets from, say, bungee jumping (using this only as an example). The adrenaline rush is achieved because the body senses it is in a state of danger, and activates the fight-or-flight response, which is associated with fear. If you did not fear for your life, you would not receive this adrenaline rush and thus you would not find the activity fun.

2. You are a Christian. As a Christian, your body is a temple to the Lord. God gave you the gift of life, and to refuse one of God's gifts is to refuse God. That's why people who commit suicide are damned to suffering in Hell. One who legitimately has no fear of death (with the rare exception of genetic anomalies) would not truly care if they live or die, which, by the above points, is something akin to blaspheming. So from a Christian perspective, the people who are unafraid of death are the ones who truly deserve to be afraid.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a great speller. In fact a lot of things I post I have to check. Nothing to hide.

1.) Good argument, however my opinion actually coincides with this. Although now that I look at it closer I should have been more specific. The fear of death is inherent in people, and when I mentioned that it could be transcended, I meant that you can rest fine with the idea. Now obviously this doesn't negate feelings (fears, etc.) associated with the dying process.

2.) Clever, but a misinterpretation. You’re confusing not fearing death with showing no regard for your life.

Originally Posted by Richard Strauss

It's not transcending the fear of death, it's deciding that some benefits are worth the risk of dying. Not having this ability would still be an evolutionary disadvantage, because everything has some risk of dying.

Two different things. But your point is valid.