Should We Fear Death?

The letter below was the final submission for a course I took a few years ago. It is an explanatory piece, aimed at a friend with a developing knowledge and interest in Philosophy. The letter surrounds the Epicurean believe of a relaxed life, a life where we do not fear what lies beyond our untimely existence. The subject may be explored more in the future, but this submission highlights some key points and arguments towards Epicurus (born 341 BC).

Dear Richard,

Do you fear death? Living in a world which is constantly shadowed by loss, it is difficult to avoid the reality of the hooded figure when it is so widely mentioned in the papers and the media. However, I hope I can provide you with some comfort in these dark times, in the discovery of a man called Epicurus, dating back to the Hellenistic period. I understand you may not be familiar with his work or his short doctrines, as so little of them have survived, but I do believe you’ll find them in great interest.

Excluding death, there are three other fears which Epicurus outlined; suffering, failure and God. Of course each of these seem reasonable to be scared of, but within a four-fold remedy, known as the Tetrapharmakon, designed by Epicurus, he gives us the cure. The cure itself is called Ataraxia, which means freedom from distress. In order to achieve this, we must stop being burdened by these four fears. This is key for a fulfilled and happy life. Although my first thought was are there really only four principle fears? What about ridicule, poverty, excommunication? The more fears I thought of, the more I realised they each individually fit into one of these four categories. Epicurus seems to have covered every corner of concern.

In his Letter to Menoeceus, Epicurus states: “Get used to believing that death is nothing to us”. To put it simply, he believed that “All good and bad exists in our sense experience”. Therefore, we must obtain knowledge of an event in order for it to affect us. The atoms of our soul enable us to have sense perception, and when we die, they scatter and we no longer hold this power. Thus, our soul experiences nothing after death - neither good nor bad. So worrying about death is pointless for we won’t even be alive, or this is just another barrier against ultimate freedom from pain.

There are two main flaws with this remedy, the first you may have already noticed. As a devout theist, I understand you believe in the afterlife, so Epicurus’ doctrine here is flawed. Many believe the soul will continue to experience the good and the bad after death, primarily based on our behaviour and virtue throughout our lifetime.

You may now be opposed to his solution altogether - however, Epicurus did not disbelieve in the Gods. His view was that they exist separately to the cosmos and so, to us. Whether or not they were images projected from the human mind, he thought them to be worthy of worship and perfectly harmless for they are always in the most intellectual state. Personally, I try to exercise my reason correctly and live a good life every day, which Epicurus would believe to be the ultimate goal. Although, I shall not dwell on this further otherwise it will distract from the point. If I am striving to be a good person under an omnibenevolent and all-forgiving good, surely I have nothing to fear about my judgement in the afterlife, so why should I fear death? If I am doing my best regardless then Heaven or Hell await me despite my efforts.

I should mention, the theist viewpoint is not alone in this argument, it is also misapplies if you are not a pleasure-seeking hedonist.

The second flaw, which you also may have questioned, is that surely something bad can happen to us outside of our sense perception, i.e., without us knowing about it. For example, picture somebody passing me by in a crowded high street, and remarking a negative comment on my choice of clothing. If I overheard the comment, something bad would have befallen me, however if I didn’t hear it, nothing bad would have happened at all. One may argue that a bad event still occurred to me, I just happened to mishear.

Epicurus responded to this, claiming that if I did indeed fail to hear their ridicule, nothing bad would have happened as I didn’t experience it. However, if I did hear their harsh comment, would it be so bad? Epicurus would state it is better to know what they are saying about me, so I would be aware of something wrong with my outfit, or I would know not to befriend these gossip-mongers. Either way, this incident isn’t particularly bad. I personally agree with Epicurus here, although I would be interested to hear your opinion.

For me, this remedy, despite its counter arguments, does offer reassurance. The only issue that troubles me is the clarification of the doctrine. Some opponents stated that ‘being dead’ is not equal to ‘death’. Expecting to die, no matter who you are, is a terrible thing. Unless you are content with what you have achieved with your life and are ready to kiss goodbye to all you love and know, then the concept is ghastly. Epicurus responds that if you fear becoming dead, but understand that you will feel nothing when you are dead, then your fear is irrational. Nobody will live forever, thus death is a universal acceptance. If it is painless then of course there is nothing to despair over, yet if it is painful, all pain can be endured. Worrying about death, as he stated, “…Causes unnecessary pain when merely anticipated”.

Death needs to have an aspect of it defined in order to be feared, which as we know Epicurus stated is impossible. As long as you have achieved Ataraxia, as I explained earlier in my letter, then your life is fulfilled.

Epicurus’ four-fold remedy, which overall basically means to stop worrying, I think is a blessed one. Freedom from pain appears to be the perfect goal of life. However, I do feel the short, snappy doctrine is rather sketchy. Epicurus uses the term ‘death’ loosely; with little clarification whether it applies to my own death or the fear of my loved one’s passing. Bereavement and loss, although out of our control, is exceedingly distressing. Fearing death is part of what makes us human and motivates us to continue in life. Having said this, I do believe Epicurus’ remedy to be of positive attitude and a cheerful outlook on life.

I look forward to your response and will enjoy a further Philosophical debate, take care and I shall see you soon.