NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, do you?

And does your belief/disbelief in an afterlife contribute to this?

i fear death in the sense that i haven't finished with life yet and it would really suck if death took me now. i don't fear the inevitability of it however. once i die there will be nothing, i won't be aware of it - what's to fear?

Death fears ME! :D

On a somewhat more serious note, I'm not sure if 'fear' s the right word. I certainly don't want to die. I'm not done here. I haven't had my fill of tacos yet. :) I would certainly like to avoid death, but I don't fear death enough to let it interfere with how I live my life.

For example: I wear my seatbelt when I drive, but I also scuba dive, fly in a single-engine airplane and am looking forward to an opportunity to go skydiving again. *nod* :)

only other people's deaths.

I have no fear of death, but I have some fear of dying in pain.

And I don't think I believe in afterlife, but one can only know by going over to check. But I'm not going to 'cos I can't come back afterwards...

I'm confusing myself...

Well, do you?
I fear the abuse and misuse of life. Death has no sting save in as much as it is a waste of someone's potential; whether mine or anyone else's.

I don't fear death, I'm actually quite curious about what'll happen when you die(not saying I'm going to kill myself just to fin dout). Even though I'm not religious, I don't rule out the possibility of an afterlife of some sort because I don't know what'll happen.

won't know if there is an afterlife till i'm dead.

Given the choice i'd prefer there too be one, but I'd be surprised.

Pleasantly, but surpise none the less

no, i fear dieing in a painfull way, although i think i fear pain without dieing more, that way i know it will be over soon. i don't really believe in an afterlife. life itself is just a chemical reaction, why would there be something 'magical' after it? i do fear that people i love would die, luckily this hasn't happened yet.

I don't fear death. I fear other people that I know and care about dying, but why should I be afraid of the invitability of my own mortality seeking me out? I do fear what the consequences of my death may mean for other people, would the people that I care for suffer unduly other than remorse for my departure and the like.

Bigger cowards have gone through it. I'm a coward but they were a bunch of pansies. I can do better.

not scared of it but I'd rather not if it can be avoided at all thanks

or just see sig

I do fear death because it means that i loose everything i have and become nothing.I believe almost anything is better than death(beside a life of psychological pain or acute disability).

I can't die, I am already dead [sci-fi X-Files sounds come on]

I fear the death of people I care about, but of myself, no. That said, I do have regular thoughts about my own death, but I guess that's more influenced by depressive thinking than fear.

I have no fear of death, but I have some fear of dying in pain.
Better to die in pain than live in pain. Possibly.

No, I don't fear death. In a way I'd welcome it, not because I hate life or anything, but because to me infinite nothing is quite an attractive proposition.

Better to die in pain than live in pain. Possibly.

No, I don't fear death. In a way I'd welcome it, not because I hate life or anything, but because to me infinite nothing is quite an attractive proposition.

It looks like a glass window pressed up against another glass window pressed up another glass window pressed up another glass window pressed up another...

Knotthole Glade;12596707']I do fear death because it means that i loose everything i have and become nothing.I believe almost anything is better than death(beside a life of psychological pain or acute disability).

But you'll be dead and not able to worry about what you've lost.

I'm an atheist and I do not fear death. To me death is only eternal slumber. Before becoming an atheist however, I feared death, as I was worried I might lose out and end up in Hell. You see I was brought up within the weslyan holiness tradition, which says that if you aren't as holy as God himself, you are in danger of losing your salvation. :(

I do indeed fear my own death, because I'm truely scared about the total lack of knowledge beyond death.

Science points towards it being the end of it. Fin, nothing more after you're dead.

Religion/Spirituality points me towards, some sort of afterlife/rebirth so to speak but at the same time it doesnt do enough to confirm or relieve the worry I acutally have.

My own spiritual views point me towards re-incarnation after death, but I worry regardless.

Theres my two pennies

No, i look forward to it :)

Studies have shown that the highly religious tend to believe they are going to heaven, so they welcome death. Atheists just see it as a part of life, and tend to accept death. The moderately religious believe in heaven, but don't have the self-righteousness to know they won't go to hell and thus tend to be the most afraid of death. At least, that was what this researcher was saying on NPR...

i don't fear death, i just fear pain

Studies have shown that the highly religious tend to believe they are going to heaven, so they welcome death. Atheists just see it as a part of life, and tend to accept death. The moderately religious believe in heaven, but don't have the self-righteousness to know they won't go to hell and thus tend to be the most afraid of death. At least, that was what this researcher was saying on NPR...

Pretty logical.

Not really; rather, I don't want it because all of the possible options suck. I'm going stay here forever rather than either end up with nothing or go to any of the shitty options that the world's religions offer. Honestly, none of the crap they describe sounds particularly superior to what I have now.

I view death as more of a tragedy, a cruel and unrelenting human sacrifice that steals away our loved ones and causes nothing but grief. It is cruel and unnecessary; in fact, it's the greatest disease of all. Of course, I take heart in the fact that it, like any disease, will be cured.

Of course, I take heart in the fact that it, like any disease, will be cured.

What about overpopulation?

Of course, I take heart in the fact that it, like any disease, will be cured.

Death is not a disease. It is part of life - the pathological thing would be to do without it.

And, no, I don't fear death. There is no reason to fear nothing.

What about overpopulation?

Well, people will still die from things like suicide, natural disasters, etc...it wouldn't be truly zero.

However, birth rates are plunging in the developed world, and as more and more of the world develops it will fall worldwide. By the time the death rate was eliminated, we'd be low enough that there wouldn't be a significant overpopulation problem. Even if our birth rate were as high as 10-12 per 1,000, which is about what it is in a lot of European countries, that would only be a growth rate of 1.4% per year, less than what we have now. We also have to take in to account the economic and technological factors; they increase at such fast rates that they more than outstrip population growth, so overpopulation in a highly-developed society will never be a problem.

And don't forget space, underwater, etc....there's a massive amount of untapped resources out there that are much, much, much (nigh infinitely ) more abundant than anything what we currently have. Those are going to be tapped within the next 50-100 years, and once that starts our resource problems are over.

What about overpopulation?

your talking to someone who wants to upload himself onto a computer overpopulation isn't a worry

though imagine the lag!:eek:

Death is not a disease. It is part of life - the pathological thing would be to do without it.

Says who? Death is our enemy, and we as human beings deserve the freedom to move beyond it if we want. We are not sacrifices, and the benefits of abolishing involuntary death would be far more than anything we could possibly imagine now. Mankind will grow beyond the limits of its biology and become truly free to shape itself. That is the gift that our intelligence has given us.

A world without suffering, where people no longer suffer from the degenerative diseases called aging and death, would be far more of a heaven than anything any religion has ever offered.

Rationally no, on an instinctive level yes.

Fear? What is this "fear" you speak of? :confused:

Even though I know everyone dies, and there is no escaping death, I am still very scared of it. Every person's mind is both unique and beautiful, and every person's death marks the end of a unique and beautiful being. I am scared of dying because it will mean that I will lose possession of my mind, the most incredible thing I will ever have the oppurtunity to own.

I don't know if there is anything after life, but since I observe no evidence that there is an afterlife, I have trouble assuming that there is one.

Says who?

Common sense and all health theories I am familiar with and can recall. Nordenfeldt's, Antonovsky's, Pörn's, Eriksson's, Boorse's...

Death is our enemy, and we as human beings deserve the freedom to move beyond it if we want. We are not sacrifices, and the benefits of abolishing involuntary death would be far more than anything we could possibly imagine now. Mankind will grow beyond the limits of its biology and become truly free to shape itself. That is the gift that our intelligence has given us.

A world without suffering, where people no longer suffer from the degenerative diseases called aging and death, would be far more of a heaven than anything any religion has ever offered.

Laughable.

Common sense and all health theories I am familiar with and can recall. Nordenfeldt's, Antonovsky's, Pörn's, Eriksson's, Boorse's...

Common sense is hardly a wise judge of anything. And theories have a habit of being revised and changed as new evidence comes along, so I'd wait before dismissing anything based upon theory. There are a lot of theories that ended up being complete junk once someone with a new idea came along and developed a new theory that fit their better knowledge of the evidence.

The kinds of developments in technology and exponential growth in their performance more than confirm to me that it is a given in my lifetime.

Laughable.

We shall see...given that the vast majority of times when people say something is impossible, it ends up being entirely possible, I don't rule out anything unless it's tried and shown to be impossible. Plenty of things have been "laughable" and ended up being the most world-changing decisions ever made in human history.

The evidence is already clear that the mechanisms behind aging, degenerative diseases and death can be understood and can be stopped, and the exponential growth in the power of our tools to discover those mechanisms is making it possible to achieve those goals in a reasonable amount of time.

Whether or not he meant it as such, it is laughable, because a world without suffering is close to if not totally meaningless. How else can one grow as a person, except through suffering?

Fear? What is this "fear" you speak of? :confused:

It's what you feel when you are alone at midnight on an empty street corner with a dancing clown. *nod*

It's what you feel when you are alone at midnight on an empty street corner with a dancing clown. *nod*

How did you know my deepest, darkest fear? :eek:

Whether or not he meant it as such, it is laughable, because a world without suffering is close to if not totally meaningless. How else can one grow as a person, except through suffering?

I think there's a difference. I wouldn't get rid of pain and suffering, since after all many kinds of pain and struggle are very meaningful (anyone who has exercised or pushed themselves to the physical edge to achieve a goal knows this), but I would get rid of involuntary death and diseases that cause it. There is no meaning in a person dying, especially of diseases like Alzheimers, where everything they knew and loved is stolen from them and they consciously see their minds decay.

That's just cruel and adds nothing to life; people should be able to die if and when they feel they have done what they wanted to do in life, and they should always be able to do it peacefully and without pain. That's the right thing to do.

How did you know my deepest, darkest fear? :eek:

I'm a clown. :)

I can't fear anything that I can easily ignore (right up until the last minute thaat is). I just don't waste time thinking about it or the existance of an afterlife.

Plus I've read way too much Terry Pratchett to fear Death! :D

I think there's a difference. I wouldn't get rid of pain and suffering, since after all many kinds of pain and struggle are very meaningful (anyone who has exercised or pushed themselves to the physical edge to achieve a goal knows this), but I would get rid of involuntary death and diseases that cause it. There is no meaning in a person dying, especially of diseases like Alzheimers, where everything they knew and loved is stolen from them and they consciously see their minds decay.

That's just cruel and adds nothing to life; people should be able to die if and when they feel they have done what they wanted to do in life, and they should always be able to do it peacefully and without pain. That's the right thing to do.

If we could die however we wanted, if there was no uncertainty to death, do you think life would seem quite so precious as it does now?

Fear is an irrational attitude toward the inescapable. I would like to be able to prevent myself from dying, but unless that becomes a realistic possibility, there's no point in worrying about it.

How did you know my deepest, darkest fear? :eek:
It's a very common deep, dark fear.

If we could die however we wanted, if there was no uncertainty to death, do you think life would seem quite so precious as it does now?

I think so. Remember, most people don't even think of their own mortality until it smacks them upside the head, either through something like a car accident or a disease like cancer. None of us really think that we can die until something happens that really puts it in perspective. Our lives are lived and valued without a second thought of our death or the death of our loved ones and friends.

And it's most people's goal to die when they are ready to do so even now; all this would do is tell them they can achieve that goal, if and when they are ready. They don't have to if they don't want to, and if they do they can do so at the time of their own choosing. They could rest assured knowing they will not fail in achieving what they want to do in life, and that their loved ones will not be taken away from them.

It provides a peace and security that I find to be an unrivaled kindness. Imagine having the total freedom to be what you want; you could even start over and pursue a different career, a different life, anything. The whole spectrum of human experience is open to you.

I don't fear death as much as I fear the unknown.

I have no clue what will happen when i die. Will I go to heaven or hell? Will everything just go black? Or White? Orange?

as long as i don't spend an eternity seeing nothing but puce i'm fine. But i am afraid.

Mostly i fear the thought of forever. It's just to vast for me to comprehend, thus it is unknown to me so i fear it.

I fear this wallpaper.

Just because we cure death by old age doesn't mean our growth rate will increase, for instance, I'm sure there will be plenty of reasons out there for human beings to kill other human beings.

Depends, what wallpaper?

Fear is an irrational attitude toward the inescapable. I would like to be able to prevent myself from dying, but unless that becomes a realistic possibility, there's no point in worrying about it.

Ataraxia...that's my own position as well. I don't worry about it because if it happens, there wasn't a thing I could do about it. I believe it won't happen to me, but if it does, that's that.

I can't really fear something I don't know anything about.

I don't fear death per se, but I want my death to be somewhat peaceful.

Strangely enough, death doesn't bother me even the slightest bit. When I think about it, it doesn't move me emotionally; when I see it around me, I grieve for the living rather then the dead; and the fact that death doesn't bother me is more troublesome then death itself. No matter what happens, I'm fine with it - if there is nothing, then there is no reason to fear it. If there is an after afterlife, any God sensible enough to create us is merciful enough to save us. If there is a rebirth, there is hope that my next life will be better then this one... I'm comfortably agnostic about the whole thing.

Really, as miserable and painful as life is at times, it is the best thing you will ever experience. For better or for worse, our final coup de grâce is something to look forward to.

I think so. Remember, most people don't even think of their own mortality until it smacks them upside the head, either through something like a car accident or a disease like cancer. None of us really think that we can die until something happens that really puts it in perspective. Our lives are lived and valued without a second thought of our death or the death of our loved ones and friends.

And it's most people's goal to die when they are ready to do so even now; all this would do is tell them they can achieve that goal, if and when they are ready. They don't have to if they don't want to, and if they do they can do so at the time of their own choosing. They could rest assured knowing they will not fail in achieving what they want to do in life, and that their loved ones will not be taken away from them.

It provides a peace and security that I find to be an unrivaled kindness. Imagine having the total freedom to be what you want; you could even start over and pursue a different career, a different life, anything. The whole spectrum of human experience is open to you.

You're right. Often people don't do anything with their lives until something happens to remind them of death, often the sudden "irrational" death of someone close. Remove that, and what's going to motivate people to go out and experience life? The promise that they have all the time they want? Unlikely.

It's a very common deep, dark fear.

:)

It's a very common deep, dark fear.

I know, I was only joking.

You're right. Often people don't do anything with their lives until something happens to remind them of death, often the sudden "irrational" death of someone close. Remove that, and what's going to motivate people to go out and experience life? The promise that they have all the time they want? Unlikely.

But the thing is, it's not really going to go away. Natural disasters, accidents, crime, war...they'd all remain and would sadly still kill many people. People would still die of some diseases because they couldn't get treatment in time, and some people would choose not to halt their aging or their involuntary death. It would be cruel to force someone to undergo these treatments if they don't want them.

An end to death from aging/disease still retains the risks and dangers that make life exciting; that's the main point I'm trying to make.

For a lot of people, more time would be a very good thing. Just look at how rushed our society is and all the stress it produces, often at the cost of pursuing hobbies, interests, cultural activities, and social relationships. If we thought of ourselves and our lives on a 300-year or 1,000-year or whatever timescale, imagine how different our society might be. A more relaxed world could be a very good one for all of us.

Yes and no. I lack the faith that there's something on the other side (not that I don't believe, I just am not certain). I fear non-existence sometimes, other times I realise how silly it is to fear non- existence.

I guess that makes me ambivalent.

I have no fear of dying, or even dying painfully unless its drawn out over days or weeks. What I do fear is to die a pointless death. But I got something good to die for, which makes it beautiful to live.

What was that level setting again?

I am Death Incarnate!

Anyway, it'd be a pity now since I feel I have unfinished business and a life ahead of me.

But should the inevitable occur - hey, we're all gonna die, sooner or later. I just hope I don't end up with a Darwin's.

Death fears ME! :D

On a somewhat more serious note, I'm not sure if 'fear' s the right word. I certainly don't want to die. I'm not done here. I haven't had my fill of tacos yet. :) I would certainly like to avoid death, but I don't fear death enough to let it interfere with how I live my life.

For example: I wear my seatbelt when I drive, but I also scuba dive, fly in a single-engine airplane and am looking forward to an opportunity to go skydiving again. *nod* :)In Russia if you no fear death, death no fear you.

Well, do you?

And does your belief/disbelief in an afterlife contribute to this?

I just don't think about it.

I suppose I fear the process of death more than death itself. Aging is not pretty, and the end stage of life tends to be very undignified. I guess I fear not being self sufficient. I dont want to be a burden on my family. It would be nice to be functional right up to the day I die. I fear age related disease, and loss of psychological function. The concept of not knowing my wife, or where I am really bothers me. Death is the easy part.

It's everything that generally comes before it if you live to old age that bothers me.

Strangely enough, death doesn't bother me even the slightest bit. When I think about it, it doesn't move me emotionally; when I see it around me, I grieve for the living rather then the dead; and the fact that death doesn't bother me is more troublesome then death itself. No matter what happens, I'm fine with it - if there is nothing, then there is no reason to fear it. If there is an after afterlife, any God sensible enough to create us is merciful enough to save us. If there is a rebirth, there is hope that my next life will be better then this one... I'm comfortably agnostic about the whole thing.

Really, as miserable and painful as life is at times, it is the best thing you will ever experience. For better or for worse, our final coup de grâce is something to look forward to.

Very well said....summed up my thoughts precisely. :)

Well, do you?

I fear dying... but not being dead.

What? Are you quoting Davy Jones?
Well acually yes. Sure I belive in an after-life but who knows which one it will be? Nyuck, Nyuck.
My theory is death is a great mystery. A tremendous mystery and the unknow scares-the-hell out of anyone, especially an unknown like death.

Well, do you?

And does your belief/disbelief in an afterlife contribute to this?

Man I f*ed up the poll. I pressed Yes/Afterlife thinking it was Yes I believe in an afterlife, when I actually meant No, I do not fear death, but yes, I believe in an afterlife. Oh well.