Life: ongoing resolution of fear of dying

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the concept of fear of dying and its relationship to life experiences, emotions, and societal perceptions. Participants explore various perspectives on how fear of death influences behavior, attitudes toward life, and the notion of peace or acceptance in the face of mortality.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that life is an ongoing resolution of fear of dying, with varying emotional responses influencing how individuals approach death.
  • Others share personal experiences where death is viewed as a relief from pain, indicating a complex relationship with mortality.
  • A participant questions the relevance of fear of death for those who do not fear dying, seeking to understand their place in the discussion.
  • Another viewpoint critiques the framing of life as a horror movie, suggesting that rational views on life and death can disenfranchise individuals.
  • Some argue that ignoring fear may lead to a disregard for danger, while others contend that bravery should not be idealized in the context of everyday risks.
  • A distinction is made between the fear of dying and the fear of death, with some asserting that the latter is an unnecessary fear since death is inevitable.
  • Participants express that fear is a natural response, with some fears being healthy and necessary for survival, while others may be learned and can be controlled.
  • There is a discussion about how societal views on death can shape individual fears and attitudes, with some viewing death as a reflection of one's life rather than a shameful end.
  • Several participants express a lack of fear of death, emphasizing a love for life and a desire to live fully despite the risks involved.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the fear of death, with no clear consensus on whether it is a natural, learned, or unnecessary fear. Some agree on the importance of distinguishing between different types of fear, while others present competing perspectives on how fear influences life choices.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight the complexity of emotions surrounding death, including the interplay between fear, acceptance, and societal perceptions. There are unresolved distinctions between the fear of dying and the fear of death, as well as varying interpretations of bravery and risk-taking in life.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to individuals exploring existential themes, psychological responses to mortality, and the philosophical implications of life and death.

Loren Booda
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Life seems to me to be the ongoing resolution of fear of dying. Either we feel carefree peace of "Heaven," or unconsciously strive for it through attempting to settle our anxieties.

When a person approaches death, often he experiences a calming, or otherwise attempts to reconcile his life "flashing before (his) eyes." Those who feel unsettled toward death I surmise would be less inclined to die; those who feel Nirvana would be more inclined to meet it.

Some people live a life blessed with peace, others have walked through an earthly Hell through no fault of their own. Whether or not one survives in this world to avoid death, or seeks peace in a Heaven on Earth, we are reconciling toward an unknown day and in an unknown place our certain death.
 
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Some people are in so much pain that death comes as a relief and a release. I have been close to that feeling.
 
What if you aren't afraid to die? Where do I fit into your idea?
 
Life: ongoing resolution of fear of dying

I guess that's one way to describe life, but it sounds a bit like a low budget horror movie. Sometimes I laugh at such movies, other times I walk out and ignore them, and still other times I watch them in macabe fascination of the droll and insipid. Usually though, I just don't watch horror movies.

Today horror movies have once again found a niche for themselves as thinly disguised social commentary especially poinent to the younger crowd who feel unheard and disenfranchized. That is the essential problem, imo, with rational views of life and death. They disenfranchize all of us in one way or another.

Catch 22, damned if you do and damned if you don't. Reject nirvana and you get to live a bit longer, accept nirvana and you die. Better to just ignore such horror movies imo, or accept them for what they represent. Life is a gift no one gave me as far as I am concerned, and, thus, a gift that comes without strings attached. I can give it back or pass it on whenever the inspiration strikes (I have two children, so the inspiration has struck more than once.) :0)
 
Zero
What if you aren't afraid to die? Where do I fit into your idea?
You would, IMO, be more likely to ignore danger and survival, and risk death, which would not concern you much anyway in such a situation.

wuliheron, ignore or accept? A simple formula. If we ignore fear, do we risk not only death but ignoring bravery as well?
 
ignore or accept? A simple formula. If we ignore fear, do we risk not only death but ignoring bravery as well?

Is bravery to be placed on a pedistal? That is whole nother discussion. As for risking death, we do so every day. Some do it casually while others are very self-conscious about the act. Personally, I've risked death countless times and people have quite sensibly told me the best thing to do was to ignore the possibility.

A huge percentage of the population dies deficating on the toilet. It takes a fair amount of energy just to take a dump. Does that mean we should consider ourselves brave for going to the bathroom? I think not.

Ours is demonstrably a universe of change and irresistable forces. Life and death go together like peas in a pod. If you fear death you fear nature and life itself.
 
Originally posted by Loren Booda
ZeroYou would, IMO, be more likely to ignore danger and survival, and risk death, which would not concern you much anyway in such a situation.


Does loving life not count for anything?
 
Fear is a natural response that humans have in order to keep itself alive. Man is born with certain fears like fear of falling. Other fears, such as fear of death. Is a learned fear. Perhaps learned only because we learn that we will die. With any fear there is a possibility of control and peace. I believe all fears can be overcome. Some fears should not be however. The fear of being shot in the head should still instill a person to run away from a madman with a gun. The fear of death isn't based on unresolved issues or even unresolved goals. The only time when someone feels it is time to die is when life makes them fear more than death. Life and its uncertainties can cause a greater fear than that of the uncertainties of death. Thus, suicide, peace before death.

Also it is important to separate fears for what they are. The healthy fears, like the one about the bullet I mentioned, should stay but be used under control. Fear of dying is important to keep yourself alive however fear of DEATH (not the actual dying) is absurd. You cannot stop death (although there are scientist right now trying to ) If you cannot prevent something from happening, you cannot do anything about it, thus creating un uneeded fear. Again the fear of DYING and the fear of DEATH are two different things. You can prevent yourself from dying at certain times, but you cannot prevent yourself from dying sometime.
 
wuliheron
A huge percentage of the population dies deficating on the toilet. It takes a fair
amount of energy just to take a dump. Does that mean we should consider
ourselves brave for going to the bathroom? I think not.
Some see such a situation as a shameful or cowardly death; others realize that for each of us death reflects one's entire life humbly, in fear or not, more than with humiliation.
 
  • #10
Zero
Does loving life not count for anything?
Does not parents fear for their children out of love?
 
  • #11
It is innate within us, naturally, to have a fear of death. Even if we are not conscious of that fear, it exists. It is a product of our evolution (or - so as not to bother anyone - a product of our intelligent design), without which no species could last.
 
  • #12
I think I am onm a similar level to Zero. I do not fear death (at least not consciously), but I love being alive. Thats why my primary life goal at the moment is to find a way to live forever, but at the same time I do things which many people consider to be dancing with death (Sky diving, white water kayaking, etc)

I like life enough that I am not going to let fear get in the way of living it.
 
  • #13
me as well Another God. i have no fear of the big dirt nap; i am not rightly in a hurry to get there but, i don't let it hold me back from enjoying life either.
 

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