Thanatophobia

Thanatophobia, the fear of death, plagues the average person.  Being the fourth most common fear in the world, this phobia is a significant factor in how a person lives day to day.  Many schools of thought argue over the validity of the fear of death.  Some think death should be feared, some believe in the Epicurean thought that death is meaningless, and others find peace in the middle ground.  Unfortunately, nobody knows for certain what happens after death so the answer to the question of whether or not death should be feared ultimately cannot be answered with 100% accuracy.  However, using logic and philosophy we can try to draw conclusions based on the world around us and give us a general idea of what death holds for us all.  An essay done by David San Filippo in January 2006 called “Perspectives on the Fears of Death & Dying” dives into why people fear death which could help decide whether or not the fear of death is rational or faulty.

Filippo breaks the fear of death down into three groups: people fear death because they do not know what happens after death, people fear not existing, and people fear the loneliness and pain that could come with dying.  Filippo writes that the “transformation from life to death also can be frightening due to the unknown nature of what happens after death.”  There are infinite possibilities of what could happen after death and we will never know.  Reasonably, it makes sense that the mind takes into consideration the bad possibilities of the post life.  Furthermore, the average person cannot imagine themselves not being alive.  The rabbit holes that the mind falls into when thinking of their own passing is frightening.  One of which is the idea of meaning, or value.  Of all the things the human brain can imagine of life after its demise, most of them partake in a world where the person imagining life after their death left no lasting impact on the world.  Due to this, one could find that their life may have no meaning.  All of this is extremely frightening for the average person.  Filippo wrote that when considering their death, “she or he may feel that she or he has not accomplished enough to reflect a purpose and value for having lived”.  Lastly, many shutter at the idea of a slow, painful death without any loved ones there.  Filippo discusses a symbol of this fear: the modern hospital.  Although modern medicine mostly helps the world, it can also inflict lots of pain.  Filippo describes a situation of a person on their deathbed.  The old, frail person knocking on death’s doorstep has their painful existence prolonged while isolated from the world around them, and most importantly their loved ones.  

The idea of death has intrigued so many philosophers, including the famous Epicurus.  Epicurus has many thoughts about death, and I think that they could help solve the issues of modern thanatophobia.  One of Epicurus’ many arguments that helps to console those with the fear of death is known as the Population Argument.  Epicurus believes that the young and the old are in an intergenerational relationship of sorts, where the young are only born because the old die and leave the young the resources needed to live.  This argument is in the context of the fact that there is only so much food and space for humans, and that many fear that they will die without having meaning in their lives.  So, this argument gives everyone’s life a meaning: everyone must die so the new generation is born.  By giving people inherent meaning, I think this argument helps relieve people from a major part of the fear of death.  This is just one of many Epicurean arguments and I believe that rational thoughts like these are the key to ending the widespread fear of death of our society.

A major fear of our world is that of an unavoidable end for every life.  It only seems fair that we should be able to come to terms with the fear of death, so we can live our lives to the fullest.  I believe that in response to the inevitable end in the future, we should look to the past and appreciate ideas of great minds like Epicurus and in that way we can be happy.  Think about it.