(April 19, 2011 at 6:55 am)Zenith Wrote:(April 18, 2011 at 1:15 am)sacrilicious Wrote: I remember reading a comment once that stated that death is as eventful as your existence before birth. I don't want to cease to exist at this time, but I think death is the end of experience. Why fear what I can't experience?
That's not "not fearing death" but "ignoring death". Think about this: if you knew that after exactly 12 hours you would certainly die (inevitably - you cannot do anything about it), would you not fear it?
I believe that most people (90% or more) do fear death on the deathbed, whether they are atheists, deists, christians, muslims, etc. Until then, they can dream of a beautiful afterlife or just label it a "cease of existence". But, on the deathbed, most surely anything you were certain about becomes a "complete uncertainty" (and that's scary).
Anyway, I'm certain that most people, if not all, that attempt a suicide, also fear death - they're more convinced of its reality than a happy man that is in the middle of a party. Consider: why do you fear to throw yourself from the top of a high building? that you would survive?? You will not feel anything when you hit the ground! (well, if the building is high enough). If a man decides to commit suicide by throwing himself from the top of the building, but before he is ready to throw himself, you push him towards the edge, won't he fear that he would fall?? Why does he need to "be ready"?
So this "I don't fear death" I cannot believe. That's just ignoring the subject, stepping over it.
All of this fear is about pain and uncertainty on this side of death if you don't believe in existence after death . When I can no longer experience things, my definition of being dead, there is nothing to fear. There is nothing to fear with. You are dead. It is pretty simple really. I didn't come up with these views by ignoring the subject of death but by coming to the conclusion that I haven't a soul or any form of consciousness that will carry on after my body dies. Now just because I do or don't believe something doesn't make it true or false. It doesn't mean I won't change my mind later and spend all my days worried about the hereafter. Right now, I see humans as electro-chemical robots in a hydraulic body. One day the machine just stops working. Fear is an evolutionary tool to keep us alive. I do fear a painful form of dying, I do fear and avoid the things that can lead to me dying. I believe that once my brain and body stops functioning, fear is impossible. I would essentially be wasting time I could spend on living by spending time fearing a time I can't experience fear. As far as the 12 hrs left to live scenario, I wouldn't fear it, I just wouldn't like it. Pushing a man towards a precipice is taking his control away, another type of fear. I also never said humans were rational. I seen tons of videos of people committing suicide with no fear on there face while others scream as they plummet to the ground. As far as "being ready" to end one's life, well they are still undecided until they are air born.
