Does Socrates' final words on death help you?

[Ambivalent1]

"To fear death is nothing other than to think oneself wise when one is not; for it is to think one knows what one does not know. No man knows whether death may not even turn out to be the greatest blessing for a human being; and yet people fear it as if they knew for certain that is is the greatest of evil.

Either it is a state of nothingness and utter unconsciousness, or, as some people say, it is merely a migration from this world to another."

it kinda helps me I guess.

 

[Forever Sleep]

Hmm, it's an interesting quote but- surely it's natural to fear the unknown. It may not exactly be wise- it's certainly more pessimistic to fear- because we're fearing the worst. I guess fear tends to put us on the alert. If animals weren't fearful and cautious- they'd get eaten. I suppose the problem with death and what might happen afterwards is- it's WAY more powerful than us- whatever it is. So- I suppose being fearful isn't going to help us on the run up to it (it's coming- whether we want it to or not) or- afterwards. If we can even feel emotion at that point- fear likely won't help us to fight or flight it- we're just going to have to face whatever it is. Acceptance would be far better than fear.

Still- we're not just fearing death itself are we? We're fearing dying. Most 'normies' fear death because they don't wat to be dead! Plus- the process likely will cause fear- the body will want to hang on to life. Plus- most people fear pain. People intent on suicide fear living with more pain after a failed attempt. That seems reasonable to me. I think someone would need nerves of steel to not worry about any of that.

 

[Shivali]

Love it

 

[Pluto]

I'd seen that quote before but not the last line. I do resonate with his worldview in general. In our world of arrogance and everyone needing to 'know it all', it's refreshing wisdom our culture could use more of.

Fear of death is probably the most fundamental force in animal biology/psychology. But of course it stops making sense when we are talking about actually being dead. In that state, everything we could fear would not be applicable, since the animal instincts of the body would not survive death. And the human mind has no way of grasping what remains.

 

[HerculePoirot]

Perhaps I'm wrong but in my memory, Socrates' final words were "Crito, we owe a cock to Asclepius; pay it and don't forget."

 

[leavingsoon99]

Exactly. It's kind of misguided to fear death when you really think about it. Only western culture has turned death into a demon and an evil. Prior cultures, even the Greeks and Romans, never feared death. Sure, the parting of a loved on is sad. Sure, the unknown can be a little unsettling. However, death is a part of life. Try as you might, YOU CAN'T AVOID IT!!! It's hardcoded into the life program. This is what life-warriors and motivators seem not to understand. We die anyway. You're not going to "save" someone from the inevitable. Whether YOU think "it gets better" or whatever unfounded reason you want to give someone, they're going to die anyway. No matter what horror movie you want to attach to the unknown element of death, it's inevitable. The "well, what if it's WORSE" narrative is so pointless. Even if it is worse, you're headed for that worse... no matter what. Regardless of if one gives life another chance or takes their own life. And human consequences don't apply to death, as much as people want to do so. HUMAN CONSEQUENCES DON'T APPLY TO DEATH!!! I guess that's why this culture seems to demonize death, especially by suicide. Those who find any kind of value in this life don't want to leave it for multiple reasons. Those who don't place a high value on or share the same perspective of life DO have the right to self-terminate. We die anyway. Worrying about what happens or some type of weird consequence for doing so is nothing short of futile and nonsensical.