Fear of Death: Rational or Irrational?

[Book O'Dead]

I might be posting this in the wrong forum and I might be out of my depth with the topic but I'd like to know what others here think about the fear of death.

Is it an irrational fear or is being afraid of dying a legitimate concern we should all have? Why?

[Ostrinski]

Hard to say. I think we fear death because we are intelligent creatures and appreciate our existence.

I, however, am not very intelligent nor do I appreciate my existence and am therefore not afraid to die.

[ColonelCossack]

If you're dead you're not around to care about being dead, are you?

I suppose from an evolutionary perspective it might be rational; animals are driven to survive to pass on their genes.

But then it could also be seen as irrational because if you're dead, you don't care. So it's quite a difficult and open-ended question really, I think.

I don't believe i'm scared of dying, but i don't think i really know because I've never been in a life-or-death situation.

[Rafiq]

Why wouldn't you fear death? When you die, you are nothingness, you cannot articulate you are dead, as you do not exist.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[Left Leanings]

I believe that this is the only life of which we can have any knowledge. And also that when we die, our consciousness, identity, memories etc, simply cease to be. You've had your lot, you might say.

Death isn't something I think about too much. But then I'm only 44. I think that as you get older, death is something peeps tend to think about more.

My mum is now a pensioner, and she maintains she hates the thought of things carrying on when she is no longer there to be part of them: grandkids getting married etc.

My great aunt wasn't religious and didn't believe in life after death, but she said once of dying (and no pun intended), that "she was frightened to death of it".

I can't relate to their sentiments yet. But then I'm still only middle-aged. I think it probably does take on more significance as one gets older...and older still.

[MarxSchmarx]

I have long ago reconciled myself to seeing death as an ultimate liberation. there is much I would still like to accomplish, and it is a regret for not being able to accomplish it that I am not particularly enthusiastic about dying, plus I enjoy the company of some people, and I think I do fear parting with them more than death per se.

No, death as such does not particularly scare me. What scares me is losing what I have. This clinging causes much suffering, but such is the way of we the living.

[Bostana]

Death is apart of Life. If you you're afraid of death, you're afraid of life.

[Nox]

It's not death that I'm afraid of, it's the effect my death will have on family/friends and the pain I could potentially go through as I die.