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Fear of death is irrational

dopaminedump

dopaminedump

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 20, 2012
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It happens to literally everyone at one time or another. Its going to happen but everyone is infaturated with the idea. It is very sad and emotional when it happens to a loved one. But to be concerned with your own mortality is ridiculous and selfish. Okay maybe not selfish but dumb.

Everyone is born on a certain date and time, but what about the 14 billion* years before your existance? Did you give a shit about anything? Do you remember anything? My guess is no. You came into existance with a sense of entitlement. What I mean by that is you think your life is more important than every other form of existance.

If you went through 14 billion years of existance w/o conscious or memory then why does the "end" scare anyone?

I'm certainly scared of pain but not death.
 
A lot of people just don't know death, they only know what they have been taught about death by their culture. In western culture it seems like people just don't talk about death, not really anyway. They live their lives blissfully innocent of it, until it is happening to them and it's very hard to deal with.

It was my near death experiences that helped me gravitate to Buddhism, and it was Buddhism that taught me it's not death people are afraid of, it's that they do not embrace impermanence. They become attached and as the thing they are attached to begins to go away as all things eventually do, they cannot let go. This is the root of suffering. Attachment to life is no different.

Impermanence is supposed to teach you compassion for all living beings and to cherish the present moment, because every moment leaves forever. No point in grasping, but just try to really see its essence while it's still there.
 
I would like to become aware and sure about reincarnation. That would be my goal in life.
Losing my parents and leaving my body wouldn't be a problem, then.
I would accept death. Now I don't accept that because Western culture imposed me to think that death is the absolute void/end.
I'm wondering if an induced NDE can help me with this.
 
I wouldnt say its irrational. People care about their lives. Not everyone lives an existentialist life.
 
hawaii, I think dissociation in general does. I don't think you can ever be sure of anything, though - unless you mean this in a religious, faith-based sense (which IMO is like self-delusion, but anyway) - if you try to experience an NDE with the intent to verify reincarnation then something may happen to confirm this to yourself (a fallacious bias), in which case you've got your goal - but I think the general idea is to experience the in-between of life, so death doesn't come as a surprise.
 
We all die, I know this, but it doesn't mean I'm comfortable with that fact.
Death is scary, to be scared of the unknown isn't irrational, if anything its rational to the highest degree.
knowledge is power, we have no knowledge of death, so we have no power. We have to live knowing one day everything is going to end. That's scary man.

To say as humans we are infatuated with death, is a bit far fetched. Yes, we do hold death in high regard and bat the idea of death around constantly, but that certainly doesn't mean we're infatuated.

By the same merit, people who are scared of the dark are irrational.
But you wouldn't think they were so irrational when one day someone jumped out and knifed them.
 
Hear Me Roar said:
But you wouldn't think they were so irrational when one day someone jumped out and knifed them.
Click to expand...

There's a big difference between being afraid of death whilst being attacked and being afraid of death when no threat is present.

You can't rationalize fear because it's not a product of rational thought. It's automatic, instinctual.
 
Fear of death has an evolutionary, biological use that is rational in that context. Namely, one can't reproduce and spread genes/continue species or act in altruistic manner to support ones species if they are dead. So organisms without a fear of death would of been very strongly selected against.
 
MrGrunge said:
You can't rationalize fear because it's not a product of rational thought. It's automatic, instinctual.
Click to expand...
Emotions can be rationalized, as can fear.
A fear of heights is instinctual, a fear of fire is instinctual...
The whole pretense of someone, 'jumping' out of the, 'dark' and 'knifing' you, is rational in itself.
You can easily logically sum up why such fears exist.


I agree some fear is instinctual. Evolutionary we have grown up with these instincts to protect us from certain things.
i.e getting burnt
 
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There should be some clarity between Thanatophobia (a generalized fear of death or non-existence) and fear of death while being directly threatened. The OP seems to be describing a fear more existential in nature than "If I am being threatened I am afraid of dying".

Hear Me Roar said:
Emotions can be rationalized.
A fear of heights is instinctual, a fear of fire is instinctual...
a fear of someone jumping out of the dark and knifing you is rationalized.
Click to expand...

Instincts are not a products of rational thought. They can be explained in context (IE, evolutionary reactions to certain stimuli) but when we experience fear we do not engage in rational discourse with ourselves, we just experience the emotion. Your fear of clowns for example: what is intrinsically scary about clown make-up and big feet? Neither are threatening features and you have no reason to believe that the clowns will harm you, yet the fear exists. Why? Have you ever seen examples of clowns harming people in your life (not just on TV or the movies)? Do you have any reason to believe a clown could or would harm you? They can be "creepy" insofar that they're strange-looking, but reality is that clowns are benign (unless you're John Wayne Gacy, I suppose, but there's no logical basis to conclude that all clowns are serial killers so he doesn't count).

Humans are innately irrational. The ability to form rational thought is an extremely recent addition to the evolutionary timeline, so there are still quite a few kinks in the human psychology. Instinct is not rational. It can be rationalized, but instinct itself isn't rational.

I should also clarify, given my academic background in psychology, I'm using the definition of "A rational decision is one that is not just reasoned, but is also optimal for achieving a goal or solving a problem". Wikipedia has just informed me that it's use in a Philosophical context is a bit different, being "rationality is the characteristic of any action, belief, or desire, that makes their choice a necessity". I still don't think a generalized fear of death is useful or necessary in any way, but I suppose it COULD be rational in the latter definition of the word.
 
I'm not scared to die-- in fact, I'm excited to see what happens. I've experienced mushrooms, mescaline, and salvia, and all have taught me to be optimistic and curious about death. I'm a Buddhist, but I don't believe in reincarnation as a physical "coming back," but a continuous renewal of consciousness that probably never ends.

If death came to me in the next minute, I'd embrace it the best I could.
 
Maybe irrational wasn't the right word to describe this topic. I think someone said this, but I'm too lazy to read this post again, and a better word would be uncomfortable about death. I'm very open about death I love thining about the possibilities that lie past it. It's a ceetain percent of people that just put it off and never want to think or discuss this issue. My girlfriend is diagnosed with OCD and a lot of her "obsessive" part of the disorder is death. Man if I bring death up or the philosophy of death on accident she will get so fucking pissed at me and have an anxiety attack.
 
Fear of anything is irrational, if you ponder long enough.

This is how Vietnamese buddhists can set themselves ablaze and not show any physical signs of discomfort.


Personally I don't care about death, I just don't want to be alone. I'm alone most of the time so it is what it is.
 
Thou said:
Fear of anything is irrational, if you ponder long enough. This is how Vietnamese buddhists can set themselves ablaze and not show any physical signs of discomfort.QUOTE]

Off this topic but this made me think of the "Occupy" movement where a bunch of Liberals came up with the laziest way to protest. One of them needs to go to wallstreet and set themselves on fire. Thats a fucking protest my friend.
Click to expand...
 
Changed said:
I'm not scared to die-- in fact, I'm excited to see what happens. I've experienced mushrooms, mescaline, and salvia, and all have taught me to be optimistic and curious about death. I'm a Buddhist, but I don't believe in reincarnation as a physical "coming back," but a continuous renewal of consciousness that probably never ends.

If death came to me in the next minute, I'd embrace it the best I could.
Click to expand...

It might be only you who is there to embrace, and all the who what when where and why's that could come to mind.
 
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