Is It Rational to Fear Death, Essay Example

Many people voice the concern that they are afraid that they will one day die. However, it is important to consider that death has a different meaning for different groups of people. Religious beliefs are one of the main contributors to an individual’s view of death; people who worship God and believe in an afterlife may be more likely to accept death, while those who believe that death means an end may be more afraid. Furthermore, an individual’s personality will reflect their ability to accept death as an inevitable event. Ultimately however, it is irrational to fear death because we all know that it will happen to us at one point. It is important to understand that while death is sad for those that the deceased leave behind, when the mind stops working, the person ceases to exist, and there is no reason to be fear this natural process. To prevent others from fearing death, it is essential for them to live their lives fully so that when they reach the end, they will feel comfortable knowing they have achieved all of their goals and know that it is okay for them to die.

Ultimately, we choose whether or not we are afraid of death at an early age. The beliefs of our friends and family members in addition to our early experiences mold how we feel about death. If we knew a family members who died painfully, and were themselves afraid of death, it is more likely that we would gain a similar fear of death. In philosopher A.J. Ayer’s “On freedom and necessity”, he argues that we can only hold people responsible for acts in which we are the ultimate author. Based on this definition, people who are afraid of death are afraid because of their own beliefs and are not influenced by the outside world. Specifically, Ayer says, “But if it is not an accident that I choose to do one thing rather than another, then presumably there is some causal explanation of my choice: and in that case we are led back to determinism” (Ayer 113). While there is a reason behind our choices and feels and one can ultimately are that our reactions are then indeed our doing, one can also argue that a large degree of outside influence models our ability to act and react and therefore truly influences our decisions. As such, one who is afraid death experiences this fear due to outside influences; those who are not afraid of death do not share the same kind of external experience are those who are.

The Milgrim Experiment was a series of experiments that asked the participants to obey authority figures that asked them to do things that contradicted their personal sense of morality. Stanley Milgram found that the person would almost always listen to the authority figure, which demonstrates our ability to be influenced by others. This emphasizes the belief that we learn behaviors from those who surround us and experience; typically, when we disobey our parents or other authority figures, we get into trouble. To prevent ourselves from experiencing this kind of negativity, we become molded into something that is similar to these authority figures so that we can please them. As such, we are influenced by the beliefs of “authority figures” on whether we should or should not fear death. While this blind belief is not rational, we try to justify this opinion based on the fear of negative reinforcement and punishment.

In conclusion, there is no reason to be afraid of death because it is a natural process. We fear death solely because others do and others believe we should. Those who are strong enough to reject the beliefs of the majority are truly the rational thinkers in this situation because they are not influenced by authority figures and outside views. The Milgram Experiment demonstrates the need for people to think on their own and question authority; rational thinkers are the ones who are capable of this task.

References

AJ Ayer. “On Freedom and Necessity”. n.d. Web. Nov. 19. 2013. <http://web.nmsu.edu/~jvessel/Freedom%20and%20Necessity.pdf>