The question of how to come to terms with the reality of death is as old as humanity. Billions of those who lived before had pinned their hopes on the afterlife. The promise of the Promised Heaven, Valhalla, Elysium, reincarnation or even hell makes death just an inconvenience.
According to atheists, however, there is no benefit to death. It is simply the end of the only existence that can be confirmed.
Death can be frightening and carries an additional aura of fear without the benefit of an afterlife. Realizing the finality of death can be unsettling to the unbeliever. And this is one of the reasons why religious beliefs repel atheism.
Thoughts of the classics
Many philosophers who truly believed in the existence of the soul, such as Epicurus, did not believe in an afterlife. While the end of existence worried them, thoughts of death did not. Mark Twain, the famous author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, wrote in his autobiography:
That is, after death you cease to exist, so this does not bother you. There is no longer "you" who can be bothered by this fact.
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Epicurus shared this opinion, saying: “Death is nothing for us; for that which is dissolved is devoid of sensation, and that which is devoid of sensation is nothing for us. Epicurean philosophy focused on life, not death. His followers tried to distract themselves from this.
Socrates also talked about this. In Plato's Apology, Socrates suggests that he will either live after death and argue with the great heroes of Greek history, or he will cease to exist. The great philosopher agreed with Epicurus that the end of existence cannot be painful. Since man no longer exists to feel pain. Although the lack of debate on this matter probably disappointed him.
Statements of modern philosophers
This kind of skepticism about the likelihood of an afterlife can be helpful, explains Michael Shermer, American historian and founder of the Society of Skeptics, in a recent interview on the acclaimed video blog Big Think.
“So, nothingness may not be unpleasant, but I really don't want to cease to exist forever! What to do, most people don't like the idea of eternal oblivion. However, if this is still the case, then we better understand how to deal with it."
Science is quite clear on this issue. The modern view on this issue is that the death of the brain destroys consciousness forever and "nothing" occurs. So we might not be lucky.
For existentialists, especially Martin Heidegger, accepting death was a key part of the teaching. In the face of death, every choice in life becomes important. They took the end of existence as an incentive to value life even more. Existentialists propose to consciously accept the inevitable death, remember it and use it as a reason for accepting life. Such a positive view of forgetfulness is difficult to find in other teachings.
Philosopher Luc Bovens offers us a more modern perspective on the approach to death in his interview with Big Think: “What about space? The idea that the universe takes care of you after death sounds good. Can I hope so if I give up the afterlife?"
Science tries to support
The same science that supports the idea that death is the absolute end can also give us comforting words.
American physicist, comedian and author Aaron Freeman wrote a eulogy describing how death can be viewed scientifically. The physicist would praise and remind the grieving family that: “No energy is created in the universe, and none is destroyed. You want your mother to know that all your energy, every vibration, every calorie of heat, every wave of every particle that was her favorite child, remains with her in this world."
Even if we are not immortal, many of our building blocks are. Even if we die, a part of us will never die, they can affect any part of the Universe long after our death.
How are we going to live?
It's unpleasant to think about death. Our search for ways to make it easier to handle or even avoid it goes back entirely to the beginning of human history. With a denial of God and a growing number of atheists around the world, trying to help people deal with the idea of death may be more difficult than ever.
As anthropologist Ernest Becker wrote in Denial of Death, "Living fully is living with the awareness of the horror that underlies everything."
For those who do not believe in an afterlife, contemplating unvarnished death can be a great comfort. Thinking about how people have faced oblivion in the past can help all of us face it in the future. Whenever it comes, it will come.
Irina Malysheva