Scared of dying?

[Joel`]

You can climb aboard your high horse all you like. I don't need a "phd" and "research" to tell me that we won't live to be 1000 years old. It's common sense. More fool you if you believe a fringe scientist looking for attention from the scientific community.

It's still incredible how people put so much value on a few letters these days above common sense. Maybe that's why we are stuck with these "career politicians", fresh out of univeristy with their degree, no actual experience of real people and real life.

How the **** do you know we won't if you have done no research into the subject? For all you know, science could be on the verge of curing all known diseases, but your common sense would tell you that's an impossibility. Well guess what, common sense will also tell you that quantum theory is a load of nonsense, and the scientists who pioneered it would be nothing but "Fringe scientists looking for attention" yet these scientists are among the most revered in the world for their research, and the effects of their ridiculous quantum theory impacts your daily life more than your 'superior' common sense would allow you to imagine.

Ignorance is bliss.

---------- Post added at 02:13 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:11 AM ----------

Debating evolution? Seriously? El-oh-el.

I'm only arguing what you'll find in any half decent science textbook, it's not the most difficult of concepts, hence the point of the wiki article. I'm arguing on the basis that everyone has evolutionary instincts to survive, which exact themselves through the need of self-preservation, which exerts itself through fear. So yes, you are debating evolution.

Would you like to argue on the existence of gravity as well?

 

[Athe~]

I'm only arguing what you'll find in any half decent science textbook, it's not the most difficult of concepts.

Would you like to argue on the existence of gravity as well?

No, you're not. I'm not debating the existance of self-preservation, but your association of it with the notion of 'fear of death'. Wanting to live doesn't equal fearing death.

 

[Ride The Walrus]

Humans are the only species that is aware that they'll one day die. Because of this I think most people are fearful of it, and almost too scared to do things. After all, all most people do is; education, job, family. There is more to life than these, most people don't live life to the full. After all life is such a delicate balance.

 

[sammyt]

i've only spoilered what i've said to help seperate my points and to make the post shorter and appear less like a giant wall of text, unfortunately it's still rather long although i blame the fact i was a philosophy student and as such just have too many thoughts on the subject.

Death by falling off something high might be fun.

Spoiler

I doubt death from falling off something high would be fun as you’d see it coming and have time to think about stuff you wished you’d done.

Every sane person is afraid of death, it's one of the few things that are unimaginable outside of our consciousness, which is a scary thought.

Spoiler

I guess that would make me insane as I can safely say that I’m not scared of death. I wouldn’t go as far as GodCubed and say I was excited by it but it definitely intrigues me and is something that I would like to experience. I guess I believe that my time will come and when it does there will be nothing I can do about it. At the end of the day we’re all going to die sooner or later and whilst we may have a few close shaves along the way where we manage to avoid it, death will catch up with us all when the time is right and there will be no way of avoiding it.

I'm probably going to regret this but here goes.



How do we know if we've actually died before anyway? You know...past life and all that. And how do we know we haven't had a past life BEFORE that one? Or if we're actually alive now?

Spoiler

Personally I doubt this however I can see why some people would believe it as if you don’t remember having a previous life then there is no way of proving you’ve not had one.

What if all this...is actually just some weird dream that we're living out?

Spoiler

I don’t really want to be using a movie for proof as everyone knows they aren’t real but, like it says in Inception,

You can never remember the start of a dream when you’re in it and can anyone honestly say they remember the moment they were born? Theoretically that could be our way of covering up the fact it’s all one weird dream.

Self-preservation =/= fearing death.

I agree.

Self-preservation = what ever is best for you. Sometimes(always) is better to be dead, than to see one you love death.

Spoiler

I don’t want to sound cold hearted here or offend anyone as It’s not my personal view but couldn’t that be seen as selfish? I mean you’re sacrificing yourself for someone else which whilst it is a very noble thing to do, means that you don’t have to feel the pain of the loss of that person however you’re forcing a lot of people to feel the pain of losing you.

I'm only arguing what you'll find in any half decent science textbook, it's not the most difficult of concepts, hence the point of the wiki article. I'm arguing on the basis that everyone has evolutionaryinstincts to survive, which exact themselves through the need of self-preservation, which exerts itself through fear. So yes, you are debating evolution.



Would you like to argue on the existence of gravity as well?

Spoiler

I can see what you’re saying about having evolutionary instincts to survive but I’m not convinced you are actually arguing over evolution because IF we’ve evolved (which personally I wouldn’t dispute although others would) then surely we’ve not reached our evolutionary peak. To use basic Darwin against you giraffes have long necks because it is beneficial to them and we have self-preservation because it’s beneficial to us. However this doesn’t necessarily mean that every single one out of approximately 7 billion people are afraid of death as they are totally different things. Personally I would jump out of the way of a car if it was speeding straight towards me but I wouldn’t say that means I’m scared of death. I know that when it’s my time it’s my time and there’s nothing I’ll be able to do about it and in that instance it clearly isn’t my time to die as I can easily get out of the way of it. But by the same token I wouldn’t panic if I tripped and knew I wouldn’t be able to get out of the way of it.

Humans are the only species that is aware that they'll one day die. Because of this I think most people are fearful of it, and almost too scared to do things. After all, all most people do is; education, job, family. There is more to life than these, most people don't live life to the full. After all life is such a delicate balance.

Spoiler

As you say we’re the only species that is aware we’ll one day die although I don’t agree that means everyone is scared of it. Yes we don’t live life to the full and most people settle for the basics of life that you mentioned but can you seriously tell me that someone who does motor racing is afraid of dying every time they enter a race. If you look at the news over the past couple of weeks, especially Dan Wheldon’s death, you’ll realise that a lot of the racers aren’t scared, they no it’s a possibility and have publicly said they wouldn’t ever have got in the cars if they were scared.

Spoiler

On a separate note no one knows what happens after death because we can’t ever come back to tell people what it’s like in a similar way to how a dragonfly can’t go back to tell the nymphs what It’s like after it’s metamorphosised. For all we know it could be nothingness as has been suggested or it could be something far greater then our life on earth. And to steal an idea from Sophie’s World for all we know we could still walk the earth; not able to communicate with those that are still alive, in a state where we are more real then ever and able to walk through anything solid in the same way we can currently walk through mist.

Spoiler

And to leave you all on a nice thought from Descartes before debating death how do we knwo the world is real? Cogito ergo sum (i think therefore i am) although that doesn't explain how i know whether all of you are real and that i haven't imagined/thought this whole thread and forum and world.

 

[Danyul]

I'm an athiest. I'd like to believe there is some kind of afterlife or reincarnation or something but there's no point thinking about it as we'll never consiously know. The only reason i'd think such a thing is because of not wanting to accept 'nothingness'.

But death is something I don't worry about as i'd hope it's a long way off and so i'm too busy thinking about living.

 

[Billy]

I think I'm scared of being forgotten.

 

[BeadSTARR]

Dont worry mate, your not the only one. I didnt like talking about getting old because I know its getting closer to the one thing im scared of the most. Im not scared of most things, but this is something im scared of.

When I was younger, I didnt like going to sleep because I got so worried about it. I then grew out of it, then the same feeling come back to me when I turned 19 and I actually dread my birthday because it reminds me im getting older. Im 20 now and 21 in Jan.

Ive been able to talk about it abit more freely lately, talking about getting old I mean. My girlfriend talks about it alot, going on about growing old togethor and stuff, and i've been able to talk about it a little bit. Usually I just say, aye .. dont say that word! Lol.

Try speaking to your parents about it, they will help you out. I know its difficult to talk to parents about stuff, but they are really helpful. They helped me get through it and will do again.

The best thing to do is live each day as it comes, I dont plan drastically into the future, as it sends me to worrying, but youll start to feel alot better than you can actually start to think of the future.

As the saying goes .. Your not alone.

 

[Vanjagl]

Spoiler

i've only spoilered what i've said to help seperate my points and to make the post shorter and appear less like a giant wall of text, unfortunately it's still rather long although i blame the fact i was a philosophy student and as such just have too many thoughts on the subject.

Spoiler

I doubt death from falling off something high would be fun as you’d see it coming and have time to think about stuff you wished you’d done.

Spoiler

I guess that would make me insane as I can safely say that I’m not scared of death. I wouldn’t go as far as GodCubed and say I was excited by it but it definitely intrigues me and is something that I would like to experience. I guess I believe that my time will come and when it does there will be nothing I can do about it. At the end of the day we’re all going to die sooner or later and whilst we may have a few close shaves along the way where we manage to avoid it, death will catch up with us all when the time is right and there will be no way of avoiding it.

Spoiler

Personally I doubt this however I can see why some people would believe it as if you don’t remember having a previous life then there is no way of proving you’ve not had one.

Spoiler

I don’t really want to be using a movie for proof as everyone knows they aren’t real but, like it says in Inception,

You can never remember the start of a dream when you’re in it and can anyone honestly say they remember the moment they were born? Theoretically that could be our way of covering up the fact it’s all one weird dream.

Spoiler

I don’t want to sound cold hearted here or offend anyone as It’s not my personal view but couldn’t that be seen as selfish? I mean you’re sacrificing yourself for someone else which whilst it is a very noble thing to do, means that you don’t have to feel the pain of the loss of that person however you’re forcing a lot of people to feel the pain of losing you.

Spoiler

I can see what you’re saying about having evolutionary instincts to survive but I’m not convinced you are actually arguing over evolution because IF we’ve evolved (which personally I wouldn’t dispute although others would) then surely we’ve not reached our evolutionary peak. To use basic Darwin against you giraffes have long necks because it is beneficial to them and we have self-preservation because it’s beneficial to us. However this doesn’t necessarily mean that every single one out of approximately 7 billion people are afraid of death as they are totally different things. Personally I would jump out of the way of a car if it was speeding straight towards me but I wouldn’t say that means I’m scared of death. I know that when it’s my time it’s my time and there’s nothing I’ll be able to do about it and in that instance it clearly isn’t my time to die as I can easily get out of the way of it. But by the same token I wouldn’t panic if I tripped and knew I wouldn’t be able to get out of the way of it.

Spoiler

As you say we’re the only species that is aware we’ll one day die although I don’t agree that means everyone is scared of it. Yes we don’t live life to the full and most people settle for the basics of life that you mentioned but can you seriously tell me that someone who does motor racing is afraid of dying every time they enter a race. If you look at the news over the past couple of weeks, especially Dan Wheldon’s death, you’ll realise that a lot of the racers aren’t scared, they no it’s a possibility and have publicly said they wouldn’t ever have got in the cars if they were scared.

Spoiler

On a separate note no one knows what happens after death because we can’t ever come back to tell people what it’s like in a similar way to how a dragonfly can’t go back to tell the nymphs what It’s like after it’s metamorphosised. For all we know it could be nothingness as has been suggested or it could be something far greater then our life on earth. And to steal an idea from Sophie’s World for all we know we could still walk the earth; not able to communicate with those that are still alive, in a state where we are more real then ever and able to walk through anything solid in the same way we can currently walk through mist.

Spoiler

And to leave you all on a nice thought from Descartes before debating death how do we knwo the world is real? Cogito ergo sum (i think therefore i am) although that doesn't explain how i know whether all of you are real and that i haven't imagined/thought this whole thread and forum and world.

@Joel', we agree.
As for you bud, everything we do is act of selfishness. Even if you save someone else rather than you, you would do it to feel better or something else. Not saying its the main reason, but in every act there's little selfishness.

 

[Sam]

For the record, I hope you all die painfully.

 

[Average Joe]

[video=youtube;XUFfeTjuPeg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUFfeTjuPeg[/video]


This should cheer everyone up!

 

[Chaz Sexington]

The propagating biochemical reaction called "life" ends. That's about it. Like a volcano eventually dies, so will your biochemical reaction. However, your biochemical constituents will be trying to get you to propagate your biochemical reaction by mixing it with another biochemical reaction.

 

[Joel`]

No, you're not. I'm not debating the existance of self-preservation, but your association of it with the notion of 'fear of death'. Wanting to live doesn't equal fearing death.

Self-preservation evokes the emotion of fear to tell you to avoid that danger. In the the same way you feel pain when you burn yourself, to tell yourself to stop touching whatever is burning you. You don't think about moving your way hand away, it's an automated response to pain. In the same way swerving out of the way of a lorry veering towards you on the road is an automated response. If you didn't fear these things, you would have no automated response to such thing - you would have to go through the thought process of considering the danger of an accident, considering the reaction THEN swerving out of the way. That process takes up valuable time which could well kill you. So yes, at some level - we all fear death through our natural instincts, it's a built in process to allow us to survive. I fail to see what's so difficult to understand about the concept.

 

[Ride The Walrus]

For the record, I hope you all die painfully.

You have the humour of a dead pigeon.
And like a dead pigeon, I doubt anyone will ever want to touch you.

 

[BeadSTARR]

For the record, I hope you all die painfully.

Did you actaully think that would get you a laugh? Joking or not, thats not something you say to people.

 

[Fish Hunter]

I was once close to fall over a cliff in Tignes, France. Me and 2 other guys found us a nice route with untouched snow to ski on in the ungroomed. I drove close to the cliff to see if it was possible to get down from there (We couldn't see if we could go down there or if it was a vertical drop.) I could see that the only way down from that place, was falling, so I decided to go back up ouf course. I took my skis off and as I took my ski off, 1 of the skis slipped down over the cliff and I slid as well trying to grab the ski. It has been thawing and the snow was then frozen again that's why I slid. When I were 2 meters away from the drop I hacked my ski down into the snow and luckily stopped. I was ******* scared of dying and it makes my hands shake a little when I write this, because I could be dead.

Everyone is scared of dying. If a guy turned his pistol toward your head, you know you would die instantly, without feeling pain. But you would be scared because you still wan't to live. It's an instinct. I don't believe in you guys, saying that you aren't scared because you never been in a situation, where you could have been killed. Your brain reacts with fear I ******* tell you!

 

[Dunc]

Everyone is scared of dying. If a guy turned his pistol toward your head, you know you would die instantly, without feeling pain. But you would be scared because you still wan't to live. It's an instinct. I don't believe in you guys, saying that you aren't scared because you never been in a situation, where you could have been killed. Your brain reacts with fear I ******* tell you!

Personally being in a car crash where I could well have been decapitated, I can honestly say it didn't scare me, but afterwards I was shaken up, mainly due to the shock of it all. Granted, if someone put a gun to my head I would probably be scared, but that isn't a regular situation where I live. That is the situation in how you die, which is scary in some ways, but the actual death is inevitable thus, something that doesn't scare me.

For example, I would rather die of old age, than being shot in the face, but either way, both of them are out of your control, so not alot you can do about it. Apart from stay away from places with guns.. so.. everywhere.

 

[adman278]

For the record, I hope you all die painfully.

And after that comment the majority of people here hope you get killed Fred West style.

 

[Joel`]

Personally being in a car crash where I could well have been decapitated, I can honestly say it didn't scare me, but afterwards I was shaken up, mainly due to the shock of it all. Granted, if someone put a gun to my head I would probably be scared, but that isn't a regular situation where I live. That is the situation in how you die, which is scary in some ways, but the actual death is inevitable thus, something that doesn't scare me.

For example, I would rather die of old age, than being shot in the face, but either way, both of them are out of your control, so not alot you can do about it. Apart from stay away from places with guns.. so.. everywhere.

The state of being dead itself isn't scary, there's nothing to do with being dead that is scary. It's dying that's scary; the process, transition between the living state and dead state that is scary, no matter how it happens we all aim to prolong the inevitable by as long as we can.

 

[Blynd1]

I am more worried about dying without being able to say goodbye to my loved ones. Also, i am more worried about my loved ones dying, thn me..

 

[Ross 95]

So, am I the only one who is actually scared of death? The macho bravado that you're not scared of it is oh so easy when you're not in a position to comprehend being anywhere near the end. Just because it's inevitable doesn't mean it makes it any less scary, in the same way exams are inevitable, it doesn't stop people feeling nervous about them.

It's evolutionary to want to survive, it's our instinct, and fear is an emotion there to remind us of that. Everyone's scared of death due to this, some are just more willing to accept the fact. If you were diagnosed with a terminal illness, or had a gun against your head, you'd be blubbering away like everyone else.

Every sane person is afraid of death, it's one of the few things that are unimaginable outside of our consciousness, which is a scary thought.

Everyone who said they're not scared of death can't realistically tell me you would be cool as a cucumber with a maniac gunman taking sight on you, as is implied.

Im here with you on this, i feel like im the only who is scared of it. With it being the unknown is what makes it scary to me.

2012 doomsday, XD anyone??

Dont actually believe in that, i just know the day before i might be a little anxious.