My aim is to address the argument against fearing death.
Against Fearing Death
(FD1) You cease to be conscious when you die.
(FD2) If you cease to be conscious when you die, then being dead is not bad for you. (FD3) So, being dead is not bad for you.
(FD4) If being dead is not bad for you, then you should not fear death. (FD5) So, you should not fear death.
The idea behind the first premise of the argument is that death, under all conditions, results in your loss of consciousness. No matter what each religion believes happens after death, the only thing that is scientifically sure is that once you’re dead you’re no longer conscious. Right now, you can tell that you’re completely conscious since you’re aware that you’re alive, you’re aware of where you are and what you’re doing, and you’re aware of your thoughts and emotions. And you’re also aware of everything going on around you, such as your roommate walking in your room, the cars passing next to you on the street, and your friends calling you to come pick you up. Once you’re dead, however, you’re not able to experience nor understand any of those things, since you have no communication with the inner and outer world.
As for the second premise of the argument, in order to clarify what “bad for you” means, the author created HD*:
(HD*) Something is bad for you if and only if it results in more pain than you would otherwise have had.
Regarding that HD* is true, being dead is not bad for you. Since when you die you’re unconscious, and therefore can’t feel any pain, being dead is not bad for you. No matter how much pain you’re
feeling right now, it is more than the pain you’ll be feeling when you die. Of course, bad things will continue to happen after you die, but you’re not going to be able to acknowledge them. Nothing bad that ever happens will be able to affect you and cause you pain.
The idea behind the third premise of the argument is that there’s no reason to be afraid of death since it’s not bad for you. There’s nothing that can harm you when you’re dead. That means that there are no sources of fear either. You should be afraid of spiders, because they might sting you and cause you pain. You should be afraid of needles too, because your skin will be pricked by something sharp and cause you pain. Every single source of fear is due to something that will be bad for you. Being dead is not bad for you, so there is no reason to fear it.
My plan is to challenge premise FD2 by showing that losing consciousness is what makes death bad for you and not what excuses death from being bad for you, because unconsciousness ends all your pleasures. In section two I will present my criticism of FD4 and then in section three I will anticipate and address an objection to my criticism.
My Defence Against The Argument Against Fearing Death
Unconsciousness is in no way a reason to excuse death from being bad for you. On the other hand, unconsciousness is the reason why being dead is bad for you. Even though losing consciousness does not result in more pain than you would otherwise have had, it deprives you of all the pleasures that you can experience when you are conscious.
To support my argument I am rejecting HD* and modifying it into HD**:
(HD**) Something is bad for you if and only if it results in more pain or less pleasure than you would otherwise have had.
Regarding HD** is true, being dead is bad for you. That’s because when you cease to be conscious you stop living. Involved in “living” is not only the pain that you wouldn’t otherwise feel, but also the
joy that you wouldn’t otherwise feel.
Being conscious is the only thing allowing you to enjoy this life. It allows you to have feelings, thoughts, ideas, intuitions, and memories. Your consciousness is the only thing that allows you to have knowledge. Since all that you know is all that there is, your consciousness is the only thing that can confirm your existence. Without it you don’t exist. There is absolutely no case where you can agree that not existing is better than existing, since existing is the least that you could ever get. Humans are ego centric beings, meaning that the idea of us not existing scares us naturally. Therefore, consciousness is the most important thing that you possess right now, and the only thing allowing you to be somebody.
On the other hand, unconsciousness is bad for you for many reasons. First of all, once you die you stay dead forever. Death is not like a summer break, where you relax for a few months and then get back to your everyday life. You keep being dead for infinity, depriving you of everything that you could ever experience. Secondly, unconsciousness limits you to the complete unknown. Since all that you know is all that there is, not knowing anything is equal to nothing. Nothing isn’t better than something, no matter what that something is. Even if you’re conscious and you’re in pain, it is better than not to be conscious at all. That’s because pain can still offer you something good, such as making you stronger and more courageous.
Furthermore, when the author says that you shouldn’t fear death, they’re indirectly implying that you shouldn’t fear anything. That’s because every single fear is a result of your fear of death. Why are you afraid of spiders stinging you? Because their poison might kill you. Why are you afraid of heights? Because falling from a high surface might also kill you. You cannot accept every other fear and not accept the fear of death, because every other fear has the source of the fear of death. So, the author’s argument is basically leading to the conclusion that you shouldn’t be afraid of
anything. However, we need fear in order to have survival instincts and to be alert to danger, otherwise our lives would not have meaning nor purpose. Your fear of death might even be useful to you, because it makes you enjoy life more and not waste it.
Addressing an Objection to My Criticism
One might object that even though being unconscious deprives you of your pleasures, it does not mean that it’s bad for you. Once you’re unconscious you won’t be able to remember any of your joy and happiness. You won’t be able to remember anything from your life, so the loss of these pleasures will not affect you. Since death is inevitable and you’re going to cease to be consciousanyway, it’s not in your favour to believe that unconsciousness is bad for you. It’s in your best interest to accept unconsciousness as an advantage of your death and live your life happily, without worrying. Imagine if you died and your conscious mind still continued to exist, reminding you of all the pleasures that you’re no longer able to enjoy. The fact that you cease to be conscious when you die allows you to stay dead in peace.
However, it’s irresponsible to accept something that would potentially be bad for you, just because it is inevitable to avoid it. This suggests ignoring the reality of things and finding comfort behind excuses. You are conscious right now and you are aware of the pleasures that you are receiving right now. Therefore, these pleasures are important to you during the time that you are alive. You are also aware that you won’t be receiving these pleasures once you’re unconscious. This loss of pleasures will be bad for you, and you’re not excused from fearing it just because it is inevitable. So, being dead is still bad for you and you should fear it, even though you cease to be conscious when you die.
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