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Why Death Isn't so Bad

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By jwu73x
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Why Death Isn’t So Bad For You

When it comes to death, many people are often afraid of the unknown. Because everyone may have their own beliefs about what occurs after death, the thought of death can be scary. Nobody, except for perhaps God (if He exists), knows what happens after death. But if death is defined as total, permanent annihilation, then it really is not bad for the person who dies. I do not mean for this statement to be confused with the attitude that there are no bad aspects of death. Death is not bad for the person who dies because they no longer exist, and therefore anything that happens in any world no longer affects them in any way. Also, one does not need to be afraid of death, because in the state of permanent annihilation, they will not be aware of their loss of life. Before discussing why death is not a bad thing for the person who dies, it should first be noted why total, permanent annihilation is not a bad thing. Permanent annihilation means just that; everything is completely destroyed and non-existent forever. In regards to the asymmetry problem, if pre-natal non-existence is not viewed as something bad, why should post-mortem non-existence be viewed as something bad? Non-existence is not bad thing. There is an infinite list of people, objects, and events that have and will never exist. Is it bad for these people and things that they are non-existent? Many argue that the asymmetry problem does not work because pre-natal non-existence occurs before life, while death is the taking away of one’s life. This brings us to the argument of why death is not a bad thing for a person who dies. A most elementary argument for why death is not bad for the person who dies is that death means the end of suffering in life. Each person’s life consists of a different balance of good things and bad. Once a person has become permanently

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