Epicurus' View On Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Epicurus' View On Death - Essay Example The second view has its roots in religion and has far-reaching implications for understanding the meaning of death. This view does not accept death as the way of getting rid of tortures and life difficulties (Belshaw 2009). Based on this view, individuals should keep living, no matter how difficult their lives can be (Belshaw, 2009). In happiness and troubles, life is the greatest value that needs to be preserved and continued by all possible means. This view also implies that, no matter how difficult one’s life can be, there is also some room for making improvements (Belshaw 2009). The third view on death reduces the scope of badness in death but does not eliminate it. Simply stated, proponents of the third view realize that, at times, death may appear to be a preferable alternative to life (Belshaw 2009). Depending on the circumstances, life can be better or worse than death but, nevertheless, it is remains inherently bad (Belshaw 2009). It is no wonder that the prevailing m ajority of people associate death with sadness, loss, grief, and eternal separation with those who leave the world of the living and enter the world of the dead. Is it that death is as bad as many people believe it to be? Isn’t it possible to change public perceptions of death and realize that, even if death is not good, it may not be bad? Epicurus’ views on death hold a promise to clarify the situation. Despite the contribution made by Epicurus to the evolution of philosophy, his legacy in the study of death is persistently disregarded. Epicurus’ view on death is found in Letter to Menoeceus: â€Å"Accustom thyself to believe that death is... This essay describes Epicurus and his views on death. He used to be one of the most popular philosophers whose contribution to the meaning of death was persistently disregarded. Death is the topic that surrounded by considerable philosophic controversies even in modern society. According to Epicurus and his philosophical views, death is neither pleasant nor painful. Therefore, based on this premise, death cannot be bad. The researcher suggests that Epicurus may be right in that death is not worth being feared of, as long as no one can escape it. It is more reasonable and rational for people to take death as something inevitable. Simultaneously, the difficulty interpreting the meaning of badness should not be dismissed and, despite its value, Epicurus’ view cannot guarantee that death is bad or horrid for everyone or that death is bad and horrid at all. The researcher also uses comparisons between Western and Eastern worlds to give better explanation on the topic. In the Wester n world, death is usually considered as an extremely bad and undesirable phenomenon. The relationship between death and badness is analyzed in the essay, it tends to be considered from three different standpoints. In conlusion, the researcher sums up Epicurean philosophy of death. It falls short from the arguments that could support or deny the criteria of badness proposed by Epicurus. Objectively, no one can know whether death is pleasurable or painless, and this is one of the major pitfalls of Epicurean death philosophy.