Is Death the Most Important Fact About Us?

Our death is the most important fact about us because of...
  1. The fact that we will die
  2. The fact that we are aware that we are going to die
  3. Our awareness that our death could happen at any moment

Reasons for this?
  • The fact that we are completely aware that we die is kind of unique to the human experience
  • Death negates us, it is the end of every other fact about us! Reference pages 4, 5
  • Religion is used to explain what we don’t understand
    • We are not just academically curious about death, we are genuinely concerned about death -- that is what draws people to religious traditions

I object to this because I think you can leave a legacy, what people remember about you continues to live on past your death and the lives you touch in your lifetime are more important than the fact that yours ends. It reminds me of Lucretius's argument that if we don't die, new life cannot arise. I also think that our past does not die off with our bodies, we have lived a whole life (hopefully) and if we have contributed something to society or the lives of the people close to us, then that makes a difference and it's not the end of every fact about us. It is simply the end of experiences, and I think the experiences that build our lives and help us grow while we are still alive, and how that affects others, is the most important thing about us, NOT death.

Comments

  1. GideonApril 26, 2019 at 1:17 PM

    I love this piece. You have articulated an idea of mine perfectly. Our actions in life and the people we affect is the most important fact about us. We can look through History and we realize a lot of great men and women are remembered most for what they did. The likes of Gandhi, Marcus Aurelius, George Washington, Dr. King, Rosa Parks and so on are remembered for how they caused change around them. Even as their experiences seized years ago, they're still remembered for the good they did. Their death is only an outlying fact about them. Even those who died as Martyr's have their greatest accomplishments as their greatest fact. I agree with your take on death not being the most important fact about us. Death is an important fact about us, just not the most important.

    -Gideon

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    Replies
    1. Tanner MullApril 26, 2019 at 5:09 PM

      Agreed, something to consider, while it was the death of Romeo and Juliet that made the play great it wouldn't even be good if that was all there was to it, can you imagine? "Once upon a time, Romeo dead then Juliet died, The End." That would be a terrible play, would only need two actors and wouldn't get anyone involved. Death doesn't define us its just a commonality.

      Delete
  2. Joshua MihalikApril 29, 2019 at 3:59 PM

    Hello!

    I disagree that death is the most important fact about us, and my reason for thinking this is because life is ephemeral. We know that we will all, one day, die. And we also know that we could die at any moment. I think that because of this, life is the most important fact about us since experiences and memories can only be made while living!

    And this has nothing to do with our legacy. Of course, we might leave a legacy when we die to be remembered for a very long time, but we will have no knowledge of that legacy since it is created after our passing.

    ReplyDelete

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