scholarly journals Fear of Death and the Symmetry Argument

Manuscrito ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 279-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gal Yehezkel
Keyword(s):  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Symmetry Argument

scholarly journals Response to 'Fear of death and the symmetry argument'

Manuscrito ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 297-304
Author(s):  
Natalja Deng
Keyword(s):  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Symmetry Argument

Lucretius, Symmetry arguments, and fearing death

Phronesis ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Warren
Keyword(s):  
Premature Death ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
Symmetry Argument

AbstractThis paper identifies two possible versions of the Epicurean 'Symmetry argument', both of which claim that post mortem non-existence is relevantly like prenatal non-existence and that therefore our attitude to the former should be the same as that towards the latter. One version addresses the fear of the state of being dead by making it equivalent to the state of not yet being born; the other addresses the prospective fear of dying by relating it to our present retrospective attitude to the time before birth. I argue that only the first of these is present in the relevant sections of Lucretius (DRN 3.832-42, 972-5). Therefore, this argument is not aimed at a prospective fear of death, or a fear of 'mortality'. That particular fear is instead addressed by the Epicureans through the additional premise (found in the Letter to Menoeceus 125) that it is irrational to fear in prospect an event which is known to be painless when present. This still leaves unaddressed the related fear of 'premature death', which is to be removed through the acceptance of Epicurean hedonism.

A REVIEW OF FEAR OF DEATH

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gizem ONERI UZUN
Keyword(s):  
Fear Of Death

Reflections on Death by Spiritually Mature Elders

1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Eugene Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Spatial Terms ◽  
Present Life

Beliefs and feelings about death are excerpted from interviews conducted with elderly English men and women, who were viewed as spiritually mature by those in their community. Respondents reported a wide range of beliefs about death, reflecting their personal experience, but none reported fear of death. Subtle sex differences were noted: men tended to picture death in spatial terms, of moving into a new dimension, while women tended to describe death in terms of relationships. Overall the respondents indicated that they placed a positive value on death, viewing it as a continuation of, and source of meaning for their present life.

Race and Sex Differences and Fear of Dying: A Test of Two Hypotheses — High Risk or Social Loss?

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Marks
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Zero Order ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Social Loss ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
The Social

A national sample of noninstitutionalized adult Americans is used to test two hypotheses and their relation to fear of death, The first hypothesis, referred to as the high risk hypothesis (i.e., groups with higher mortality rates will express more fear of death than groups with lower rates of mortality), is rejected. The second hypothesis, referred to as the social loss hypothesis, is developed and tested across six status categories—race, sex, age, religion, level of education, and health status. Zero order differences did appear for sex and race, however, these differences were eliminated with the introduction of controls. Both hypotheses are rejected.

Readers in the Underworld: Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 3.912–1075

2004 ◽  
Vol 94 ◽  
pp. 27-46
Author(s):  
Tobias Reinhardt
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
De Rerum Natura ◽  
Image Position

Readers have always acknowledged the comparatively clear macrostructure of De rerum natura 3. It begins with a prooemium in which is described the terrifying impact which the fear of death has on human lives, as well as the fact that Epicurus has provided a cure against this fear, namely his physical doctrines (1–93). Particular attention is paid to fears of an afterlife in which we have to suffer pain and grief in the underworld; cf., for instance, the programmatic lines 3.37–40 (translation by Ferguson Smith, which will be used throughout):This prooemium is followed by a long passage (94–829) in which Lucretius explains the basics of Epicurean psychology and tries to show that the soul is (like the body) material and hence mortal; this last point is driven home with particular force in II. 417–829 where Lucretius lists twenty-five proofs for the mortality of the soul.

scholarly journals Factors Moderating the Impact of After Death Communications on Beliefs and Spirituality

2021 ◽  
pp. 003022282110291
Author(s):  
Jennifer K. Penberthy ◽  
Marieta Pehlivanova ◽  
Tevfik Kalelioglu ◽  
Chris A. Roe ◽  
Callum E. Cooper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Experience ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Emotional Reaction ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Life After Death ◽  
Moderating Factors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Beliefs And Attitudes

After death communications(ADCs) are defined as perceived spontaneous contacts with living individuals by the deceased. This research presents on a subset of data from a recent large international survey of individuals who experienced ADCs and provided systematic information regarding these experiences. In our research we explore the impact of having an ADC on reported spirituality, religiosity, beliefs and attitudes about death and dying and also explore the moderating factors of this impact. We found that having an ADC was perceived as a positive life experience and that it was associated with a reduction in fear of death, belief in life after death and that the deceased could communicate with the living, and increased reported spirituality. Moderating factors include aspects of having or desiring physical contact with the deceased as well as perceiving some emotional reaction to the ADCs. Future directions for research exploration are also provided based on our findings.

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