Exploring Epicurus's Philosophy on Death and its Implications

This essay delves into the philosophical views of Epicurus on the concepts of death and life. It examines Epicurus's argument that death should not be feared because it signifies the end of both the body and the soul, thus eliminating any potential for suffering. The essay contrasts Epicurus's perspectiv...Read More

Running head: WISDOM
Wisdom
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1WISDOM
The purpose of the following paper is to discover the relationship between death and life.
The ancient philosopher from Greece named Epicurus believed that death should not be feared at
any cost since it ends the body and soul. The premises mentioned by Epicurus are quite
interesting also. The nature and meaning of life and death have been discussed in this argument
by Epicurus.
In the ancient Greek philosophy, the nature of the universe had been explicitly discussed
by the philosophers. Epicurus was one of them (Strodach, 2019). He mentioned in this
description that the human beings die and get free from all earthly bonds and there are no more
pains and sufferings that the common people have to bear. In his explanation, Epicurus very
profoundly denied the existence of the Gods and stressed on the fact that everything was very
logically designed in this universe. He also stressed on the fact that universe could behave with
several logical tendencies.
He believed in the objective verifiable and he believed in the things that could only be
observed. He disregarded all the religious and mythological beliefs and this was the reason for
him to get unpopular (Strodach, 2019). He builds up three premises in order to convince people
that they should not be afraid of death. He said people no longer exist when they die. So, people
will no longer be able to feel any kind of pain and suffering if they do not exist. Finally he comes
to the conclusion that death should not be feared because it will no longer be able to give any
pain to human beings (Rider, 2014).
On the other hand, most Greek philosophers believed in the mythological traditions as the
basis for life. Thus, it has been said that death should be feared because they believed in the life
after death. It was quite possible that the activities of life would determine the fate of a person in

2WISDOM
his next life. These aspects should be taken as important matters in relation to most mythological
interpretations. Contrary to this idea, Epicurus was sure that death should not be a concern for
people because it will not come till a person is alive or exist. It will come after he or she does not
exist (Rider, 2014). Whatever happens after they do not exist should not be a grave matter of
concern for them. All these perspectives are very controversial and related with several religious
matters (Strodach, 2019). As Epicurus denied all these aspects this made him quite unpopular.
The shunning of the religious issues were not taken positively by any people of Greece.
Therefore, the fear of death still remained in the hearts and minds of most people in the country.
On a concluding note, it should be said that the relationship between death and life is
very much controversial and debatable by all the perspectives. Most people in the ancient Greece
did not believe all these things since they believed in religious beliefs and shunned the premise
made by Epicurus.

3WISDOM
References
Rider, B. A. (2014). Epicurus on the Fear of Death and the Relative Value of
Lives. Apeiron, 47(4), 461-484.
Strodach, G. K. (Ed.). (2019). The philosophy of Epicurus. Courier Corporation.