Nothing to Fear
The Epicurean approach to death.
For all good and evil consists in sensation, but death is deprivation of sensation. Therefore a right understanding that death is nothing to us makes the mortality of life enjoyable.
— Epicurus
Many question the relevance that Hellenistic philosophies have today; how could something written approximately two thousand years ago apply in a world with indoor plumbing; universal healthcare; and next-day-delivery? One, slightly morbid constant has not changed; however, our mortality.
Humans are organic, living beings and with that comes an expiration date. No one knows when, no one really knows how they will die; all they know is that it will happen. Despite death being a natural and integral part of life, it is still very much a taboo, enshrined in euphemisms throughout the centuries in order to make it appear more palatable and less daunting.
Can the teachings of an ancient Philosopher be the key to navigating fear out of death and helping us embrace our mortality by realising the brevity of life?
The Awareness of Death
It is important to know that the Epicurean school did not generally believe in an afterlife; therefore this idea could be subject to debate depending on religious or spiritual beliefs. The inherent fear of death is generally believed to be caused by the idea an individual could have an awareness that they are dead; however, the Epicurean school of thought believes that death is an end to the pain and suffering of dying and the end of thought as we know it. If we lose the ability to feel awareness, there should be no need to fear.
With this, most followers of Epicureanism adapted this indifference to death, often using the phrase; “Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo” as an epitaph, which can be found on many Ancient Roman gravestones. The sentence reads:
I was not, I was, I am not, I do not mind.
The Symmetry Argument
When we exist, death is not yet present, and when death is present, then we do not exist.
— Epicurus
The argument for symmetry is a doctrine that is said to have its origins with Lucretis, a Roman follower of Epicurus. Lucretius developed an argument based on a person’s inability to feel the horror, pain, or suffering of our past non-existence. We don’t carry any memory or trauma from before we were born; therefore he believed that it was irrational to fear our future non-existence, i.e. death.
Many other great thinkers have been influenced by the symmetry argument, such as Cicero, Plutarch, Seneca, Schopenhauer, and Hume, and have contributed to the theory.
Time is Precious
Time is our rarest commodity; the average lifespan of a human is a mere nanosecond in relation to the existence of our cosmos. Epicurus argued that one’s mortality should be the main driving force behind their life. Death should be used as a means of propelling us forward to get what we want out of life.
This is by no means specific to Epicurean thought, and can be found littered throughout many examples of popular culture throughout time and space, going back to the Roman period with phrases such as ‘Carpe Diem’ and ‘Memento Mori’, to Medieval art with the Danse Macabre, Gothic literature of the 18th Century, and to the much less profound YOLO acronym of the 21st Century.
As a final remark, I like to remind us of a turn of phrase also used by the Romans, ‘memento vivere’, which can be translated to; remember you must live. Use your time wisely comrades, and cherish those close to you. We only have one opportunity to do so.
If you’re interested in the concept of memento mori, might I suggest this essay I wrote for the Modern Stoicism blog on the subject:
