Understanding Death through Epicureanism for Self Growth
One thing is certain: death is real and absolute.
The most potent aspect of death is its impermanence, which can make even the strongest among us feel powerless in the face of life’s vulnerability.
Through exploring ancient wisdom, let’s learn to be more courageous, authentic, and aware of the power of philosophical freedom for self-improvement. So how do various philosophers approach the themes of death and impermanence?
Chapter 1 – Death and Consciousness do not co-exist
In his “Letter to Menoeceus” (page 124-25), Epicurus boldly asserts, “Death is nothing to us, since while we exist, our death is not, and when our death occurs, we do not exist.”
Epicurus, the ancient Greek philosopher and the founder of Epicureanism, stressed the importance of tranquillity and the pursuit of pleasure (ataraxia) as life’s ultimate goals. Central to his teachings was the idea that everything in the universe, including ourselves, is composed of atoms and subject to constant change. Therefore, accepting the impermanence of all things helps individuals achieve peace of mind and freedom from unnecessary desires.
Epicurus takes an extreme stance, that death and our existence are mutually exclusive. He totally rejected the notion that death should be our greatest source of suffering. Epicurus’s courageous and rational attitude stems from his perspective on the relationship between death and consciousness (life). Epicurus holds the view that the soul, also composed of atoms, is mortal and does not survive beyond death. He argues that when the body dies, consciousness ceases to exist. Moreover, he denies the existence of afterlife, judgment, or punishment, viewing death simply as the end of conscious experience.
Due to this perspective, Epicurus concludes that death and consciousness cannot coexist in this life: “When I am alive, death is absent. When death presents, I am absent.”
Chapter 2 – Sense Perceptions can be deceptive or misleading
However, the FEAR of death and the consciousness do co-exist in this life if we fail to discern the truth.
The truth is that the fear of death is a false representation of death itself. What frightens us is this “false fear”.
Often, we experience this fear and sorrow when we receive the news of the passing of someone close to us. Ironically, Epicurus considers such fear of death as “empty fear”. To understand this concept, we must delve into Epicurus’ philosophy.
As an atomist, Epicurus adopts a science-based perspective that naturally emphasizes rationality. According to Epicurus, everything in this materialistic world, including the human body and soul, is composed of atoms. These atoms are constantly in motion, interacting with each other as they are traveling in the universe.
On the other hand, as human beings, we perceive tangible objects through our senses – sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Just imagine our senses acting as a “multimedia printer” that gathers information from the external world, and captures images or sensations of tangible objects, which then form “impressions” or “mental images”. These “impressions” or “mental images” are raw data provided directly by our senses and serve as the basis for our perceptions of reality.
Most of the time, our perceptions of reality based on these “impressions” or “mental images” are accurate. Due to the process of decoding which is the judgment or interpretation of raw sensory data, errors might occur. The perception is distorted or incomplete. Decoding can be easily influenced by various factors such as: mass media, political affiliations, cultural conditioning, personal biases, and incomplete information.
The interesting parable of blind men touching an elephant tells us how limited experiences can lead to mistaken judgments – each blind man only touches and feels a part of the elephant, and then makes the conclusion based on their one-sided experience. They will never know what exactly an elephant is.
This is a perfect example to exemplify what Epicurus terms “empty opinion”. This arises when we naturally impose a subjective interpretation on our sensory experiences without rational analysis.
Epicureanism extends this approach to our understanding of intangible concepts like death. Because death entails the ceasing of our sensation and consciousness, no one will ever truly experience it. Our fear of death, lacking empirical observation, can only be considered “empty imagination” as it’s not grounded in reality.
Besides, language poses a significant obstacle to accurate thinking, as it often implies that concepts like “death” are experiences to be feared simply because they have such names. To avoid misunderstanding, Epicurus advises that we should interpret words based on their fundamental meanings rather than their superficial implications. He argues that misunderstanding arises from incorrectly interpreting sensations, typically the inferences from sensations are unreliable. This is truly a mind insight.
In a word, our fear is triggered by the name “death”, which conjures a series of dark “mental images” influenced by factors such as media, culture, religion, and ancient customs, etc.
Chapter 3 – How can Epicureanism help us grow?
One of his followers summarized Epicureanism in four poetic lines which can be used as quotes for self-improvement:
Don’t fear god,
Don’t worry about death;
What is good is easy to get, and
What is terrible is easy to endure.
— Philodemus, Herculaneum Papyrus, 1005, 4.9–14
While it may sound unbelievably simple, it is a very practical quote for self-growth. So how can we apply Epicureanism in our modern life regarding the impermanence of life?
There are at least four relevant aspects:
First, think critically: To avoid errors in judgment and suffering from empty imagination, Epicurus emphasized the importance of critical thinking, rational inquiry, and empirical observation.
Here, empirical observation simply refers to information or knowledge that comes from direct experience or observation of the world around us. It’s like using our senses – sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell – to gather information about the things we see, hear, feel, taste, or smell.
For example, if we sit on the train, look outside, and see the station outside, that’s an empirical observation. We’re directly observing something happening in the world around us. Similarly, if we touch something hot and feel the heat, that’s another empirical observation.
Epicurus encouraged us to scrutinize our beliefs and perceptions, subjecting them to careful examination and evaluation.
Second, make every day count and live life to the fullest: Epicurus accepts the finite nature of our existence, which means there is no “afterlife” or “haven” in his view.
Therefore, we should make the most of the time we have. German polymath and writer Johan Wolfgang von Goethe declared beautifully: ‘’Time is my property, my estate is time”.
We are familiar with the distinction between public areas and private houses; if someone illegally enters your private space, they are considered “trespassers”. Despite our familiarity with this concept of property, we very rarely apply it seriously to our time. Ironically, we often act as “trespassers” to our own time. I’m talking about the casual and mindless wasting of time.
Third, appreciate the present moment: Epicurus, often referred to as “the Happiness Guru of Ancient Greece”, advocated for a fear-free and pain-free lifestyle.
By embracing the reality of mortality, we can cultivate a deeper appreciation for life and pursue genuine sources of pleasure without being hindered by the fear of death. Through this approach, we can let go of attachment to outcomes.
To appreciate the present moment means to recognize and savor the beauty inherent in each moment. To fully unlock our ability to appreciate the present moment, we need to maximize the utility of our five senses.
By incorporating aesthetics into our lives, every moment can become a haven, regardless of our surroundings. In the words of the great artist and sculptor Auguste Rodin, “Beauty is everywhere. It is not that she is lacking to our eye, but our eyes which fail to perceive her.”
Fourth, embrace uncertainty: Our fear of death often stems from uncertainty and the unknown. The impermanence of life highlights the inherent uncertainty and unpredictability of the world. Embracing uncertainty and unpredictability means we can recalibrate our focus.
We often like to plan our lives, design strategies, and set goals within a certain timeframe, assuming we have control over destinies. But can we play chess with the God of Death? Epicureanism teaches us that we are subject to external forces that are uncertain and unpredictable – such as the impermanence of life itself. So how can we continue to grow amidst such challenges?
We can draw inspiration from the growth of trees (while this is my personal view, I believe it inherits the spirit of Epicureanism). For a tree, its growth is influenced by unpredictable weather conditions, storms, floods, pests, and diseases. It wouldn’t make sense for a tree to set a specific height goal for itself, for example, a height goal of 2.5 meters by the end of this year, as external factors are beyond its control.
However, as long as the tree roots are strong, it will continue to grow, although unpredictably. By anchoring the roots in the soil, tree roots will push down to absorb the nutrients and water.
Regardless of the challenge and uncertainty, roots will have a chance to renew and grow each Spring. By making friends with time, such a root growth can sustainably support the growth of the rest of the tree.
Similarly, as humans, we can focus on strengthening our roots – our fundamentals. This may involve adopting a minimalist approach and returning to the basics of life: sleep well, eat well, exercise, focus on a thing you are passionate about, etc.
When we nurture our basics and embrace the passage of time, our “trees of life” can survive through whatever season. When the season starts to bless us, our trees will thrive. By befriending time and focusing on our foundational growth, we can sustainably support our personal growth and well-being.
Recap
Let’s summarize our journey into the acceptance of impermanence in Epicureanism:
— Death and Consciousness Do Not Co-exist.
— Sense Perceptions can be deceptive or misleading. Death is empty fear.
— Learning from Epicureanism to accept impermanence for cultivating a mindset growth:
— Think critically.
— Make every day count and live life to the fullest.
— Appreciate the present moment.
— Embrace uncertainty.
Thank you for joining me on this journey of enlightenment. I hope you found it as enlightening as I did.
Stay calm, and until next time!