Death As But A Utility -- A Practical Philosophy -- How To Use The Concept of Death to Live
Updated: Feb 19
(Philosocom's directory on death: https://www.philosocom.com/post/defining-death)
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Death: The Ultimate Unknown
Death is the ultimate unknown in our lives. It is uncertain when it will happen, and what will happen to us afterwards. We have no certain idea of what death is like, either for ourselves or for others. Most living people have no idea of when they will die.
Death can happen anytime, anywhere, voluntarily or involuntarily. When it happens, we depart into a completely unknown realm. Even though death happens frequently, its meaning is unknown. Obviously, our bodies cease to function when we die, but what happens to our consciousness is unclear.
(Either way, that unknown is the biggest inevitable possibility there is for every biological being).
Death: The Ultimate Fear
Therefore, death is the greatest mystery there is for humanity, and the greatest unknown. Send someone to the realm of death as an experiment, and you will never hear their report again, whether or not reincarnation is real.
Hear me out. Why not utilize death, as the ultimate, if not the only, source of fear? Fear, not only/necessarily of others, but of yourself as well?
Even when great pain might be there for you, death could be greater, because the state of death could be anything. Death could be a heavenly realm, death could be a hellish dimension, death could transfer you anywhere, and death could be absolutely nothing.
With this ultimate uncertainty, I must inquire: why not fear nothing in existence, but death? You might be tortured, but death could lead even to greater pain; you might be homeless, but death could put you in eternal, absolute isolation; you might have no food, but death could reincarnate you as an embryo, and kill you again, before you were even born!
It is all in the realm of possibility, and absolutely nothing in death, could be denied, as a possibility. That is, you see, what should be so scary about death. Not necessarily what will kill you, but also what may await you on the other side, which no one actually knows.
Near death experiences? They aren't necessarily equal to being within death itself. They could be a dream, and, I dare say, a scam. After all, the empirical experience of others, isn't the empirical experience of your own.
The fact that someone may claim that they saw certain things when they were near death, doesn't mean you will see these same things, and it doesn't mean that are the things, which lie, in death itself.
I came to the conclusion, that I should fear only death, for it is completely unknown, and could be just about anything, as a result. As long as I live, I can write, and when I die, only then my writing will stop. You may "cancel" me, but that only cancels my reputation. Unlike life, reputation can be restored back.
You may imprison me, but my writings could still go on; You may cut off my hands and cause me a great deal of pain, but I could hire someone else to write for me, just like Socrates and Epictetus, who didn't write at all.
Therefore, as a writer, the only thing that could stop me from philosophizing, is death, and EVEN THEN, if reincarnation is indeed true, then I can have a chance at writing once more.
This is why, I chose to utilize death, by using it, to justify being afraid of little else, but death itself. That is simply the philosophy, of one who wishes to optimize his so-called "destiny", "purpose", until the inevitable will come.
Think about it. Even if you will be severely traumatized, and haunted by the past, the truth is, that you can still redeem yourself, until the inevitable arrives. The memories, the scars and the illnesses may still consume your body and mind; At least, you are still alive.
As long as we're alive, there is potential, and when death arrives, only then, your own active potential reaches its full demise... or does it? Who knows?
Death: The Ultimate Reason to Live
This is why, as long as you're still alive, you shouldn't be afraid of doing things you believe are worthy of your time, potential, and energy. If you miss this opportunity, you might miss it for all eternity. Keep in mind that the norms have no interest in you becoming the best verison of yourself. The norms are there to keep people in line in a herd-mentality manner.
Would you want that? To waste your potential while you can still utilize it? To never do something you wished you could've done, but were too afraid to do? Good, beneficial things, I mean, not just anything, like cold murder.
Treat each new day as if it was a problem, and you might find that you're being more productive, unlike the "klumnik" who underestimates his or her own potential. Each new day is a "problem" because time is running out.
Consider the inevitable fact that your time is limited, and consider that you might never have any further chance to do things you might be afraid of doing. Simply consider your immense, yet limited potential, just as I did with my own. It is all I ask from you in this article.
This is what I've learned from fighting games: No matter how much you will be beaten up and defeated, as long as you're alive, you can still try to win your opponent. Death will beat you eventually. Fight to do what you wish to do the most, then leave this life with as much satisfaction as you can.
It's what I'm trying to do, at least. It's why I minimize so much in this life.
