Epicurus, Nagel and Death

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the Epicurean view that death should not be feared and comparesit to Thomas Nagel's view that death is indeed something to dread. The paper argues that Epicurus' view is a more compelling one simply because death is an inevitability and Nagel expects human beings to assume a despondent, hopeless approach to human existence that pushes aside getting the most one can out of life. The paper concludes that while Nagel and Epicurus both share a love of human life and what it offers, Epicurus is unwilling to allow that existence to be shaped by gloomy thoughts.

From the Paper:

"To begin with, Nagel starts by pointing out that death would be an indifferent affair if people were simply to expire after a long, coma-like state. For Nagel, life is fundamentally about being "alive", about being ambulatory and able to do certain things that lie within our power to do; in effect (although Nagel does not say so explicitly) life is - or can be - essentially an expression of human autonomy, efficacy, and self-actualization. In a real sense, Nagel posits that human beings lose something or have something taken from them when they die. To put it another way, while a dead corpse is but a corpse, the real tragedy lies in the fact that the experiences, sensations, thoughts and feelings of life have been stripped from a deceased person."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Epictetus. "The Handbook." Transl. Elizabeth Carter. 17-23. (additional bibliographic information not provided).
• Epicurus. "Letter to Menoeceus." Ed. Robert Drew Hicks. 24. (additional bibliographic information not provided).
• Epicurus. "Principle Doctrines." Ed. Robert Drew Hicks. 26-28. (additional bibliographic information not provided).
• Nagel, Thomas. "Death." Mortal Questions. Ed. Thomas Nagel. 31-35. (additional bibliographic information not provided).

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