You must understand--- fear of death is a biological instinct, intended to encourage us to avoid it. Most of the body and mind's features are born of the most basic primal instinct of every living thing, which is to live. Therefore, the fear is rational, because it is practical, even if the effort is ultimately fruitless because all living things must die.
While I fully understand your logic and appreciate the poetry of it, the biological urges of living things to do things that will allow them to remain living will nearly always overtake more philosophical view when put to the test. A human faced with the potential of their own death, if asked to make a snap decision, will always choose to fight for their life first, even if it is hopeless, rather than spend their inevitable final moments appreciating the beauty of life in all its ephemerality. It is simply what living things are hard wired to do. And that urge to fight or to flee has actually saved many lives over the course of human history. Adrenaline can make people capable of doing remarkable things in order to to live, without even thinking.
Apologies for the essay, but I do enjoy thoughtful discussions like this.
no subject
While I fully understand your logic and appreciate the poetry of it, the biological urges of living things to do things that will allow them to remain living will nearly always overtake more philosophical view when put to the test. A human faced with the potential of their own death, if asked to make a snap decision, will always choose to fight for their life first, even if it is hopeless, rather than spend their inevitable final moments appreciating the beauty of life in all its ephemerality. It is simply what living things are hard wired to do. And that urge to fight or to flee has actually saved many lives over the course of human history. Adrenaline can make people capable of doing remarkable things in order to to live, without even thinking.
Apologies for the essay, but I do enjoy thoughtful discussions like this.