Memento mori. “Remember that you will die.” Does death scare you, does death motivate you?
This assignment gave me a little laugh. I understand how this one phase could give people direction and drive to live a better life, but it clearly would not work for me. As you all know, I have no intention of ever dying. There are a couple points this brings up though that I feel I should address.
Many people also believe that those of us who fight the notion that death is inevitable are doing so based on a fear of death.
Many people claim that it is the fear of death that keeps us human, that it is the basis for our ethical standard and gives meaning to our lives.
I’d like to dispel these two widely held beliefs. I will grant that the two statements above do in fact apply to some people. My intent is to point out that they are gross generalizations that do not cover as many people as the proponents would have you believe. The two arguments above are fallacies meant to distract attention away from the core principle. When we question something that people hold so sacred and certain in their lives, they get very uneasy.
Do I want to lie forever because I fear death? Absolutely not. Anyone who has known me since I was a child would tell you quite the opposite. Long before I was a transhumanist, long before I knew with certainty that technology would free me from death, I was certain that I wanted to live a long and fruitful life. A life full of adventure and ambition. I was also looking forward to death. I have often told friends that I considered death “The last great adventure.” It was the one experience that I could not mentally model or play out a simulation in my head for what the experience might be like. It was a one-way ticket on a train to the unknown. That excited me, and I can honestly say that it still does. I have had people express concern that I was suicidal because of my obsession with what death might be like. The key is that I am also a very patient person. Just because I am curious about death, and would welcome it as a great experience, does not mean that I am eager to take that road. There are countless experiences left here to pursue. I do not fear death, I just have far too much ambition to let it ruin my plans. I have always been very good at delayed gratification, even though I am excited to see what is on the other side, I’ll gladly put it off indefinitely.
Does the fear of death give meaning to our lives as humans? I can understand how some people would think that knowing their life will end causes them to live each day to the fullest and to value life. I argue that it is personality types that cause us to live our lives a certain way, not an expectation that death will end it all.
We do not need to fear death to be able to open our eyes to the beauty of the world and the people around us. All we have to do is get over the numbness that we have built up over the years. Just watch a child. They have not built the patterns to instantly recognize and draw conclusions about the things they see. They observe and they analyze. They live a life full of wonder and amazement. If we let ourselves live our lives in this way then we will truly live to the fullest. Many people when faced with death finally become aware of how they are living their lives and all the incredible experiences and people around them. You have control over your own perception. The world is no different if you are going to die or not, you can choose your own catalyst, and it does not have to be a fear of death.