Plato on Death

'To fear death, gentlemen, is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not, to think one knows what one does not know. No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if they knew that is is the greatest of evils. And surely it is the most blameworthy ignorance to believe that one knows what one does not know.'
-Plato (the apology)

Comments

Anonymous said…
dying is supposed to be something christians look forward to. but for me, it's scary. i know that we all have to die. and i know that there's something 100x better afterwards. but what gets me about dying is the pain and the suffering. and not knowing how or when i'll die really bugs me. anyways, yeah. this is a interesting topic.
6:29 PM
Anonymous said…
"Do not take thought for your persons or your properties, but first and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that the virtue is not given by money, but that from vitue come money and every other good of man, public as well as private... The difficulty, my friends, is not in avoiding death, but in avoiding unrighteousness; for that runs faster than death."

Furthermore...

"Be of good cheer about death and know this as a truth
--that no evil can happen to a good man, either in life or after death."

--Socrates
12:14 AM
Anonymous said…
The trouble with quotes about death is that 99.999 percent of them are made by people who are still alive.

- Joshua Bruns

Take death for example. A great deal of our effort goes into avoiding it. We make extraordinary efforts to delay it and often consider its intrusion a tragic event. Yet we'd find it hard to live without it. Death gives meaning to our lives. It gives importance and value to time. Time would become meaningless if there were too much of it. If death were indefinitely put off, the human psyche would end up, well, like the gambler in the "Twilight Zone" episode.

- Ray Kurzwei
1:17 AM
Anonymous said…
i'm more scared for dying than death.

death is inevitable. it's gonna happen. i just don't want to dye in certain ways.
1:28 AM
Anonymous said…
Any persons thoughts on death are just as valid as the thoughts of ancient philosophers. Their knowledge of death could not have been greater than that of any person living today, because when they talked of death, they were just like the rest of us. Still alive.

-Jaime
1:37 AM
MH said…
To be afraid of death is to be afraid of something that no one has experienced and been around to tell about again (excepting Jesus and Lazarus).

That and most of us are too busy pretending this earthly life is going to last forever to really think about it.

In other words, fear of death is understandable, and hardly condemnable. Should we fear it if we have no hope? Absolutely.

Those who know where they're going, on the other hand, probably should be feeling something of anticipation, nervousness, but no outright fear.

Disagreement to that is perfectly fine. After all, the words wisdom and fifteen-year-old are hardly synonymous.

~Mh~
1:57 PM
Anonymous said…
I guess this is an instance where a thesaurus comes in handy. I have a fear of ladybugs in flight, but that is just a weird phobia I have. I don’t hold the same feelings towards death that I do towards airborne ladybugs, but I use the same word to describe them. What I am trying to say is, maybe we all have different ideas of what fear is and it's relation to death.
5:00 PM
Anonymous said…
The problem I have with death, is the mere fact that I, in my most Christ-like nature, am still selfish. It's born within me, and will die within me. That is why I despise seeing those I love leave ME, rather than praising the Lord for allowing them too.
3:45 PM
Anonymous said…
life is short, death is sure, eternity is forever.
11:48 AM
Heath said…
go to my blogspot....thanks.
10:42 PM
Anonymous said…
I know this is delayed but what can I say I wanted to think about it carefully:

Afraid? Of whom am I afraid?
Not death; for who is he?
The porter of my fathers lodge
As much abasheth me.

Of life? 'T were odd I fear a thing
That comprehendeth me
In one or more existences
At Deity's decree.

Of resurrection? Is the east
Afraid to trust the morn
With her fastidious forehead?
As soon impeach my crown!
Emily Dickenson

It is hard for me to fear something I have seen so much of. I know what awaits me. I think my worst fear is that I will die with so many regrets and will have lead a totally useless life...and that scares me more than death itself.
12:33 AM
Anonymous said…
Maybe the fear of death is pretty selfish, because it's not about leaving something behind, or living a good life. I couldn't ask for a better life. It's the sense of an end that creates fear. For those who don't believe it to be an end cannot understand, which makes it a problem of faith.

Skepticism gets the best of me... I think actively seeking the truth is good advice. I'm glad this became a discussion; it's good to know people share these thoughts. I appreciate all the input...

---Shane
10:29 PM
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