Philosophical reflections on death and life after it

From the Greek thinkers to the present, philosophical reflections on death and life after death stand out among the oldest and most persistent themes of this discipline.

It is a known fact that religions consider life beyond perishing. This means that there would be a paradisiacal state that transcends the human condition. In the same way, philosophy reasons about this state of immortality and eternity, but from another perspective. Let’s discover it!

What does philosophy tell us about death?

For philosophers, the question about human death always involves the question about the soul. In his article for SocietyNikos Kokosalakis points out that philosophical reflections manifest from their beginnings to human beings as a composite of body and soul or spirit.

The soul, in this branch, has a quasi-religious dimension. Some thinkers maintain that through it we can know and separate ourselves from the mundane, which does not provide us with any spiritual benefit. In the sections that follow, we will investigate the most important philosophical positions on this topic.

Soul and body: death according to Plato

Plato was perhaps one of the first philosophers who cared to reflect on death. According to his postulates, The human being is composed of body and soul. And the latter is of divine and immortal origin, that is, it lasts through time.

On the other hand, the body is mortal and is considered a prison for the soul. In this sense, Death is a process through which the soul is freed from the bonds of the body.

In this Platonic conception, death is denied, maintains an article in the Revista de Treball Social. This is because in reality the only thing that perishes is the body, which has no value according to this vision.

Instead, Death is life for the soul, to the extent that it can free itself and aspire to a better life. For this reason, there is a special call to care for the soul, through knowledge and the acquisition of virtues in daily life.

Aristotle and his conception of body, soul and matter

For Aristotle, All living beings are composed of body, soul and matter. Although both plants, animals and humans have a soul, there is a particularity of it in man.

In addition to being responsible for nutrition and feeling, the human soul has the function of knowing. That is, it is used for mental or thinking activity. However, it also has a poetic and creative part that is the most important property of the soul. This part is immaterial, immortal and eternal.

Therefore, Death for Aristotle is the end of biological life as we know it; This process represents the definitive separation of body and soul. It survives death as a rational entity, since, as we said, its main function is knowledge and thought.

Death for Epicurus

As part of his philosophical reflections on death, Epicurus points out that it is something inescapable, we cannot escape it. Rather, we should accept it and consider it as an event in human life.

But there is a problem: we are usually afraid of death. According to the philosopher, this is absurd, since while we are alive, death does not exist; For this reason, he gives us three tips to stop fearing him:

Prioritize and discriminate projects.Remember daily that we have to die.Be clear about what we need at all times.

What do you mean by that? By always remembering death, we can get used to it. On the other hand, being attentive to our needs causes us to focus on the present and leave the future aside. Likewise, distinguishing and prioritizing life projects focuses us on the present.

Seneca and his philosophical reflections on death

For Seneca, Death is one of the few events we can expect with certainty. From this vision, we must accept it with resignation and even with pleasure, because we would enjoy life without fear. Because if we do not worry about our mortal condition, we will enjoy the present more intensely.

The philosopher highlights that Death dignifies human beings, to the extent that it represents the end of a life lived. According to this, a person who suffers sorrows and evils does not resign himself to living because he does not like life, but rather because living in bad conditions is not a life worth living.

The experience of death according to Spinoza

As Steven Nadler reviews in his article Spinoza’s guide to life and deaththe subject whose thoughts and actions are under the tutelage of reason, not passion, does not live his life thinking about death.

He doesn’t do it, among other things, because he knows that there is nothing beyond. There is no heaven or hell, no pain or salvation. Since nothing exists, there is no point in dedicating time or anguish to it.

In this sense, in Spinoza there is a denial of immortality. In fact, it is believed that one of the reasons why the Jewish community subjected him to herem It was his thought that the soul dies with the body. For him, then, it only makes sense to reflect on life; especially, in the knowledge of oneself and the place one occupies in nature.

We live to die, says Martin Heidegger

Another of the philosophical reflections on death is that of Heidegger. He considers that the human being is the only living being aware that at some point he will die. That is why he considers the death as a phenomenon or event in life.

His perspective points, as analyzed in Pacific Science Review B: Humanities and Social Sciencesto which we are born or we are thrown into the world in order to die. Furthermore, our only certainty in this life is the event of death. con the arrival of this the existential totality will disappear.

However, Heidegger gives death a positive characteristic because he considers it appropriate. That is to say, The act of dying belongs to us if we make it our last and supreme act of existence..

Life beyond death

Does life exist after death? It is perhaps one of the most enigmatic questions that human beings have. Our continued concern about death forces us to consider the possibility of continuing to live after dying. What does philosophy say about this?

The human being, due to his mortal condition, longs for immortality. For philosophy, This eternal existence has to do with the durability of the soul or spirit that surpasses the limits of life.

What is the use of an explanation like this? It works in us as a defense mechanism against the fear and anguish that death generates in us.. Thus, we seek to give it some meaning or justification that allows us to endure this unavoidable event.

Appreciate life and face death with serenity

Thinking about death and life in relation to it is one more act that human beings perform to understand ourselves better. Through these reflections, we learn to appreciate life and face death with more serenity and wisdom.

However, we should not get obsessed with this. What is important is how we live our present lives. Thinking about death from this perspective helps us focus on the now, which is the only thing we have.

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