Are you frightened of dying?

[ralphchadkirk]

You lot saying you're not scared, are you really not scared? if you werent scared of death you wouldnt bother to look everytime you cross the road, or you wouldnt brake when you came to a red light.

Basicly what I'm saying is everytime you're in a dangerous situation, if you truly werent scared of death you wouldnt exercise any caution becuse you couldnt give a toss whether you copped it or not.

Personally I think most people fear death because its instinctive.

If I was scared of dying, then I'd never do anything. Everything comes with a risk. And I can honestly say I'm not scared of death - everyone will die eventually. It may sound cliched, but as long as when I die (however I die) I have lived every moment of every day then I will be happy. No regrets.

 

[valenta]

If I was scared of dying, then I'd never do anything. Everything comes with a risk. And I can honestly say I'm not scared of death - everyone will die eventually. It may sound cliched, but as long as when I die (however I die) I have lived every moment of every day then I will be happy. No regrets.

I think the same.

 

[90019]

Personally I think most people fear death because its instinctive.

The instinct for self preservation is not the same as a fear of death.

 

[GB]

The only time I can see myself being scared is if I knew exactly when it was going to happen

 

[DaveNewcastle]

After just having been irritated by some rather immature and thoughtless posts on another thread, what do I find here ?

Nietzsche's eternal recurrence!

Brilliant!
Having studied philosophy enthusiastically, I find it sad how little pholosophy other people have read, but how willing they can be to make pseudo-philosophical pronouncements which are so clearly unsustainable. More philosophers on railforums please!

 

[Talbot]

After just having been irritated by some rather immature and thoughtless posts on another thread, what do I find here ?

Nietzsche's eternal recurrence!

Brilliant!
Having studied philosophy enthusiastically, I find it sad how little pholosophy other people have read, but how willing they can be to make pseudo-philosophical pronouncements which are so clearly unsustainable. More philosophers on railforums please!

OK then Dave,
here's my philosophy on life :
Enjoy and take out of it what you can, after all,
you're a long time dead.

 

[Crimson_Quiff]

I wouldn't like to go yet but as I get older I imagine my 'fear' would just go away and I wouldn't care so much about dying, apart from leaving my loved ones behind, that would hurt me more than my own life ending

But I would quite happily sacrifice my own life to save another...

 

[YorkshireBear]

You know in the most movie cliche way the only thing i fear about death is being alone and leaving my girlfriend behind. Thats it.

For example i am terrified of flying, but if i was flying with my girlfriend it wouldnt be as scary because i know i wouldnt be leaving her behind if something happened.....

 

[DaveNewcastle]

OK then Dave,
here's my philosophy on life : . . . . .

Ah, the 'downside' to training in philosophy is that you quickly recognise the connections between even the simplest of statements and the many established debates on the subjects which keep philoshophers busy!

I'll not even go there.

But here's a Railway connection:- the famed Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein was born into a wealthy family and as a young man would often get too drunk to get home in time. One night he and his friends got to the station too late for the last train, but they did find some rail staff. The story goes that he bought the Company there and then and ordered the crew to drive a train home! (Methinks signalling may have been less rigourous then than now and TOCs wew bought and sold for less than UK franchises are now).

Fear of dying? No, not since an incident many years ago which 'should' have resulted in my death. Since then, I've felt as if all life is an unjustifiable and unentitled luxury; (perhaps that's why I do so much voluntary and unpaid work?)

 

[Crimson_Quiff]

You know in the most movie cliche way the only thing i fear about death is being alone and leaving my girlfriend behind. Thats it.

For example i am terrified of flying, but if i was flying with my girlfriend it wouldnt be as scary because i know i wouldnt be leaving her behind if something happened.....

That's a very good point. Totally agree with that.

 

[yorksrob]

I've lived alone and when they put me in the soil I will be alone. I just hope I have the means to be in a gin ridden haze when it happens.

 

[LE Greys]

OK then Dave,
here's my philosophy on life :
Enjoy and take out of it what you can, after all,
you're a long time dead.

I think I prefer, "Leave the world a better place than when you arrived.".

 

[Lampshade]

Fear of death is fear to live, we've all gotta go sometime.

 

[185]

Fear of death dissapears quickly after you have been down the ECML at 88mph through Northallerton in an empty Class 142 that just keeps accelerating

 

[12CSVT]

As it happens to us all eventually - I hope it is something similar to that scene in 'Monty Python's Meaning of Life' - being chased off the end of a cliff by a bunch of almost naked women (but not for at least another 50 years).

 

[MidnightFlyer]

'I'm not frightened of dying, any time will do, I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it, we've all got to go sometime.'

 

[YorkshireBear]

I think I prefer, "Leave the world a better place than when you arrived.".

i really like that one...

 

[43021HST]

If I was scared of dying, then I'd never do anything. Everything comes with a risk. And I can honestly say I'm not scared of death - everyone will die eventually. It may sound cliched, but as long as when I die (however I die) I have lived every moment of every day then I will be happy. No regrets.

No my point is that in times when the danger of death is more, than in normal circumstances you are going to exercise more caution for example, why do rock climbers wear safety harnesses, becuse they are scared of dying.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

'I'm not frightened of dying, any time will do, I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it, we've all got to go sometime.'

Pink Floyd - Great Gig in the sky

I must admit when this thread was posted I had that playing round in my head.

 

[Nonsense]

Personally, I'm terrified. The inevitable, inescapable prospect of eternal oblivion doesn't do much for me. It's principally the notion that you don't get a choice in the matter that is my greatest concern.

I don't see it that way. Since you can't experience nothing, oblivion is irrelevant and not something to fear as you'll never experience it. Metaphysics by default, as they say.

Personally, i worry about the ones I leave behind. I remember a Doctor telling me during one such difficult time that nobody really fears death. We just don't want it to hurt. I think she's right.

 

[ACE1888]

'Get busy living or get busy dying'
From 'The Shawshank Redemption'
says it all really....

 

[Zoe]

I don't see it that way. Since you can't experience nothing, oblivion is irrelevant and not something to fear as you'll never experience it. Metaphysics by default, as they say.

Not sure if anyone here has read the naturalist theories of Thomas Clark and Wayne Stewart but they have some interesting ideas on this.

 

[Masbroughlad]

No.

Live life to the full, sieze opportunities, regret nothing you have done, only regret what you could have done but didn't....

 

[Greenback]

I don't think people are actually afraid of death, we all know it is going to happen one day. Most people would prefer to put that day off for as long as possible.

I imagine most people who use protective equipment do so because they do not wish to die just yet, plus of course they will want to avoid serious injury which may not result in death at all, but may result in pain, discomfort or disability for the rest of their life.

 

[ACE1888]

Two things are certain in Life...Death and taxation...anything else is a bonus!!!

 

[SouthEastern-465]

No my point is that in times when the danger of death is more, than in normal circumstances you are going to exercise more caution for example, why do rock climbers wear safety harnesses, becuse they are scared of dying.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Pink Floyd - Great Gig in the sky

I must admit when this thread was posted I had that playing round in my head.

That's not because people are frightened of dying as 90019 said earlier, they want to preserve life for aslong as possible.

 

[exile]

Why don't I want to die (or die NOW anyway)
- there are still things I want to do before I die, and most of them I can't do because I'm working - so I want a period of retirement before I shuffle off so I can do those things
- the impact it would have on people who love me (yes there are one or two!)
- the process itself might be unpleasant - and if the death was sudden the impact on others would be worse.

I wouldn't want to live for ever, unless guaranteed perfect health. Imagine 1,000 years of arthritis, migraines, piles, angina, and all the rest of it....

 

[radamfi]

Presumably it is feasible that after death there is unimaginable agony and pain for the rest of eternity. No one has disproved this. Also, it is possible that the actual point of death is incredibly painful, regardless of how peaceful it appears.

So it is ethical to have children, given the possibility that your child will possibly have to experience this?

 

[ungreat]

No fear of it at all.No afterlife,no God,just a bloody good kip! I feel for these people who feel theres a God.

 

[sprinterguy]

I don't think people are actually afraid of death, we all know it is going to happen one day.

Well, I am and specifically because of the inevitability of it. More accurately, I'm not afraid of dying, the moment of death doesn't concern me, I'm afraid of "being dead": Nonsenses' philosopohical musings that you cannot experience oblivion (an eternity of nothing) being exactly why. Spending the rest of eternity, Beyond the very end of time itself (Recognising that time is a very human, very recent and fairly primitive concept, which while providing something useful to run our trains to, loses most of its' relevance and significance once you begin to think beyond the notion of "us" (The Earth) and "The Sun".), being aware of nothing at all.

 

[Greenback]

Well, I am and specifically because of the inevitability of it. More accurately, I'm not afraid of dying, the moment of death doesn't concern me, I'm afraid of "being dead": Nonsenses' philosopohical musings that you cannot experience oblivion (an eternity of nothing) being exactly why. Spending the rest of eternity, Beyond the very end of time itself (Recognising that time is a very human, very recent and fairly primitive concept, which while providing something useful to run our trains to, loses most of its' relevance and significance once you begin to think beyond the notion of "us" (The Earth) and "The Sun".), being aware of nothing at all.

I know where you're coming from. If anything, there is not a widespread fear of death, but mor eof a fear of the unknown. It is something I have dwelt upon from time to time over the past twenty years! I usually conclude that what detah must be like is what it was like for 'me' before the moment of my conception/birth - nothing, no awareness, no conscience, no concept of anything.

For some reason, I find this reassuring, though perhaps it should not be! I won;t say I look forward to the moment of death, but finding out what does actually happen, if anything, might be interesting!