Essay On Death Perspectives & Philosophies

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Death perspectives and philosophies

Death means to be completely cut off from life and to cease from living. During the process of death, on ceases, all functions and there is a failure of actualization for the dead person. Death is no doubt one of the most emotionally painful things to human beings, yet it is inevitable. One philosopher one stated that those that are born are condemned to death. Death happens to all living things, which exist in the world, this includes animals and plants. The non-living things often decay and rot away, this fate happens to get to human beings whose body is also made up of decaying materials and minerals (Stein, 2010). People die because everything must come to an end, there must be a starting point and an endpoint to everything in the world.

I believe that there is finality in death, the human form that currently exists changes form and goes on to another form. I believe that death is like that of a caterpillar’s life cycle, this is because the caterpillar never dies but instead it changes form. At one moment in the life of a caterpillar, it is in a cocoon and with time, it emerges into a butterfly that is able to fly. The body can be described being like a coat, there are times that a coat often is worn out, there is a need to take it off, and it leaves it on the bed. This is the same case with the body, there comes a time when it does not need the coat anymore (Stein, 2010). Just as a butterfly does not need a cocoon, this is also the same case with a person that has died. Death is a normal process and experience as human beings and I believe that there is something greater that our physical bodies. Therefore, death cannot be described as the end, it is finality for the body but to the value of life itself, it is just a crossing point from one dimension to another.

When it comes to the loss of an individual that is close to me, I believe that I would understand that at one point in life, one would die. Death is a natural process and consequently, I would be able to understand that indeed the time for the person to die had come. In a bid to understanding why it occurred, I do believe that this is a hard thing to do as a human being. I am of the belief that there is a survival instinct in each living thing that exists in the world. This survival instinct makes human being not simply to understand or even comprehend the idea of not being.

Therefore, this is the reason as to why I might not be able to explain the reason as to why a close person to me died. According to social workers, death has three dimensions, the first being impersonal dimension that argues that death can be said to be an impersonal event and it stripped of human element (Pretzel’s, 2000).

This is because the dead are simply dead bodies. The interpersonal dimension is often concerned with the objective of death of another person. This is often the loss of a significant person who had an impact in our lives. Impersonal death often refers to ‘it is dead’, however, when it comes to interpersonal death, it is someone is dead. Lastly, there is the dimension of intrapersonal death. This according to social workers often reflects an inner experience of personal mortality, which many people often dread. In fact, most people find it extremely difficult to anticipate death, and to social workers, this is the only dimension that matters (Sterelny & Griffiths, 1999). They often argue that the impact of the dead body is only important because of its subjective nature and the emotions that are attached towards the loss of somebody we love. People are often afraid of separation and this might explain as to why sometimes people withdraw from friends that are terminally ill (Stein, 2010).

There are those that argue that death is a necessary tool that is needed in order to eliminate people that may not promote the aim of the existence of the earth or its inhabitants. They often state that this category includes wicked leaders who cause trouble and are hell bent in destroying the earth and its people. However, I tend to disagree with this view because every person often has limited time in the world, there are people that live for several seconds and some might live for more than a century. The only thing in this life that is guaranteed is death and therefore, death is a process that nobody can evade.

There are those that have a religious perspective arguing that people die so that they can go and be with their maker. According to Christianity, the first couple disobeyed God and they were condemned to death (Praetzellis, 2000). Therefore, according to Christianity this is the main reason as to why death exists. They argue that God had given them a perfect life and that they were truly immortal. By sinning, the first couple showed contempt as well as disrespect to God and his authority and it is for this reason that death was brought to man.

There are five stages that are often followed after the death of a loved one. The first stage is denial; this is a conscious or unconscious refusal to accept facts, reality and information. This is often related to the situation concerned. It can be described as a defense mechanism that is natural. The second stage according to many social workers is the anger stage. People can often be angry with themselves and they might blame themselves for the death of a loved one. After the anger, stage comes the bargaining stage (Praetzellis, 2000).

In this stage, the persons often try to bargain in order to seem like that, they are facing less serious trauma. They often believe that they might be able to strike a compromise and reduce the impact of the death. The fourth stage is depression and it is often referred to as preparatory grieving. It is a sort of acceptance with emotional attachment and it is often natural to feel sadness, fear and uncertainty. Most social workers often argue that this is an important process as it shows that the person has begun accepting the reality. The final stage is acceptance (Almeder, 1992). This is the most important stage, it often varies according to the person’s situation, and it is an indication of some emotional objectivity as well as detachment. The person in this stage is able to accept death and decides to move on with his or her life.

People are not the same and this consequently means that people have different opinions and doctrines about several things in life. This is also the same case with death. There is a no universally accepted definition and explanation of death and consequently, this means that many people will have their opinions and philosophies about it. I believe that everybody has a right to his or her own opinion and philosophy about death. I can listen to another person’s opinion and philosophy and not try to correct it. This is because I believe that each person is entitled to his or her philosophy.

In conclusion, I think that people die because everything must end. There is often a starting point as well as ending point to each and everything. However, I do believe that death is finality to the body and that the form changes (Almeder, 1992). Just as a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, when people die they change into another form. The next component of this form is not known because one cannot tell the taste of a mango if he or she has never eaten it. Therefore, this form cannot be known until one experiences death. Death is a painful thing to happen to anybody and especially to a loved one. Death often happens to all living things that lives and everybody at one time will have to succumb. There are many people that have different beliefs and philosophies about death and I accept this fact as I too have my own personal beliefs.

Works Cited

Almeder, R. F. (1992). Death and personal survival: The evidence for life after death. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Praetzellis, A. (2000). Death by theory: A tale of mystery and archaeological theory. Walnut Creek (Calif.) [etc.: AltaMira Press.
Stein, A. (2010). Longing for nothingness: Resistance, denial, and the place of death in the nursing home. Lanham: Jason Aronson.
Sterelny, K., & Griffiths, P. E. (1999). Sex and death: An introduction to philosophy of biology. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.