01/10/2012-2nd paper Cold Nightsky
I think of death as a transcendence to another state of being, that even after death I will keep on existing. At least I hope and live my life as such, since I love living, therefore I must keep on existing.. I must admit that I don’t think I would be in a healthy mental state to write this paper, if I really had pondered about the thought of death as an ending. I believe one would think of death in a real sense, either when they end up in a position of losing their health, or having a disease which is likely to make them feel death is near. Plato’s quote “the distraction of body on soul ” in this case would influence one to ask himself more serious questions and find real answers , instead of the ones he would ask himself, in his comfortzone of body and soul in harmony. Dying and being transformed into something else as particles in soil or whatever form that might take, is inevitable. Our physical existence will definitely become something else but our soul, will be separated from it, finally “splitting itself from the body” as Socrates interprets. From that moment on, our soul will no longer be disturbed by other effects such as time, and this state would be “all that a philosopher (a mortal) would ask for” he adds. But how is it that the soul lives on when the body dies? I can think and philosophize about things and happenings I have acquaintance with , how is it possible that the soul can keep thinking in a form without the body? Without the senses? Even though I would like to believe in existence after death in the form of my soul , I think one can only philosophize about things which he has seen and know. How can one not see anything ,and keep philosophizing about things to come? Is death good or bad? It could be good if it’s the final nothingness, as you would not feel or think anything bad, from that point onwards. Are you then better-off dead committing suicide? No. Because for both ways that has no sense at all. You would basically steal from yourself the only life to live and to decide which is better. It can be bad because you would then lack all the good things in life.
There is nobody that doesn’t ponder about death, as it is either an end, or a beginning, and human is finite. It’s this dilemma keeps mankind busy wishing to understand what they will be facing. One will start life thinking about death. He will plan everything, do everything, live everything with the idea of being finite. “As soon as one is born, he begins to die..” (Title Luigi Pirandello's "Henry IV").
Death is something we cannot experience. We will ask questions throughout our life but will never know what it’s about. Considerably the best can be done is, to prepare ourselves in the best way we believe. Some would have his religion do the thinking for them, on the other hand others will just wait anxiously the final nothingness as Heidegger interprets.
Two great thinkers of the concept of death are Heidegger (Skeptic) and Seneca (Stoic). They’ve both analyzed how death is correlated to human existence. Seneca defined life in the shortness of life that one will live short or long depending on his very own attitudes towards it. On the other hand Heidegger’s concept is correlated to the notion of death, that life can only be defined through death.
According to Stoic philosophy on death, living a long life is only possible if one commits itself to a greater cause or a meaningful goal. A short and useless life would be guaranteed for one, if one lives in vain. It is the attitude towards life that would define the shortness of life. Instead of all the questions we ask ourselves hopelessly , we should be enjoying our lives like it is the last day, only that way we wouldn’t fear the day after.. Seneca quotes: “One man is gripped by insatiable greed , another by a laborious dedication to useless tasks”. These people would “worry about the present, think about the future and regret about the past”. Basically having no time to live their lives. Death is a passage, an ultimate defeat, accept it and you will live better. That is also why, all religion devoted men at the time , would agree on his ideas, and used them for educational purposes.

Heidegger on the other hand would start from the finite being of human. Our whole life takes shape according to death. ”Death is a way to be. Not a way to end..” he quotes. According to his views, death is non-relational, thus alone. Only one would know about his own death therefore it cannot be shared. Phenomenon of life, is which defines how one exists. That inevitable event will occur one day, instead of fleeing the idea one could be better aware of the possible not-being.
Before his death , he asked a Christian burial and was buried in a Catholic cemetery where his parents are buried as well. However he did not want the catholic cross on his tombstone quoting : “After a lifetime thinking , still shone, cold, clear, and alone in the nightsky?”. Which is obvious that even close to the event of death, his ideas were not yet any different.

If existence of one is due to an ending, and this ending can take place anytime, what would be the reason of existence at the first place. It is this idea makes me believe in an existence after death, but I believe one can have more insight and fathom the truth, once he is “shone, cold, clear, and alone in the nightsky”..

Özgür Baykara
Law