Worrying about our death less and accepting that it may come any day will make us less anxious over it. At the same time, perhaps paradoxically, thinking philosophically about death (rather than worrying) will help us focus more on what truly matters. In the end we are all the same and all we have to show for our lives is what good we did.
I find it harder to contemplate the death of my loved ones, especially the idea that they may be taken from me before we reach old age. At my end there will either be an afterlife or nothingness, but living with the absence of someone dear to me is harder to contemplate! (I know this is more related to other weeks’ topics than this one to an extent since it’s more about loss/pain than my own death.)
It is certainly hard to accept the death of loved ones, especially if "premature." But that's what training is for: to prepare for hard things. If they were easy, we wouldn't need training...
The operative word in your assay to me is " greed".Me Me Me More More More!.In my retirement community people in their eighties and ninties are having surgeries and medical treatments just so they can spend the rest of their lives attached to walkers and wheelchairs never once venturing outside the building to breath outside air.If you want to be immortal be a blood and organ donor while you can ,be a mentor to our children or just enjoy nature .Massimo you know who said this "You have gone aboard,made your voyage,come to harbor : Disembark "
I have observed that many of the behaviors that shorten our lives also do nothing for our character. It is hard to be rational in the middle of a sugar crash, and many of today's guidelines for a healthy living seem to echo the advice of Epicurus and Diogenes, drink lots of water and eat your beans.
I don't know if you are aware, but since you originally wrote this longevity protocols have become hugely popular and some are elevating it to practically a philosophy of life (Don't Die, for example). I am interested in your thoughts on this, as it seems to dovetail with many of your areas of expertise. Maybe a topic for a future essay?
Andrew, interesting observation. There is a big difference, I think, between the quest for longevity and the quest for virtue. Longevity is an indifferent for a Stoic, and it may be dispreferred if one doesn't use one's life well. The advice to live simply and in a "healthy" manner is given by the Stoics so that (a) we don't get too focused on externals and (b) we can keep healthy the thing the truly matters, our capacity for judgment.
Worrying about our death less and accepting that it may come any day will make us less anxious over it. At the same time, perhaps paradoxically, thinking philosophically about death (rather than worrying) will help us focus more on what truly matters. In the end we are all the same and all we have to show for our lives is what good we did.
I find it harder to contemplate the death of my loved ones, especially the idea that they may be taken from me before we reach old age. At my end there will either be an afterlife or nothingness, but living with the absence of someone dear to me is harder to contemplate! (I know this is more related to other weeks’ topics than this one to an extent since it’s more about loss/pain than my own death.)
It is certainly hard to accept the death of loved ones, especially if "premature." But that's what training is for: to prepare for hard things. If they were easy, we wouldn't need training...
The operative word in your assay to me is " greed".Me Me Me More More More!.In my retirement community people in their eighties and ninties are having surgeries and medical treatments just so they can spend the rest of their lives attached to walkers and wheelchairs never once venturing outside the building to breath outside air.If you want to be immortal be a blood and organ donor while you can ,be a mentor to our children or just enjoy nature .Massimo you know who said this "You have gone aboard,made your voyage,come to harbor : Disembark "
I have observed that many of the behaviors that shorten our lives also do nothing for our character. It is hard to be rational in the middle of a sugar crash, and many of today's guidelines for a healthy living seem to echo the advice of Epicurus and Diogenes, drink lots of water and eat your beans.
I don't know if you are aware, but since you originally wrote this longevity protocols have become hugely popular and some are elevating it to practically a philosophy of life (Don't Die, for example). I am interested in your thoughts on this, as it seems to dovetail with many of your areas of expertise. Maybe a topic for a future essay?
Andrew, interesting observation. There is a big difference, I think, between the quest for longevity and the quest for virtue. Longevity is an indifferent for a Stoic, and it may be dispreferred if one doesn't use one's life well. The advice to live simply and in a "healthy" manner is given by the Stoics so that (a) we don't get too focused on externals and (b) we can keep healthy the thing the truly matters, our capacity for judgment.