Very interesting topic. When I was a child I was terrified of death: it seemed like the worst possible outcome to me, and I imagined that I would rather live being tortured for eternity rather than die (although it’s unlikely I would have maintained this preference in practice).
At one point I got very into Stoicism and for a summer I imagined at the start of every day that I, and all my loved ones, might die today, and used this as motivation to be grateful for each day and make the most of each interaction. About a year later I almost drowned—for about 20 seconds I thought I was going to die, but I didn’t feel any fear. It’s possible that this is how I survived, as I was able to stay calm and think my way out of the situation. Of course I still feel fear related to many dangers, and I haven’t done any exercises like these in a while, so the effects aren’t as strong.
But I certainly believe now that there are many things worse than death, and I probably take a bit more of a epicurean view of the badness of death than most EAs (I would measure the badness of death purely in foregone positive experiences and the negative impact it has on loved ones).
Very interesting topic. When I was a child I was terrified of death: it seemed like the worst possible outcome to me, and I imagined that I would rather live being tortured for eternity rather than die (although it’s unlikely I would have maintained this preference in practice).
At one point I got very into Stoicism and for a summer I imagined at the start of every day that I, and all my loved ones, might die today, and used this as motivation to be grateful for each day and make the most of each interaction. About a year later I almost drowned—for about 20 seconds I thought I was going to die, but I didn’t feel any fear. It’s possible that this is how I survived, as I was able to stay calm and think my way out of the situation. Of course I still feel fear related to many dangers, and I haven’t done any exercises like these in a while, so the effects aren’t as strong.
But I certainly believe now that there are many things worse than death, and I probably take a bit more of a epicurean view of the badness of death than most EAs (I would measure the badness of death purely in foregone positive experiences and the negative impact it has on loved ones).