Similarities Between Socrates And Lucretius

There is no possible way to escape death. Death is an inevitable fate for everyone. Thanatology is the study of death. It focuses on the social aspects of death as well as the mechanisms and forensic aspects, such as the bodily effects that are associated with death. Socrates is an ancient philosopher that I agree with regarding to his theory on thanatology, whereas Lucretius is a philosopher that I do not agree with. People’s different or similar aspects regarding death are the result of societal and cultural influences such as religion, art and funeral rituals. Ones ideas, views, beliefs, attitudes, and values regarding death are molded into them since youth. There are three ways to view death; either you’re death-accepting, death-defying, …show more content…
He believed that there is no need to involve any divine beings in the formation of our universe because according to Lucretius the nature of our universe can be explained by natural laws. He believed that there is no need to be afraid of deities because the reason for the way the world operates is because of natural phenomena, or atoms. Lucretius argued against the fear of death, stating that death is just the disintegration of one’s material being. He stated that the human’s physical body is a vessel that holds their mind and spirit but one’s mind and spirit cannot continue to live if not confined in the physical body. According to Lucretius if ones physical body deceases then their mind and spirit cease to exist as well. Since one cannot feel or think when they perish, they cannot miss being alive, therefore death is neither a good nor bad thing nor should it not be something we should worry about. Lucretius claimed that fear of death is something experienced while alive, and that only a living mind can feel. Lucretius claims there is no reason to fear death and conveys his symmetry argument against the fear of death. The symmetry argument states that death and our pre-natal state of non-being are the same because if our pre-natal state of non-being counts as nothing then our death should count as nothing as well. In De Rerum Natura Lucretius states that “the soul and body live and perish together; …show more content…
My beliefs on death are completely opposite of Lucretius, and although both philosophers believe we should not fear death, I completely disagree with Lucretius’ theory of nothingness. I believe in Socrates’ theory and that we do not know what exactly will happen when we die. Nobody has crossed over to the afterlife and then came back to tell us what awaits us but my belief about the afterlife is based on faith, because while you are alive all you can do is have faith that there is purgatory, heaven, and hell. It may also be possible that we cross over to an unconscious state where we sleep forever undisturbed but I believe that no matter what happens our soul will always live on, even if your physical body is deceased. Each of us will face judgment when our time comes and since heaven is our ultimate goal when it comes to death we should lead lives that are pure and just. Depending on what one believes, death is either the end of an existence, or it is the passageway into another realm or