On the Rationality of Fear of Death

Abstract

This article discusses the bearing of some arguments on the rationality of death fear on the hypothesis of the secular conception of death, namely, that death entails complete extinction of consciousness. Variants of three arguments are evaluated: (1) If the dead experience nothing, and only the (broadly) painful is fearful, then death should not be feared; (2) Being deprived of something we desire is fearful, thus death, as a deprivation, might be rationally feared; (3) It is not rational to fear non-premature death because lifespan longer than the normal is not desirable for the rational person.