Life (at least biological life) is finite, and all people must eventually face death. Despite knowing this, people have a wide range of emotions and reactions to death. Some people embrace it with a sense of honor and dignity. Some fear it, and some refuse to acknowledge that they will ever see death. Does knowing that death is inevitable change how we life? Why does death surprise us?
What about the possibility of the soul? If we have a soul, is it finite like the body? Perhaps, it is not subject to the natural decay of the universe, and perhaps the soul can "live" on after the body has ceased to function. Does this possibility change the way we live? Maybe it is impossible to know for certain, but if it was, would that matter? Would knowing that we will live forever have any effect on how we choose to live today? Would our choices be different? What about our values? Do we even want to live forever, or is ultimate death a welcome relief from the trails and pain of life?
I just saw this movie last week...it was lovely...exceptional images and philosophical content...thanks for posting this, CJ
ReplyDeleteThe ancient Egyptians used to live their lives in preparation for death and what came after. Our culture largely seems to shy away from the idea of even growing old, as if change was frightening.
ReplyDeleteAs for our behavior in regards to knowing we will die, I think this:
-Death is inevitable, so why worry about it?
-One should live their life to the fullest they can.
-Since, I think, we continue on after our bodies stop working, we carry with us all that makes up our character/self. So with that in mind, we should strive to be the person we'd like to be (if we didn't continue on, it would still be worth being who/working to be who we want to be for the time we're around).