Intro to Philosophy, Fall 2007, Clark Wolf, Instructor

First Short Writing Assignment:

Epicurus on the Fear of Death
Due: Thursday 13 Sept

FORMAT: This assignment must be neatly typed or printed on a word-processor. It should be between 700-1000 words long (about two pages of text). Do not use a folder or paper cover-- just staple your paper in the upper left-hand corner.

Your name should appear only at the top of the back of each page of your paper. Please staple the two pages together.

Epicurus believed that philosophy is practically useful, and that the study of philosophy can help us to live happier and more pleasant lives. One way in which philosophy can accomplish this is by relieving us of burdens that make life worse, and one such burden is the fear of death. Epicurus believed that fear of death makes life worse for many people, and that a proper understanding of death would eliminate such fear. In his Letter to Menoeceus, Epicurus offers a philosophical argument against the fear of death.  He writes:
"Get used to believing that death is nothing to us. For all good and bad consists in sense experience, and death is the privation of sense experience. Hence a correct knowledge of the fact that death is nothing to us makes the mortality of life a matter for contentment, not by adding a limitless time [to life] but by removing the longing for immortality. For there is nothing fearful in life for one who has grasped that there is nothing fearful in the absence of life. Thus, he is a fool who says that he fears death not because it will be painful when present but because it is painful when it is still to come. For that which while present causes no distress causes unnecessary pain when merely anticipated. So death, the most frightening of bad things, is nothing to us; since when we exist death is not yet present, and when death is present, we do not exist. Therefore it is relevant neither to the living nor the dead, since it does not affect the former, and the latter do not exist. But [most people] flee death as the greatest of bad things and sometimes choose it as a relief from the bad things of life. But the wise man neither rejects life nor fears death. For living does not offend him, nor does he believe not living to be something bad. And just as he does not unconditionally choose the largest amount of food but the most pleasant food, so he savours not the longest time but the most pleasant. He who advises the young man to live well and the old man to die well is simpleminded, not just because of the pleasing aspects of life, but because the same kind of practice produces a good life and a good death." [Epicurus, Letter to Menoeceus, ]

In this passage, Epicurus argues that we should not fear death. What is Epicurus’ argument for the claim that we should not fear death? What reasons and evidence does he offer in favor of the conclusion that we should not fear death? What kind of argument is Epicurus offering anyway, and is his argument rationally persuasive? Your assignment is to explain Epicurus' argument in your own words, and then to evaluate its success or failure. Your paper should have three parts, and you should clearly label and number them:

Part I: In a paragraph or so of your own words, sympathetically reconstruct Epicurus' argument for the claim that we should not fear death. Do this first in prose, explaining what you take to be Epicurus’ main point and the reasons he offers. Make sure that you present the argument fairly.

Part II: Then put Epicurus argument into standard form with the premises clearly separated from the conclusion. In putting this argument in standard form, you should leave out any claims that are not directly relevant to the conclusion that we should not fear death. You may decide that Epicurus offers several independent arguments against fear of death in this passage: if so, you may interpret this passage in terms of more than one standard-form argument.

Part III: In a page or so, evaluate Epicurus' argument. Is it convincing? What unstated assumptions does the argument employ? Are you persuaded that death is not to be feared? Are the reasons Epicurus offers good ones? How would a skeptical critic respond to Epicurus’ argument? Are there good reasons to reject Epicurus’ account of death, and why death is not to be feared? Do we have reason to reject the premises, or the inference from those premises to the conclusion? Whether you agree or disagree with Epicurus' argument, justify your evaluative claims with relevant arguments and points. Do not simply argue that the conclusion is false-- your paper should examine the reasoning used to support that conclusion.

Nota Bene: For the purpose of this assignment, you should accept Epicurus’ assumption that death is nonexistence-- nothingness. Plato believed in life after death-- you might have such a belief yourself.  But in this assignment, you should spend your time criticizing Epicurus’ argument in its own terms, not on the basis of a conception of ‘death’ that Epicurus would not have accepted.  You might frame the question in this way: If Epicurus is correct that death is nothingness, then would there be any reason to fear death.

Your entire paper should be no more than two single-spaced pages long, in 12 point Times Roman type and with normal margins. It should certainly be no longer than 1000 words.