As death is an inevitable part of the human existance, why do we inherently fear it?

Question

Humans are born with the indisputable knowledge that they will one day die. As this is a natural part of our being, why do we always fear it? Why were we made that way?

Answer 1

I don't fear death, I just hope that it isn't painful.

Answer 2

Fearing death is a survival advantage.  An organism that fears death will avoid it for as long as possible, and hence is more likely to reproduce.

Answer 3

First of all, we are NOT born with the indisputable knowledge that we will die. That being said, we fear death so that we may be more likely to avoid it until we can reproduce, and do all the other things that can help us, (like protect our young, pass on knowledge, contribute to the betterment of our community, etc.) as a species, survive.

Answer 4

We dont know what happens when we die, since we are alive. Its the fear of the unknown.The dead don't fear being dead... They're already there.

But being as this is you can very easily overcome this fear. Knowing what happens to the body allows us to surmise what happens to the mind. Since the body wears away, its safe to assume that the mind does as well.

Answer 5

Desire and Ego is Humane.

A developed third eye is only Saintly.

To make the most of this diamond like Birth.

FEAR is always the call of the day thinking of the Worldly attachment.

Answer 6

One thing is that we don't want our life to come to an end i reckon.

Answer 7

Feraing death, we strive to survive. It is nature's way of ensuring the continuation of the cosmic process in general and of the human race in particular.

Answer 8

It is the annihilation of self

Answer 9

We aren't all afraid of death.  Buddhists study death and the process of dying through teachings and meditations.  Most people fear death because they don't want to leave their loved ones and everything they've know to go to the unknown.

Answer 10

instinct, without that fear, we would not be so eager to avoid death. so we spread our genes better this way

Answer 11

Death allows us to ascribe purpose or direction to our life.

Hypothetically speaking:

Imagine we were the first bunch of humans to exist (let's just assume we came from eggs and that we don't know where the eggs came from).

There are one hundred of us and none of us have died; therefore, none of us know what death is (because we haven't experienced it yet).

I think it would be reasonable to say that all one hundred of us will mate and live life hunting and gathering and not caring about tommorow (because we have no conceptualization of "the end.") Therefore, we feel that life is limitless and can be taken in stride.

Now, imagine one day one of us dies and we figure it out. Then, we will structure our lives in relation to that person's life span. If he died at the age of 50, we will structure our lives in such a way to optimize our time until we reach our projected time of expiration.

This is why we go to school early in life, learn, and plan for retirement. Death is just a deadline to optimize time.

Why do we fear it? If you do not fear death, you do not value time, and therefore would not structure your life accordingly.

In other words, if you did not fear dying, you would not "make the most" of your life; you would waste all your time.

Answer 12

Fear of the unknown - a very human trait.  No-one has ever come back to tell us what it is like (and I mean no-one!)

Answer 13

fear of the unknown

Answer 14

Actually, we don't know at birth that we will eventually die.  THAT is why we fear it so.

Answer 15

We generally have fear towards the unknown that's why those who have "life after death" experiences come back from the other side with an absence of a fear of death.

Answer 16

I Dont fear death, I accept it as what will happen to me one day, you just hope its not with pain or with loss of dignity

Answer 17

As humans, we love to be in control. Our entire life, we aspire to have/do something, and are even expected to have these desires(essay topics such as "what do you want to be when you grow up"). We have no idea when we'll die, and thus no control over it. Even if you know you're going to die, you don't want to lose the control you'd had for your lifespan. It's also unkown what happens after death. In the ancient times, if you found something unkown, the question was pretty much "Can I eat it, or will it eat me?", paired with a bit of weary fear. So another reason may be in the fact that we don't know what's going to happen, or if nothing will happen at all and you'll simply be forgotton. That, in itself, is a very scary and depressing thought.

Answer 18

If we didn't care, we wouldn't last very long.

Answer 19

fear like happiness or any other reflex is inherent for animals and human beings.

the child new born doesnot know any of our philoshopies. It cries for food and warmth what it was enjoying in the mother's womb.

As you grow exrernal influence such as good and bad sin or virtue lure in your mind and the subconsious mind wants to relax and is not iterested in getting in to the bondage of salvation. hence it fears. the principle of least action rules.

Answer 20

its instinct to fear death. we try to avoid it because we are afraid of the unknown, or fear losing our sense of self, everyone around us, our life. it is far better to face your death in the end though, no point living in fear of the inevitable end of all we know and love..

Answer 21

I'm not afraid of dying but I feel sorry for the things I'll miss in life.

but as long as we won't exist to feel sorry, it shouldn't matter. right?

Answer 22

I tend to find that it's only religious people who fear death, it is their fear that drives them to create fantasy afterlifes. I, as an atheist don't fear death as I know I'm going to die, I only worry about events that can be changed.

Answer 23

Bacause we don't really know what is beyond.....

Buuuuuhhh

Answer 24

Your question keeps getting repeated on here and that is the only thing I don't understand is why?

The fear of death is a survival instinct, always.  Without it what happens?   Let's imagine THAT scene.



Would we want to have children?  Perpetuate the species?  

Would a lack of fear create more murders?  How savage would we be if we had no such fear, no respect for the lives of others?  

I think a part of the adrenaline rush thrill seekers get is a fear of getting themselves killed.  What happens without it?  Amusement parks would go out of business!!

But there is a point when we do not fear death and welcome it as an end to pain, suffering, and/or severe depression. Sometimes we will commit suicide even.

But, until that point is reached I will choose to live.

Answer 25

It is because of the "unknown". One of the most asked questions that can never be answered is "what happens after this life and our soul". Since that cannot be answered with valid evidence, some fear what is unknown about death.

Answer 26

Because it is the unknown. We have experienced living--so we know what it can potentially bring, from our own and others experiences--But we have not experienced dying--and so we fear what we do not know. It isn't any different really than going in for test results of a life or death kind. We are fearful, because we don't know the answer, and so then we fear the worst possible case scenario will be our outcome. We also have a tendency to fear the worst--that the experience of dying itself will be painful in some way--or what will happen after we die--will we live on in some other dimension? Will we reincarnate into another being? Those questions, if we allow them to, can cause us great suffering.

I think we were made this way, because life itself is a mystery--why should dying which is an inevitable part of living be any different? If we had all of the answers, living would be futile in away, wondering about death keeps us thinking, and sometimes, unfortunately distracts us from the work of living, which can be an interesting roller coaster when we look at it with curiosity and interest!

Answer 27

Most people fear it because we are so used to this world that we dont know what it is like so we fear it because it is the unknown and most people fear that they might go to h**l and well... thats life

Answer 28

Because, humans were created to live forever, and ever since Adam and Eve sinned and died, we were born with the want to live yet we fear death because it is not a natural thing.