What is the Meaning of Death?

Question

I see a lot of questions about the meaning of Life, but no one asks what the meaning of Death is. Is death a punishment or a reward? Is it worth working hard your entire life, or sitting around doing nothing, because in the end, we all die? What does Imminent Death signify to you?

Answer 1

The meaning of death is limitation. We are limited beings; death is the ultimate boundary of our being. This may seem simple, on the surface, but it is actually a deeper concept. To make my point, let me offer two odd statements.

1) Death is not an event; it is an intrinsic aspect of Being.

2) Even if we are able to achieve immortality by some technological or spiritual means, our existence would still be bounded by the possibility of death.

Heidegger makes a distinction between death and demise. When a biological being stops functioning, this is what Heidegger calls the demise of the organism. Death, on the other hand, is the ever-present potentiality of Being. Even if you manage somehow to put off your biological demise indefinitely, the potential for your demise at any moment is still with you; death is still an intricate potentiality of your existence. Existence cannot be separated from non-existence. Existence stands out from Nothingness like the figure stands out from its background. You cannot have figure without ground; you can't have plus without minus, etc. You cannot have existence without death because death (non-existence) is the ground of existence.

To bring this into clearer focus, imagine for a moment that some version of the traditional notion of heaven is true. On this view, we are created by God, and God grants us immortality, which is to say, that he forever puts off the demise of our souls in heaven. (I'm just taking the notion of biological demise and applying it to the traditional concept of soul.) But even in this situation, we were thrown into existence. We did not have a choice to exist or not, we just found ourselves existing. Thus we never escape the brute fact of reality that the ground of our Being is still Non-Being. Even though we are immortal souls hanging out happily with God in heaven, the very fact that we exist implies that we did not chose to exist and could still cease to exist. As I said, this is because the very nature of existence implies the possibility of non-existence. In the case of the traditional God/heaven scenario, God is all powerful and could zap us out of existence even if, as a matter of fact, He never actually chooses to do so. Once again, the point is that death – as the potentiality for non-being – is always an intrinsic aspect of the nature of existence itself.

Personally, I don't buy the traditional notion of God. I think that "God" is just Existence, and thus God is limited in the same sense that Existence is limited, which is to say, that God did not choose to exist in the first place; God simply exists. And since God is Existence, an intrinsic aspect of God's nature is the possibility of Non-Existence. This is simply the brute logic of Being. So Death is a potentiality even for God. Even if, as a matter of fact God never actually dies, Death is still an aspect of God because the fact that God exists logically implies the possibility that God might never have existed, or might cease to exist, so even God must face the ultimate question of "Why do I exist?"

Existence is intrinsically limited by the fact that it is grounded in the possibility of non-existence. Truly understanding what this means will typically induce some degree of existential anxiety. This is good. This anxiety is a sign that you finally understand the true meaning of death.

Answer 2

After reading all of the previous answers to your question, I must thoroughly apologize. The ONLY person whose response I even thought remotely helpful was the person who used 'transformation of energy'.

I'm here to actually ANSWER your question(s). Here goes...

1. What is the Meaning of Death?
Firstly, death is a term coined to imply the 'expiration of life'. That is, its ending or stopping point. This alone constitutes the indirect and perhaps unconsciously aware belief that life is a 'process' AND that it has a 'duration' or 'extent'.

Culturally, throughout the ages, humans have made death a negative phenomenon, associated it with evil and ill omens, and even personified it as a dark-robed skeleton with a scythe.

Physically, as associated with the mortal coil of man, death is known to be the end of the body...NOT the mind, nor spirit.

Beliefs differ whether the spirit (essence, soul, ki, energy, it has many names) of man is lost in death. See Religion.

*****IN MY PERSONAL OPINION, if such a thing exists, then it has always existed and shall always exist ad infitum and therefore CANNOT expire, and hasn't a duration other than forever or an extent other than always.

2. Is Death a Punishment/Reward?
This question implies that death is a 'gift' or is 'granted' as is life by a higher power. Again, see Religion...NOT Philosophy.

3. Is [Death] worth working hard your entire life, or sitting around doing nothing, because in the end, we all die?
That is a question YOU are supposed to answer, but in so asking, you are actually asking "What is the Meaning/Purpose/Reason of Life?"...
which I found amusing ;)

Again, you assume there is an end? or that Death itself is an end of some kind, what makes you sure it's not a beginning? what makes you sure anything will change at all? what makes you sure 'we all die'? do you think you could ever know without experiencing it yourself? Keep in mind I'M NOT SUGGESTING YOU SHOULD TRY IT... :)

4. What Does Imminent Death signify to You?
The term denotes an immediacy in death, thereabout discussing/regarding infants, the young or well-bodied, or the righteous/virtuous I assume. Well, maybe they are better at death than we are, better at passing from life...maybe they are the eldest among us spirits who've wandered from coil to coil.

I DO believe there is a difference, whether that difference is good or bad, is up to you to decide. Whether their 'death' (and I use this now as a relative term) is a 'gift' or 'punishment' is also up to you. What do you believe? You are questioning your beliefs. See Religion for your answers, not Philosophy. Although, keep your mind open...and I hope to see you again someday.

Answer 3

Death is the inevitable end to life.It is not a curse,rather,it is a part of the natural cycle of life.Though we grieve and regret the passing away of a near and dear one,yet,we know that it is natural and common to all living beings.It is because we are aware of our mortality,that we enjoy life to the fullest,while it lasts.We would not appreciate the value of hard work,love and human relationships,if we were immortal.Mortality is a blessing when we think of the helplessness of old age.Old age is ridden with disease and illnesses due to an old and weak body.An old person depends heavily upon others for support,both physically and mentally.Death is a release from the physical ailments and inabilities/It is painful even to think of a never-ending life in old age.Finally,human mortality maintains the balance of nature.That is,every death is compensated by a new birth.Imagine the world where humans may multiply but never die!
Still, it is strange that we who remain when someone dies are so bereft, and so afraid of our own inevitable transition. I actually look forward to the end of winter, which is a time of "death". When winter itself dies, spring is born. If only I had such faith in human life, I could see the blessing of each season and not be worried when one season becomes the next!
Thus,death is blessing......There are many views on it but it differs according to the situations we face....

"If a man considers that he is born, he cannot avoid the fear of death. Let him find out if he has been born or if the Self has any birth. He will discover that the Self always exists, that the body that is born resolves itself into thought and that the emergence of thought is the root of all mischief. Find from where thoughts emerge. Then you will be able to abide in the ever-present inmost Self and be free from the idea of birth or the fear of death. "
-Ramana Maharshi

Answer 4

No one likes that question for the same reason married people do not like to talk about divorce. That question forces you to face an ending of what you perceive as happiness, or your mortality. The answer you seek is as complex as its conterpart life. The funny thing is that death is a period or stage in time just as life ,niether good nor bad although ultimately it is the soul that determines the out come of death or life, i.e some cultures welcome death as a stage in life while others view it as an ending point . Imminent Death is just as powerful as Imminent Death...keyword being Imminent. Death and Life go hand in hand to seperate them is to take away their purpose, almost like trying to seperate yin and yang, heaven and hell,. After a while Imminent anything gets boring or godlike...depending on if you have ADD

Answer 5

Death is defined here-


Death has always been the most dreaded factor of life for any living being. It is not only the humans who are afraid of death... animals and other forms of life also feel the same!

What makes death the most fearful of all attributes of God? There is none who can defy death. It is only after gaining self realization and enlightenment that one becomes immortal. It is this stage when the fear of death vanishes for ever. Every God realized Master and an enlightened individual finally overcomes death.

What is to death that is feared about most? Death announces the end of the physical manifested journey on Mother Earth. Whatever be the achievements of an individual in any phase of life... be it the form of an insect, animal or the human being himself... all seems to have gone wasted!


After the death of the body... none remembers what the next manifestation would be! For the present being all is lost after the death of the body. The entity for which it lived all through in the present life seems to be lost forever the moment the death of the body occurs.

The achievements in the present life... do they carry no value. Why does not God Almighty show mercy on human beings and increase their life span proportionate to their achievements in the physical manifested life.

It is a remote possibility that such an arrangement may have worked. Probably God Almighty did not have able advisers. People of the level of Edison and Einstein may have continued living for thousands of years. In doing so they would have immensely benefited the mankind and for God there was nothing to lose. But so was not destined by God. Why?


Why is it so that death makes an uninteresting subject! We may have labored for a full 30~35 years... the primetime of our life having spent in creating an enormous wealth. But when comes the time for death of the body... All shall be left behind. Why? More on death here- http://www.godrealized.com/Death.html

Answer 6

You are wrong my friend as I care weather you live or die and I'm so sorry that your life has been so sad. At Matt 24:14 it says this "GOOD NEWS" of the Kingdom, you have not heard of this good news as it will change your views. You have good in you as you did not blame others you just wish to end your suffering but what you don't know is why you are suffering do you? 1 John 5:19 says: We know we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the [power of the] wicked one. Many have been in your shoes and allot of them when finding that they are cared for and that there is a group of over 7 million that care for everyone that is seeking relief from Satan's system of things. You believe in a burning hell but there is no such a place, this teaching comes from paganism. You can check this out just email me and I will show you how free of charge you can download a publication called "What Does the Bible Really Teach?", after reading this study aid and looking up the scriptures from the Bible and if your a sincere person I guaranty your views will change as you will learn that soon "all" living will be happy and the past won't even be brought to mind as the true God Jehovah says he will make all matter straight and it will be as if they never happened! Many have been where you are and after learning the truth they have found a purpose for their lives and even while living in this earth ruled by Satan they are happy and looking forward to the time when Satan will be no more and mankind will be happy!

Answer 7

i am a Muslim and i believe that:

death is that the soul comes out of the body....
so, the body become motionless
sleeping is called " the smaller death" as the soul may come out but it returns again.

death is a temporary stage between this life and the after life

if u did good in this life, u will live good in the afterlife.....and while u are dead.....your god work will be with u and u will have a nice time until the waking up day come, the contrary is for people with bad deeds

If we die and that is it all.... , we have no reason to not be unfair or injustice.... but we have something called "conscious" this thing is a small thing in us telling us what is the right and what is the wrong..... in Islam, this small thing is compatible with our teachings and rules...

and so, the life for a Muslim is a big test, and the death is the waiting time... the results are in the after life.

Answer 8

It is the same meaning as the withering away of a flower. The flower has already left behind a continuity factor , in the form of a tiny seed. The flower`s duty is over. So long it was in blossom it gave alot of happiness and cheer to the people around them. Now it had handed over the baton to the next generation.

The flower did not fear withering away , its death. So is the death for the human being . The being played its assigned role and has departed . it is the others , near and the dear, who witnessed the role pay and got totally engrossed in the act and are crying for the departed sould.

Answer 9

I think it depends a lot on how you deal with the meaning of life. I mean if you see human life as something useless that only serves to pollute this world, you probably will see death as something useless too, then or you won't care too much about it or you'll fear it too much. On the other hand, if you consider human existence owns a purpose which is connected to some religious/philosophical beliefs, you'll see death as a natural consequence of a spiritual evolution which nobody is able to escape from. Every short/medium/tall being created by Mother Nature exist because of a bigger purpose than the mere existence. On these terms, we would die many times in many different lives and in many different worlds until our spirit reached the highest evolution or, if you prefer, until we became 'angels'. You can call me 'nut' for believing in such a 'weird' theory, but your opinion about my belief it's not of my business anyway.

Answer 10

Is life the meaning of death? Or is death the meaning of life? Once we have completed our purpose on this planet is death the reward to go on to another life? The point of this question is to form thoughts not answers.

Answer 11

Death gives life it's value. Nothing is eternal. Death just IS. The meaning of it? Transformation of energy I think. Death is needed to create life.