Why is Death a fearful event for all living beings?

Question

All natural events like survival and reproduction are associated with pleasure.A baby voluntarily drinks milk necessary for survival. Reproduction is a pleasurable activity.But death which is very much a natural event is feared.Why has Nature made it fearful ?

Please remember it is not only human beings but all living things on earth fear death.Looks like a natural feeling or instinct

Perhaps Fear of Death is part of the Survival instinct

Probably Nature is not bothered about feelings.The instincts of survival and reproduction outlive their utility.Once Nature's object is accomplished it does not care anymore.It does not need Man's(or any living being) cooperation to impose death unlike reproduction or survival.

Answer 1

This is a very good question. You are quite true when saying animals are afraid of death also, as well as human beings.

Well, the most obvious reason I know is that process to death is oftentimes painful. It is more unpleasant than death itself. The other reason is that all living beings have basic instinct for survival and reproduction, as you said. We do not have instinct for death. Death is natural, but everything is nature seems build mechanisms to fight against death.

Answer 2

This is by fare the best question I have read on this on this site.
I think that the reason is that beings are afraid of death just that they are upset that one of the people they care about is going to died some time down the line.
What makes death fearful is knowing that this person hung around you and is no longer there. Death is also misunderstood, people see it as the final ,the end or the last of everything. What they don't think about is that when we died were with God.

Answer 3

Because death is the curse we brought on ourselves by disobeying God when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. There are so many atheists in this world denying that God and eternal life actually exists but there's no denying that they still fear it. If it didnt exist, then why would mankind have that fear built into them? A fear of death is healthy anyway. It's like fearing falling off a cliff. If we didnt fear death, then we wouldnt make the effort to live.

Answer 4

Death is not fearful for all. It is man and his fear of change and the unknown that makes death fearful for some. It is organized religion that teaches of a vindictive, vengeful God that makes people fear retribution for anything they have done wrong in life.

Anyone who truly understands that death is a transition to another life or a different state of being does not fear death. Anyone who understands that God is love will not fear becoming closer to him. Anyone who knows that we are here to learn from all our interactions and experiences in life will understand that our time here is the closest that we will get to hell. Our goal while we are here is to learn and grow, emotionally and spiritually. We either learn all the lessons that we need to in this life and then transition to the next state or we become so lost in this life that we need to leave and start over. Either way, death is not an end. It is just the beginning of another phase of our existence.

Answer 5

The preservation of life seems to be a natural instinct, but humans seem to have the capacity to mitigate this instinct and to choose death over life. As to why humans fear death, I think it goes beyond a merely instinctual drive to preserve life. I think that we are conscious of death as an absolute end to our existence (at least as we know it) and fear the experience of the unknowable that death presents.

Answer 6

The fear of going through is worse than anything else. In some societies,members even though has high philosophical concepts of death,but when it comes to practice,they dont walk the talk. Coz they know its easy said than done.And when the young blood keeps experiencing this attitude of their elders right from their childhood, they also develop this attitude.so i mean to say this fear is genetic, unless somebody thinks deeply over it and gets over it in their own explanations and mind you this getting over must be real not just another philosophical funda.

And animals,i cant comment as i dont know how they perceive but i guess they dont fear death. its their natural instinct to run away from what they think might cause pain to them.

Answer 7

The soldier tremble like hell before going out into the battlefield. Why? because there a step between life and death. I think the face of death is what scares people

Answer 8

Fear is foundation, Essence of death itself...Would it be so that it is not life dying but death dying, fear dying? Along with creator of it... That would explain continuation of life after "death"in different, pure, fearless forms. Fear is not of Nature. It is created by minds of people and projected into environment...Animals and even environment itself just reflecting human fear...That would explain biblical dominion of a man over other creatures and creation.

Answer 9

It's not a bit scary. All of the people who say this have no idea what they are talking about.

Several years ago I had an unusual experience concerning an uncle, a distant relative who lived over a thousand miles away.

While driving my car I suddenly felt the unmistakable presence of this relative that I hardly even knew. He was more like someone I had heard about than someone I knew. It was very strange; it felt as though I was momentarily lifted right out of my physical body. I seemed to be suspended somehow beyond space and time, bathed in a love so intense It felt like I could have just disappear into it at any moment if It would have let me. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it seemed to last forever at the same time. I realize how crazy this must sound. The experience was so strong that at first I was afraid I was loosing my grip on reality. I finally managed to chalk it up to an over active imagination.

Three days later I got a call from my aunt telling me that this uncle we are talking about had gone into a coma and died the day I had the experience. It felt like ice water had been poured down my back when she told me this. I had lost any real ideas of God or faith and had become somewhat of an atheist. Needless to say this experience caused me to rethink some of the conclusions I had come to.

I feel blessed to now understand that even in our darkest confusion something loves us so much that it went out of its way to assist me and bring me back to a state of absolute certainty about Gods love for us.
During the experience it seemed like there was a vast amount of information that I was somehow allowed access to. One thing that I came away from this experience understanding beyond any shadow of a doubt was that any Idea that God is unhappy with us or would judge or allow us to be punished for any reason is simply impossible.

I can’t explain the love I felt with words. They simply don’t make words big enough or complete enough to do this. The only way I can begin to convey this love to you is to say that there was simply nothing else there. Nothing but love. No hint of judgment, no displeasure of any sort. It is as though God sees us as being as perfect as we were the day we were created. It is only in our confused idea of ourselves that we seem to have changed.

I hope this is of some help to you. Good luck. Love and blessings.

Your brother don

Answer 10

Nature has not made death fearful, humans have. The reason for it, this is my own personal opinion, is that we will not know how and when we die. Most people find that very unnerving, since most major incidents in our life are planned well in advance.