Philosophers: Do you agree that the fear of death is the beginning of philosophy and the cause of religion?

Question

Thanks to all your answers. Have a great day!

Answer 1

Fear of death has virtually NOTHING to do with the logical progression of thought, & reasoning in philosophy.
The roots of religion are deep, long, & disparate. One theme they most have in common is death. Myths have been created to satisfy the forever unanswerable. What happens after we die!
I respect, if not agree with, many of the fables. If people are comforted by whatever doctrine or god they choose, I have no problem. In fact, reincarnation is a beautiful fantasy to me, as I love LIFE & never think about death, as it's inevitable.
It is absurd to say that death takes the place of God for the Atheist. Atheists are without belief in thesim, in god or gods. It's therefore irrational that anything would "take the place" of a god.
Fear of death has always been the nucleus of religion.

Answer 2

The self conscious notion for the reason for the dead and the unknown consequence for its consciousness is certainly existential, and all things known as existential are certainly subject to the mind philosophic (self conscious and symbolic). When I think about what is the start for philosophic activity, I run into a fallacy..... at least one, the continuum fallacy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuum_fallacy

Continuum fallacy, also called fallacy of the beard is a logical fallacy which abuses the paradox of the heap. The fallacy appears to prove that two states are not different, or do not exist at all, because there is a continuum of states between them; that there is no difference in quality because there exists a difference in quantity.

The fallacy is often described in form of a conversation:

Q: Does one grain of wheat form a heap?
A: No.
Q: If we add one, do two grains of wheat form a heap?
A: No.
Q: If we add one, do three grains of wheat form a heap?
A: No.
...
Q: If we add one, do one hundred grains of wheat form a heap?
A: No.
Q: Therefore, no matter how many grains of wheat we add, we will never have a heap. Therefore, heaps don't exist!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regression_fallacy

Things like stock market prices, golf scores, and chronic back pain can fluctuate naturally and may regress towards the mean. The logical flaw is to make predictions that expect exceptional results to continue as if they were average. (See representativeness heuristic.) People are most likely to take action when variance is at its peak. Then after results become more normal they believe that their action was the cause of the change when in fact it was not causal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_regress

An infinite regress in a series of propositions arises if the truth of proposition P1 requires the support of proposition P2, and for any proposition in the series Pn, the truth of Pn requires the support of the truth of Pn+1. There would never be adequate support for P1, because the infinite sequence needed to provide such support could not be completed.

Distinction is made between infinite regresses that are "vicious" and those that are not. One definition given is that a vicious regress is "an attempt to solve a problem which re-introduced the same problem in the proposed solution. If one continues along the same lines, the initial problem will recur infinitely and will never be solved. Not all regresses, however, are vicious." [1]

The infinite regress forms one of the three parts of the Munchhausen-Trilemma.

Answer 3

Philosophy is a process by which we obtain a better understanding of reality. It is an activity that is constantly ongoing withing each and every being of intelligent capacity. It is a human activity. Some do it more religiously than others. And some have developed concepts that can be called religious if you want. But both already existed before man. It just took man time to bring it out of the dark and reveal it as a function. Death is a part of that activity and therefor is included in the normal concepts and can be interweaved into some one or other concept logically because it is a real activity.

Answer 4

I would say that the fear of death was probably not an as big of an issue for people of the past when living only 20 years was the norm and philosophy probably started back in them days idk.. The longer we live the more important life becomes to the ones that fear death. And the ones that fear death are imo the ones that believe death of body is death of the soul/mind. My reason for believing this is because if you truely believe your death and everyone elses including the universe itself leads to a pointless existance pretty much... Thinking that way is probably the biggest motive to not enjoy your life and the people around you while you have them. While you spend the rest of your life fighting everyone else to find that one possible answer that could bring about eternal life for yourself and possibly others in any way shape or form you can. Is it any wonder so many atheists have the love of science in common? They all know that science is there only hope for gaining immortallity something people who know they wont truely die dont search as hard for...

As for the cause of religion I would guess it was caused by Groups/Govs/Rulers because its a great way to get people to stop thinking for themselfs if used correctly in a totaly immoral way. Spirituality used to be the norm before people could talk to each other well enoth to express every thought like we do nowadays. Spirituality will be big again I hope and take the place of religion but if that happens it will bring about a new set of problems and answers with it.

Answer 5

Which came first, philosophy, or religion, or, again, which came first religion, or philosophy? Death is an absents of Life. Like darkness is the absents of Light. There is no such thing as death. or darkness. And, if religion had a cause, then it not religion. Religion is closer to a way of Life then a belief. How can you be fearful of nothingness? That does not speck well for philosophy, or religion.

Answer 6

Not at all. Spirituality, an innate feeling some possess, is the reason for religion; the belief in a higher power.
Philosophy is brought about by those who are deep thinkers; who see more than the obvious.
I'm both, do not now (and never have) feared death, nor do I even think about it.
Fear of death, actually the possible consequences of what might happen to you afterward, often lead those with guilty consciences into following a (phoney) religious path, hoping they pay their spiritual "insurance" before they die.

Answer 7

I believe philosophy is seeking the knowledge of what life means and how a person can live fully and understand everything in the world as fully as one can. I don't believe that it has anything at all to do with death, but what we should be doing here on earth while we are alive. To me philosophy and religion go hand in hand, each one being a tool to use in how one should live their lives.

Answer 8

I don't believe so. I believe the beginning of philosophy is man's beginning to understand the meaning of his very life as related to his universe and every creatures in it, God, his daily experiences, hungers, satisfactions,pains and pleasures, sights, and host of others-LIFE in the broader sense. This goes the same way for the beginning of religion.

Death on the other hand, does have something to do with religion, in one facet. Fear of death, as such, fear of not being able to acquire the eternal salvation of the soul - thatit may be saved from the eternal lake of fire, leads man to continue to strive for what is morally good in conformity to God's laws(10 commandments), so that there may be a chance his soul will rest in peace with God in the kingdom of heaven

Answer 9

Yes, I agree. Fear of Death (or what is after life) is a hidden seed that comes with our genes. We cover it with the false feeling of "the struggle for survival" but it is always there in our subconscious, driving us to know what "comes next". Knowing what comes next - some think - can be achieved through philosophy, and most of the laymen think it can be achieved through religion.

However, I personally believe that neither leads to such knowledge, because we are in fact pathetically limited in tools and natural resources.

Answer 10

I think that most people fear death and for many this may be the reason that they begin to think seriously about religion. The search for God usually needs a catalyst otherwise we would be fooled into thinking that the carnival of life that we see before us each day with all of its dazzle is our true existence. It takes the removal of these distractions in silent prayer and meditation that reveals the truth of permanent and inseparable bond to our wonderful creator.