Fear of pain?

[mexistaniX]

We don’t fear death, right? We fear the pain associated with death, only because it is, to most, unfathomable and unknown.

The common question is, “would you rather die painlessly or [insert odd fate here]?”

Most people choose to die painlessly rather than, let’s say for example, go blind or get an arm chopped off.

This needs not a scientific explanation, it is pretty straightforward. We do not resist pain, and for those that do, they usually do not fear most anything at all.

Emotionally, we prefer to act apathetic or hurt one’s self physically rather than experience the emotional barrage of a heart break or a death of a loved one. Acting apathetic has its repercussions of not making the right choices, while hurting one’s self physically, without getting into scientific jargon, distracts the person with relatively less pain, hence we have people that cut themselves for temporary relief from stressful situations.

All fears link to one primary fear, which is that of pain. Fear of heights? The discomfort of the mind and the pain situated with any possible fault. Fear of spiders? Discomfort to the mind and the possibility of being bitten. Fear of rejection? The emotional pain that may result from the said rejection.
All pains may be relative, physically and emotionally, but in the end one thing is true.

We fear pain the most.

 

[Imagine]

I agree with you. However, some people do fear death and the pain they may cause others by their death instead of pain they may cause themselves.

 

[mexistaniX]

Yes, but the pain they cause to others is a "pain" of discomfort towards themselves.
As virtuous as it sounds to prevent one's own death, truth is that one acts only for personal satisfaction(i.e: Ghandi had a philosophical idea of peace, and implemented his idea for the people; however, his idea caused self-satisfaction because he helped India's revolution) or for the prevention of one feeling a certain discomfort(i.e: "I will feel discomfort in my soul knowing that I will let others down").
So if I have a fear of letting down my loved ones because of my death, the basis of that fear is that I will not be able to provide for them and that my loved ones will become grief-stricken. Although I will be dead and am currently alive and not knowing of any death to overcome me, I already feel discomforted thinking about the grief I will cause them. Therefore the fear of letting loved ones down seems virtuous when looked at a face value, but it is derived from the discomfort, which is an example of pain.

a : usu. localized physical suffering associated with bodily disorder (as a disease or an injury); also : a basic bodily sensation induced by a noxious stimulus, received by naked nerve endings, characterized by physical discomfort (as pricking, throbbing, or aching), and typically leading to evasive action
b : acute mental or emotional distress or suffering : grief

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pain

 

[Sypherz]

I completely disagree with you.
We fear the mystery of death. Fear of pain which leads to death is on a case-by-case basis. e.g. A man who will be stoned to death tomorrow will the pain where the same man who knows he will be injected with a lethal dose of morphine and will die instantly doesn't fear the pain.
If there is fear, it is in the unknown.

 

[mexistaniX]

Someone who disagrees, woo
If we fear the mystery of death, then why do we avoid hell, which causes pain to the millionth degree?

Atheists(I have friends who are atheist in college) have told me that since they do not believe in God, they would rather die painlessly with their own hands, rather than with the hands of another who will not give mercy for pain. So, when we know we are not going to feel anything, it is still the discomfort that arises that what if we do.

The mystery of death is only for those who are agnostic, and in essence, the mystery causes discomfort to the person who ponders over the mystery of death, only if we're talking about that. However, that would result in a different topic if that was said.

In the end, some sort of pain is what we avoid.
The mystery of death is widely agreed on as one of the three: heaven, hell, or nothingness.

We want to achieve the destination to a heaven or paradise because it is the only alternative to hell. Hell is the perfect environment of pain.
However, for the ones that believe in nothingness after death, there is no fear of death other than the pain that is involved.

It is a trait of humans because it is a means of survival to choose the easy way, and pain is always the hard way.

The only way you can be fearless of death is if you are certain there is no discomfort or physical pain involved.

 

[Sypherz]

In the end, some sort of pain is what we avoid.

How can you support this? Please read further.

1. Explain the very famous Buddhist monks who willingly burned themselves to death, sitting and, because of their religion, knowing that they would go to their religious paradise.

Please note that these monks were trained in complete discipline. The argument that "they probably were scared to do it" is invalid unless significantly elaborated upon.

2. It seems as though you're having difficulty supporting your ideas. All of your evidence is on a case-by-case basis. One man might be scared of the pain of death. Another the anticipation. Another is scared of heights, another clowns, spiders, or spoiled pudding. People are scared of things. But what does this have to say of us as a species? Where is the evidence that we are scared of anything and for which reason?

Case 1: An atheist who fears pain and doesn't believe in an afterlife.

Case 2: An extremely religious elderly woman who is convinced that she is going to die from a recent illness. She is told that it will be completely painless. She knows that she will go to her heaven.

Case 3: An indecisive man who fears the afterlife.

Case 4: A disciplined Buddhist who believes that he will be immediately reincarnated on Earth after he dies.

Case 5: A terminally ill man in his 20s who is already in a lot of pain and wishes to die.

Do you see what I mean? There is no way to speak for the masses and no way to prove your argument. Pain is a large factor, but not a constant factor or something that is always present in death.
-------------------------

Furthermore, you should avoid phrases like

The mystery of death is only for those...

You're making a generalization that is completely unsupported.

 

[mexistaniX]

Think about as so, you stated all five cases, but what is it that I have stated previously?

If one does not fear pain relative to a physical standpoint, and if they do not have an emotional reason to feel pain, then they would not fear death. So your point proves mine further.
&I guess I didn't need to say anything, because your point by point analysis resulted all in avoiding a sort of pain in one way or another. Please note that reincarnation is something I am familiar with due to a class I have taken in college, and there is a form(a certain quantity of) hell in Buddhism, so the monks must go with their idea of karma for their life. They strive to attain good karma so that they will not experience the pain of any lower forms of life (it is possible to attain a sentient being status too in which you may become a Buddhist equivalent of an angel or demon so to speak).

They would rather go through exuding good karma to avoid the greater pain of becoming a lesser being.

Also please refer to my original post, as I said that pain is relative, therefore a Buddhist monk may experience emotional pain at a greater level than that of physical pain, so your statement literally ignored my point of pain being divided into relative emotional and relative physical pain.

The generalization should be inferred, because of the definition of an agnostic is a very broad, general term that means the following: "a religious orientation of doubt; a denial of ultimate knowledge of the existence of God" [Google web dictionary]. That being said, one is a certain degree of agnostic if a form of doubt clogs their minds. It is not a randomly generalization point if you look at the macroscopic scale of things, which is the idea of that sub-point.
mystery of afterlife=Doubt=major point of agnosticism
If I am wrong please correct me, but if we are looking at even the details, only an agnostic/person that carries doubt in their minds of God would have the mystery of afterlife. Am I right or wrong?

Along with this, an indecisive man is a man of doubt, and he can fear afterlife if he has committed a wrong-doing, so the end cap for his life would result in him going to hell if he was wrong about the certain deity he worshiped or the constant doubt that god even exists.

Look, all I'm trying to say is that no matter which way you try to bend things or find loop holes, a pain or discomfort, both emotionally and physically, is what humans in general try to avoid. Looking both instinctively and with the "human-touch", we as humans fear pain in any shape, size, form, and it is RELATIVE. So, as I said, mystery causes discomfort, and I am not doing case-by-case, my topic is a macro view at the root of fear.

 

[Dave]

Some people fear death because of the uncertainty of what goes on afterwards. The world doesn't stop, it's only your world that comes to an end. It's a weird thought, and that's whats scares me the most, it's not so much the idea of the pain.

 

[Jeff]

I used to be afraid of heights.

I don't even know why I was, however I've overcome that fear (through growth and maturity) and basically don't fear anything that doesn't move.

To the point, I agree with your statement.

 

[Tyro]

We don’t fear death, right?

Wrong.

We fear the pain associated with death, only because it is, to most, unfathomable and unknown.

The common question is, “would you rather die painlessly or [insert odd fate here]?”

Probably the second part.

Most people choose to die painlessly rather than, let’s say for example, go blind or get an arm chopped off.

Absolutely wrong.

All fears link to one primary fear, which is that of pain. Fear of heights? The discomfort of the mind and the pain situated with any possible fault. Fear of spiders? Discomfort to the mind and the possibility of being bitten. Fear of rejection? The emotional pain that may result from the said rejection.
All pains may be relative, physically and emotionally, but in the end one thing is true.

This is asinine. You're just conflating physical and emotional pain, which are completely different. Of course we fear physical and emotional pain; that's what fear is.

If we fear the mystery of death, then why do we avoid hell, which causes pain to the millionth degree?

Hell doesn't exist.

Atheists(I have friends who are atheist in college) have told me that since they do not believe in God, they would rather die painlessly with their own hands, rather than with the hands of another who will not give mercy for pain. So, when we know we are not going to feel anything, it is still the discomfort that arises that what if we do.

... So? This doesn't prove that pain scares us more than non-existence. If you have a choice between non-existence and non-existence plus pain, the choice can only tell you about masochism, not fear of death.

The mystery of death is only for those who are agnostic, and in essence, the mystery causes discomfort to the person who ponders over the mystery of death, only if we're talking about that. However, that would result in a different topic if that was said.

Agnosticism isn't a religious affiliation.

In the end, some sort of pain is what we avoid.
The mystery of death is widely agreed on as one of the three: heaven, hell, or nothingness.

Wrong.

We want to achieve the destination to a heaven or paradise because it is the only alternative to hell. Hell is the perfect environment of pain.

Again, both of those places are imaginary.

However, for the ones that believe in nothingness after death, there is no fear of death other than the pain that is involved.

Wrong. The end of happiness is unfortunate.

It is a trait of humans because it is a means of survival to choose the easy way, and pain is always the hard way.

No. You're confusing cause with effect. Pain emerged as a result of discovering the "hard way" of doing things over millions of years.

The only way you can be fearless of death is if you are certain there is no discomfort or physical pain involved.

Nope.

 

[mexistaniX]

Please provide logic. I will find some links and link you to stats that show that the painlessness is preferred on a majority scale.

Also please do not post your opinionated views on religion, because I am talking for the mass, I am stating that most religions believe in a form of heaven and hell, within equivalence of a good it bad afterlife, while certain religions believe in a nothingness, and lack of belief obviously believes in nothing. Post only experience or facts please. Also please read the definition of agnostic or agnosticism and reread my own explanation. Thank you. Also as for the cause and effect, I am not stating hardship, because I am talking about ease, I am stating the conclusion. Humans, for survival, end up choosing the easier way.
I'm not trying to be rude its just that you are bashing the article rather than providing evidence. I can kind of see where you're coming from but it is hard to continue an argument with an argument that is not backed.
"No" is not evidence nor is it an argument.

 

[Tyro]

Please provide logic. I will find some links and link you to stats that show that the painlessness is preferred on a majority scale.

I provided as much logic for each refutation as you provided for each claim.

Also please do not post your opinionated views on religion, because I am talking for the mass, I am stating that most religions believe in a form of heaven and hell, within equivalence of a good it bad afterlife, while certain religions believe in a nothingness, and lack of belief obviously believes in nothing.

You're overgeneralizing your terms, then. To say that some sort of consequences in the afterlife show that every religion believes in heaven and hell is ridiculous.

Post only experience or facts please.

You first. If you don't support your claim with evidence, I can just as easily reject it without evidence.

Also please read the definition of agnostic or agnosticism and reread my own explanation.

Agnosticism is the belief that a given belief is unprovable. It is not a belief system.

Thank you. Also as for the cause and effect, I am not stating hardship, because I am talking about ease, I am stating the conclusion. Humans, for survival, end up choosing the easier way.
I'm not trying to be rude its just that you are bashing the article rather than providing evidence. I can kind of see where you're coming from but it is hard to continue an argument with an argument that is not backed.
"No" is not evidence nor is it an argument.

Yeah... read above. Typing a lot isn't the same as providing evidence.

 

[Noam]

Humans are genetically built to fear pain and with good evolutionary reason. This does not, however, correlate with fear of death directly. Fear of death, while it may involve fear of pain, is mostly fear of the unknown. You can never be certain, if you are religious, whether you will go to heaven or hell. If you are atheist, how do you know what will happen next?