Re: Why are people so afraid of death?

This reminds me of Epicurus' argument that fear of death is irrational: when I am, death is not; when death is, I am not; therefore, death is of no account to either the living or the dead; for it is not with the living, and the dead do not exist. Ingenious though this is, one can't help feeling that the argument goes too far, insofar as it seems to imply that it doesn't matter when we die, if death is of no account. It's true that at any moment I can only experience the present moment, but it does not follow from this that my premature death is not robbing me of the subsequent moments that I would otherwise experience. I cannot experience death, but I can enjoy longevity, which is curtailed by my premature death; and this furnishes me with a sufficient reason for avoiding death for as long as I believe my life is worthwhile. I would kill in self-defence (or I think I would), but I trust the situation will never arise. However, I believe I would be quite willing to sacrifice my liberty, and even to risk my life to some non-trivial extent, in order to avoid killing in most circumstances. If my government introduced conscription and decided, improbably, that those in late middle age made the best combat troops, then I would certainly rather go to prison than in any way support the British state.