Abstract

ROSELL, Sergi. Are Epicurus’ and Lucretius’ Arguments Against the Fear of Death Convincing?. arete [online]. 2022, vol.34, n.2, pp.471-490.  Epub Dec 22, 2022. ISSN 1016-913X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.18800/arete.202202.008.

This article reconstructs and evaluates the main Epicurean arguments against the claim that death is an evil for the one who dies. To combat the anguished life of fear of death, Epicurus and Lucretius deploy a series of arguments that aim to show the irrationality or lack of justification of this fear. While sharing the idea that a eudaimonic life requires us to assume our mortal nature, it is argued, however, that this does not force us to accept the much more radical claim that "death is nothing to us." In particular, it is contended that the arguments discussed invalidate the fear of the fact of being dead, but not any fear of not continuing to live.

Keywords : Epicureanism; evil; hedonism; sensation; privation.

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