Sources · Should we fear death?
This house believes death is something to fear.
Fact bank v1 · 12 cards
This is a philosophy motion, so the judge never rules either side's view true or false. These cards say what philosophers generally accept, and cover facts such as who argued what.
- DTH-01
“Philosophers argue that death can harm you even though you will never feel it, because it takes away the good life you would have had.”
What philosophers generally accept
Confirmed: this is a well-known modern reply to the old idea that death can't hurt you because you won't be there. It is often called the deprivation view. Thomas Nagel argued it in 1970, and other philosophers, such as Fred Feldman, made the same kind of case.
The idea is that something can be bad for you if it makes your life as a whole worse than it would have been. Dying early cuts your life short, so you miss out on good years. Critics ask a hard question back: if death harms you, when does the harm happen, since you are gone once you are dead? Philosophers still argue about this 'timing' puzzle.
“by cutting our lives short, it deprives us of good life”
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy·Death (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Peer-reviewed research · 28 Jul 2026 ↗ - DTH-02
“The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus taught that death is nothing to us, so it is silly to fear it.”
What philosophers generally accept
Confirmed: Epicurus argued that while we exist, death is not here, and once death comes, we no longer exist. So death can never hurt us, and fearing it only makes us suffer now.
Epicurus believed the mind is made of tiny atoms that scatter when we die, so there is no afterlife to be punished in. He saw fear of death as one of the main causes of worry in people's lives. His argument relies on his belief that only pleasure and pain can be good or bad for us. Critics reply that death can still be bad for you without hurting, because it takes away good years you would have lived.
“Death, Epicurus insists, is nothing to us, since while we exist, our death is not, and when our death occurs, we do not exist”
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy·Epicurus (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Peer-reviewed research · 8 Jul 2022 ↗ - DTH-03
“We were not bothered by all the time before we were born, so we should not be bothered by the time after we die.”
What philosophers generally accept
This is a famous argument from the Roman poet Lucretius, a follower of Epicurus, but it has a weak spot. Birth starts a good life going, while death brings it to an end, so the two times are not really alike.
The argument does work against one fear: that being dead is a horrible or painful state. Being dead is no worse than not yet being born. But many people's real worry is missing out on more life, and the argument does not answer that. Thomas Nagel also replied that you could not have been born much earlier and still be you, but you could live longer. That reply is debated too.
“So understood, the symmetry argument is weak.”
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy·Death (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Peer-reviewed research · 28 Jul 2026 ↗Further sources for this card
- DTH-04
“Living forever would be boring, so death is actually a good thing.”
What philosophers generally accept
This is a real argument, made by the philosopher Bernard Williams in 1973. He said living forever would end in endless boredom, but he still thought dying too early is bad. Many philosophers disagree with him, so it is not settled.
Williams thought that over a very long life we would run out of the deep wishes that keep us wanting to live, like wanting to see our children do well. Other philosophers, including Thomas Nagel, replied that a very long life need not become dull, because people can keep finding new interests. Williams's view was that if you changed that much, it might not really be you living on.
“Williams’s claim that immortality cannot be made desirable remains controversial.”
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy·Death (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Peer-reviewed research · 28 Jul 2026 ↗ - DTH-05
“Socrates was not afraid of dying and said death might even be a good thing.”
What philosophers generally accept
Confirmed: after he was sentenced to death, Socrates said death might be a blessing. It is either like a dreamless sleep or a chance to talk with others in the underworld.
Socrates was put to death in Athens at the age of 70, for not respecting the gods and for leading young people astray. He never wrote anything down, so we know his views from other people, mainly his student Plato. Plato's Phaedo, set on Socrates' last day in prison, says he seemed happy and died without fear. It also gives several arguments that the soul never dies.
“Sentenced to death, Socrates reflected that it might be a blessing: either a dreamless sleep, or an opportunity to converse in the underworld.”
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy·Socrates (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)Peer-reviewed research · 26 May 2022 ↗ - DTH-06
“Fear of death secretly drives much of what we do: experiments show that just reminding people they will die changes their views.”
What philosophers generally accept
Partly. A 2010 review of 277 experiments found that reminding people of death had a medium-sized effect on their views (a score of r = .35, on a scale from 0 to 1). But later checks suggest the effect was overstated, and a careful repeat of one famous experiment found no sign of it.
This idea is called terror management theory. In the 2010 review, effects were bigger in studies of Americans and of college students. In 2019, researchers repeated one well-known experiment with 128 volunteers and found no effect, though they say this does not prove the first result was wrong. They also re-checked the 2010 review and found signs that studies that found an effect were more likely to be published. Their corrected score (r = 0.22) still showed an effect, but one 37% smaller.
“In a replication of this experiment conducted with 128 volunteers, we did not observe evidence for a mortality salience effect.”
Royal Society Open Science (full text via PubMed Central, US National Library of Medicine)·Are we truly special and unique? A replication of Goldenberg et al. (2001) (Royal Society Open Science)Government / parliament · 27 Nov 2019 ↗ - DTH-07
“Most people die in terrible pain.”
What philosophers generally accept
Not most, though pain is common near the end. In a US study of 4,703 older adults who died, 46% were often troubled by moderate or severe pain in their last month of life.
From 2 years before death until 4 months before, about a quarter of people (26% to 28%) had this kind of pain. Then it rose. The 46% figure is a best guess: the true number could be anywhere from 38% to 55%. People with arthritis had much more pain in their last month (60%) than people without it (26%). The study had no information on whether the pain was treated. Pain while dying is also a different question from whether being dead is bad.
“The prevalence remained flat until 4 months prior to death (28%, 25–32%), then increased, reaching 46% (38–55%) in the last month of life.”
Annals of Internal Medicine (author manuscript via PubMed Central, US National Library of Medicine)·The Epidemiology of Pain During the Last Two Years of Life (Annals of Internal Medicine)Government / parliament · 2 Nov 2010 ↗ - DTH-08
“The older you get and the closer you are to death, the more you fear it.”
What philosophers generally accept
Studies find the opposite on average: fear of death tends to go down as people get older. In a study that followed 9,815 adults over 4 years, death anxiety fell with age.
In the same research, people with more support from those around them became less afraid of death over time. An earlier study of 304 adults aged 18 to 87 found that fear of death was highest in people's 20s and then fell. Women, but not men, showed a second rise in their 50s.
“In Study 2, a longitudinal study of 9,815 adults followed over a 4-year period, death anxiety declined across the lifespan.”
Death Studies (abstract via PubMed, US National Library of Medicine)·Death across the lifespan: Age differences in death-related thoughts and anxiety (Death Studies)Government / parliament · 30 Aug 2016 ↗ - DTH-09
“People who are actually facing death, like those with advanced cancer, are terrified of it.”
What philosophers generally accept
Partly. Fear of death is common in these patients, but most do not have strong fear. In a study of 60 patients with advanced cancer, 32% had fear of death that was at least moderate.
The patients' biggest worry was how their death would affect other people. Fear was higher in people with more physical symptoms, such as pain or changes in how they looked, in people with lower self-esteem, and in families with children under 18. The researchers still call this fear common. It was a small study at one cancer centre in Toronto, so the numbers may differ elsewhere.
“Thirty-two per cent of the sample reported death anxiety of at least moderate severity.”
BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care (abstract via PubMed, US National Library of Medicine)·Determinants of death anxiety in patients with advanced cancer (BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care)Government / parliament · 22 Aug 2013 ↗ - DTH-10
“Being very afraid of death is bad for your mental health.”
What philosophers generally accept
There is a strong link, but it is not proven that the fear causes the problems. In a study of 200 people getting help for mental health conditions, those more afraid of death had more diagnoses, took more medicines, had more hospital stays, and had worse depression, anxiety and stress.
The link showed up across 12 different conditions. It was not just because some people tend to feel anxious or low in general. Everyone in the study already had a mental health condition, so the results may not apply to everyone. The researchers say their study only shows a link, so experiments are needed to find out if fear of death actually causes mental illness. They suggest that treatments aimed at fears of death might help.
“Across the sample, death anxiety was a strong predictor of psychopathology”
British Journal of Clinical Psychology (abstract via PubMed, US National Library of Medicine)·The relationship between death anxiety and severity of mental illnesses (British Journal of Clinical Psychology)Government / parliament · 18 Jul 2019 ↗ - DTH-11
“Near-death experiences prove that our mind lives on after we die, so there is nothing to fear.”
What philosophers generally accept
Science has not shown this. In a large study of 2,060 cardiac arrests (when the heart stops), 140 survivors were interviewed, and 101 of them gave a second, longer interview. 9% had near-death experiences, and 2% described seeing and hearing what was going on while doctors worked to save them.
Only one person had a period of awareness that could be checked against what really happened. 46% had some memories, such as fear, bright light or family. The researchers say this hints that people may have some awareness even when doctors cannot detect it. But everyone in the study survived, so it cannot tell us what happens after a death that lasts.
“9% had NDEs, while 2% described awareness with explicit recall of 'seeing' and 'hearing' actual events related to their resuscitation”
Resuscitation (abstract via PubMed, US National Library of Medicine)·AWARE: AWAreness during REsuscitation, a prospective study (Resuscitation)Government / parliament · 7 Oct 2014 ↗ - DTH-12
“If medicine made it possible, most people would choose to live to 120 or beyond.”
What philosophers generally accept
Not in the US, at least. In a 2013 Pew survey of 2,012 American adults, 56% said they would not choose treatments to slow ageing and live to 120 or more.
Oddly, 68% thought most other people would choose it. Asked how long they would like to live, the middle answer was 90 years, and just 9% wanted to live past 100. The question was about a treatment that does not exist yet, and only 7% had heard a lot about the idea.
“a majority of U.S. adults (56%) say “no.” But roughly two-thirds (68%) think that most other people would.”
Pew Research Center·Living to 120 and Beyond: Americans' Views on Aging, Medical Advances and Radical Life ExtensionIndependent research institute · 6 Aug 2013 ↗
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