Why You Should Die

Death. It’s everywhere happening at every inch of the world. But is that a bad thing? One student’s philosophical journey to find the meaning of life.

Each of the 8 billion people on this planet is currently alive. But why does that matter? With a universe that expands infinitely, we are mere droplets of paint in the grand mural that is existence. Does anything even really matter? People only care because other people care, a bad act is only a bad act because people named it that. Same goes for good. 

Nihilism is the philosophical perspective that asserts the inherent meaninglessness and utter futility of life. The rejection of the existence of objective meaning and values. Perhaps one feels insignificant because of the outrageous amount of others around them. Everyone is no more than just an addition to a bigger number that makes a population. Do your accomplishments really matter as much as they do? I mean other people have done the exact same things you’ve done. And even so do your accomplishments make you better than anyone else? 

Existentialism is a philosophical perspective that questions an individual’s experience of existence and meaning in a seemingly meaningless world, it acknowledges the potential for people to feel insignificant due to the vastness of humanity. Then there are those who ponder about death. The great mystery that no man has a clue about. Does the possibility of death bring life any meaning? It is going to happen to everyone after all. As humans there are only two guarantees in the journey we call life and they are death and taxes. An irreversible and inevitable experience we as living things will all share together. 

Combine the two philosophies above and you get Existential Nihilism, which teaches us that death ultimately labels all human endeavors and achievements insignificant, that there is no sense for meaning or morality because nothing, not even one’s self will be permanent. Why go to school or make friends if all those experiences and skills that you learned will all disappear when the show that is your life reaches its final climax and the curtains come to a close? 

These are some of the many philosophical beliefs that I once held and in some way or other still continue to hold. I thought I found the secret to life and that was that there was no secret; simply put life had no meaning and we are just here to be here and feed the circle of life. These thoughts and beliefs gave me pride and made me believe that I was better than everyone else because I didn’t have to care about the nuanced things they had to worry about. These philosophies aren’t inherently bad or make a person bad, but since I was a child all I could think about were ideas and thoughts like this and admittedly it made me become an insufferable person to be around. 

One day I kind of just woke up and stopped wanting to be this negative person who took these beliefs to the extreme and manipulated their meanings for my self interest. Through life experiences I went through my own spiritual-like journey, mostly unintentional, but it helped me grow as a person. Along the path of this journey I followed many different routes and different beliefs until I found one that made me not necessarily happy, but accepting of who I am and how I’d like to live my life. No one experience, but instead the collaboration of many throughout made me land to the place I am today. 

I realize that my life matters because I want it to matter. 

Truly I do still believe that not one person is above others and death is inevitable, but to me that is okay. I feel like the possibility of death adds meaning to our lives as humans because we are able to comprehend that we live in the now and what we do with the now, matters. I believe that because this could all just end out of nowhere be it a car crash caused by a random drunk driver or an incurable illness like cancer which is horrific battle many face, the life we live between the moment we are born to the moment we close our eyes for the last time, that moment in between matters the most. 

To put that into better words, death makes life worth living.

Existential humanism questions the concept of human existence and the significance of mortality. The recognition that life is finite and that death awaits serves as a catalyst for people to find meaning, engage in self-reflection, and live purposely. Without death life will continue on. A life without death to me sounds boring, there will be no reason to do anything since everything could be done. Russian roulette wouldn’t be a fun pastime if that bullet just ricochet off the person's head. The sense of thrill and fear when faced with a daring scenario. The sensation of an overwhelming amount of  adrenaline surging through your veins as danger fills your soul. Through it be by horror films or by doing hazardous stunts, the possibility of death or harm is what gives us the excitement to do those things. 

To tie this back to Existential Humanism, mortality doesn’t only make different actions thrilling, but it adds value to our lives in the present. Knowing that there is a looming countdown counting down every second we as individuals have left on this world is what strives us to do the most before that countdown hits zero. As humans we want to enjoy the time we spend on this Earth because it is the only certainty we have. There’s so much to explore in this vast world we live in, but the time we have feels so limited. So why waste it? Sure nothing really matters in the grand scheme of things, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make it matter to you. You are in control of your story. What you do is up to yourself only because no one will take the lead for you on your path in life. Everyone has their own trail and it is not someone's job to walk you down yours, just as it is not your job to walk someone down theirs. So why waste your time living in a negative perspective? The countdown is still going down even as you read this, there is no pause button. Make your life matter, even if it is just for you. Sure you can find value in others and believe in what you’d like, but to me it is crucial that everyone lives a life they are proud of, and if you aren’t proud of it, at least don’t regret anything. We are all human so we are all prone to mistakes and that is okay because for all we know this might be the only life we get to be having these regrettable moments. 

I feel like everyone should value their life because honestly there is no real reason not to. You will benefit more from accepting the cards you were dealt and creating your own path, rather than victimizing yourself and living your life riddled with excuses for why you couldn’t be better. Do as you wish as long as it makes you happy, but that also shouldn’t be an excuse to infringe on another person's freedom. No singular person is special, no one deserves to be on a high pedestal. Just as you have your individual liberty and rights to live your life, everyone else has those same freedoms. Classical Liberalism emphasizes that one’s freedom should not disrupt or harm the freedom of others and highlights the importance of harmonious coexistence. 

Though it is seen mostly in government, I believe that this is a no brainer to anyone who is human because no one would wish for their freedoms to be interfered with, so why should you with someone else's? This belief of reciprocation is commonly known as the golden rule. Found in Christianity ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"), Buddhism ("Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful"), as well founded in many other religious and ethical baselines. The golden rule doesn’t necessarily imply that everyone wants to be treated the same way and actually recognizes as well as respects the diversity of a person's preferences and values. Rather than assuming that everyone fancies the same treatment as oneself, the golden rule instead encourages people to engage in empathetic understanding between each other and consider the needs of others on an individual level. To me this ties back to the “not one person is special” belief because it takes into account that everyone has their own way of wanting to be treated and no one has the guaranteed answer or right way of living. Everyone has their own preferences, which also means everyone has their own right to agree or disagree with each other. 

Pluralism takes a look into this concept and recognizes as well as values the existence of diverse perspectives and even encourages dialogue among them. Respectful and constructive disagreements are a powerful tool in fostering social progress and understanding. And although everyone has the right to agree or disagree there are limitations to certain circumstances; such as speech that incites violence or directly will lead to physical harm to another. To be clear on my views of this, I believe that words that hurt another person’s feelings are okay because the individual has the power to listen or ignore those words. But words or actions that do directly lead to physical violence is NEVER okay. To be in a situation where one can forcefully end someone else's countdown timer should never occur. 

This countdown that everyone has should only be dictated by the person who’s time is being counted down. 

That does not mean people should force their own timers to reach zero, but instead they should be the ones who choose how that timer is affected. Health and hobbies do affect that timer and each fully functional person does have some level of power over their health and hobbies. 

It is important to me at least that we take notice of that invisible timer and live our life knowing that we have limited time so might as well make that time special - Even if it is just for yourself. It’s better than doing nothing and feeling sorry for yourself. 

Have fun with your life, take risks because it makes things a bit more interesting. What type of life is fun if we all just play it safe? 

But yeah those are just some thoughts I felt like some people should hear; thank you for reading if you made it this far and remember, you should die.