Since I will never experience it, I need not worry about my own death. When Epicurus proclaimed that death should not be feared, he contended that upon our demise, we simply cease to exist, eradicating any capacity for pain or pleasure associated with death. According to him, there is no cause for fearing death, as fear is an experience reserved for the domain of the living. Death, for Epicurus and others who follow this view, remains beyond our experiential reach, for there is no longer an "us" to experience it and be affected by it.
For the purposes of this essay, I adopt a nuanced interpretation of the term "worry" to signify a matter of overarching preoccupation. By drawing upon the insights of Kierkegaard, I critically evaluate whether the subject of death warrants intellectual contemplation and holds any significance for the individual who is alive. I will first analyse the concept of "experiencing" death by exploring the contrasting perspectives of immanentalists and transcendentalists. I will focus on Kierkegaard's criticism of the immanentalist philosophy, which he believes had failed to address the problem of the existentialist experience of death, and explain why transcendentalists believe that death can be subjectively experienced. This part of the essay will establish that death can be experienced through our existential grappling with the concept. I will then argue that since we experience death, it is a worthy pursuit for an individual to "worry" about their own mortality — on two grounds: firstly, the awareness of our finite existence compels us to confront the pressing urgency of our choices, thereby engendering existential unease. This heightened awareness acts as a driving force for living a purposeful life and therefore has value for an individual. Secondly, as expounded by Kierkegaard, neglecting or evading the reality of death carries profound existential implications: shying away from the contemplation of death leads individuals to risk sidestepping the very existential questions that impel them towards authenticity and a meaningful existence.
Watkin distinguishes between two views which presuppose a total view of existence: the immanentalist and the transcendentalist kind. The former emphasises the immanence, or inherent presence, of phenomena within the material world. Immanentalists believe that reality and meaning can be found within the realm of human experience and existence. In the context of death, immanentalists argue that death is solely a physical event that marks the end of an individual's existence. They maintain that death cannot be experienced because it entails the cessation of consciousness and subjective experience. From this perspective, there is no personal afterlife or transcendent realm beyond death. Epicurus, who claimed that death should not be feared because it involves the annihilation of consciousness and the end of pain or pleasure, represents an immanentalist viewpoint.
Transcendentalism, on the other hand, is a philosophical perspective that emphasises the existence of transcendent truths or realities that surpass the limits of human experience. Transcendentalists argue that there are aspects of reality and meaning that extend beyond the physical and empirical realm. In relation to death, transcendentalists contend that there is more to the concept than the mere cessation of existence. They believe in the possibility of an afterlife, spiritual realms, or metaphysical dimensions that go beyond our immediate experience. Transcendentalists may argue that death involves a transition or continuation of consciousness, where the individual's existence extends beyond the physical realm. This viewpoint often includes religious or metaphysical beliefs in the existence of a soul, spiritual entities, or higher planes of existence.
Kierkegaard writes: "Death itself produces a scarcity of time for the dying … Death is able to do this, but with the thought of death the earnest person is able to create a scarcity so that the year and the day receive infinite worth — and when it is a time of scarcity the merchant profits by using time." The contemplation of death with sincerity reveals the fleeting nature of life. The individual becomes aware that his life is profoundly transient and finite, and that no one escapes life's conclusion. This awareness of life's ticking clock imparts a deep sense of value to every passing moment. This stark realisation is the existential experience of death — a shift from a mere knowledge of the fact that "death is something that happens" to an earnest confrontation of one's own death and its meaning.
This is illustrated in Kierkegaard's discourse "At a Graveside," in which he engages with Epicurus' immanentalist argument which suggests that since we will not experience non-being, death should not concern us. Rather than appealing to Christian teachings of personal immortality, Kierkegaard presented death as an "existential problem for the living," intensifying the experience of life rather than preparing for death. The contemplation of death, according to Kierkegaard, brings about earnestness and gives force to life. Stokes explains this effect through the concept of "contemporaneity," wherein Kierkegaard aims to bring the reader into imaginative proximity with their own dead self.
In Either/Or, Kierkegaard's aesthete recognises the futility of putting pleasure as the ultimate meaning of life. By contemplating his future death, the aesthete apprehended the tasks and responsibilities of the present moment, and although it drove him into a state of despair, he reached "the final aesthetic life view." Individuals who aimlessly wander through life without introspection — or those who attribute their dissatisfaction solely to external circumstances — are more distant from the truth compared to those who confront their unhappiness and engage in contemplation about the purpose and significance of existence. This shift comes from one's experience of death. This contemplation allows individuals to "perceive the scarcity of time and frees them from vain pursuits." It gives earnestness to their actions and provides the right direction and purpose to their lives.
Kierkegaard argues that the awareness of our temporal finitude awakens the voice of conscience, reminding us that our character will be forever fixed after death. For Kierkegaard, individuals do experience death in their subjective existence. He argued that death is not just a concept or an objective event but a deeply personal and existential reality that every individual confronts. For Kierkegaard, experiencing death does not refer solely to the physical act of dying but encompasses the broader existential dimensions tied to human existence — facing existential anxieties, confronting the inevitability of one's own mortality, and grappling with the uncertainties and ultimate meaninglessness that can arise from contemplating the finality of life. Kierkegaard saw this existential confrontation with death as a crucial aspect of authentic individual existence.
Spinoza asserts: "A free man thinks of death least of all things; and his wisdom is a meditation not of death but of life." This suggests that occupying oneself with thoughts of death is antithetical to living a free and flourishing life. For Spinoza, wisdom lies in focusing on living and affirming life, rather than being preoccupied with death and its inevitability. However, I argue that the contemplation of death is not a morbid exercise but a deeply constructive one. The awareness of our mortality — our existential "worry" — is precisely what grants urgency to our choices and depth to our commitments.
Kierkegaard's insight is that authenticity requires a confrontation with finitude. The person who has not genuinely reckoned with their own death has not fully reckoned with themselves. In this sense, to worry about death is not to be paralysed by it, but to be animated by it — to live with the kind of seriousness and intentionality that a finite creature ought to exercise. The worry about death is not pessimism. It is the precondition of a life that is genuinely, deliberately, and meaningfully lived.