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Humanistic Or Secular Approach To Reaction Paper

This is a difficult point to argue with. Aurelius looks at death from a purely physical point-of-view. He recognizes that it is both inevitable and that it is an eventuality in all life of all types. Nobody and nothing escapes death. For this reason, it makes no sense to him to fear it. This is, for me, the most important point that he makes. No human being can argue with the fact that death is the natural end to the process of life. Interestingly, this is also the point he makes that I find most comforting. We do not know what happens after death, but Aurelius suggests that there is no reason to let this distress us. We will either change form or lose consciousness altogether. In either case, we will be free from the physical.

On this basis, Aurelius also suggests that no moment in life belongs to us that is not in the present. Even a long life is not more important or better than a short life. He suggests...

When it ends, we should be happy for having had it and for continuing the journey afterwards.
I quite enjoyed the slightly humorous point that Aurelius made at the end of the document, that there are those who would be happy to be rid of us once we die. So we could even see death as a service to others, if nothing else.

In conclusion, there is quite enough of the rational in Aurelius' work for today's rational human being to accept. Even the most religious among us cannot deny the fact that death is natural and that we do not know what happens afterwards. This work was profoundly comforting and inspiring to me, since it teaches the one lesson that many are now familiar with: we should enjoy every moment we get of life. When it ends, we should recognize it as a blessing. Both death and life are natural processes and not to be feared.

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