Title: The concept of death
Date: 5 October 2011
Class: IB English HL 
Category: Other Classes

In our class, we read a poem by Philip Larkin called ‘Aubade’ and discussed the theme of death presented in the poem. In this poem, Larkin describes the thought of being nothing as horrible and frightening, yet in our discussions, we found that most people were afraid of the process of dying rather than having no existence. Death will always be an enigma. No one has ever returned from death, or if they have, no one seems to believe them.

At church, I remember seeing a video of a man who claimed to say he had gone to hell and come back. He stated that hell was a horrifying place, and that God had sent him back to Earth so that he can share his experiences in hell and convince people to start or continue to believe in God. [Connection] Thus, one point of view could say that after we die, we are judged by God, a superior being, and sent to either heaven or hell. Yet, how do we know if he’s telling the truth? Could this be his imagination? What would motivate him to say this if he was an atheist before? Is hell the same for everyone, or does it depend on our individual fears and sins? [Knowledge Issues] In our English class discussion, we found that other people (who were atheists) believed that death meant the end of our journey, and that we simply decompose like all other organisms in this planet. [Different perspectives] A particular person stated that religion was simply one’s imagination, and an excuse to feel special and be optimistic. I felt that this person was using his/her imagination as well to state that we decompose (since life after death is undefined), and that this person was creating an excuse too – to dismiss the thought of being judged. [Counterclaim of a point of view]

There appears to be no proof in someone dying and being re-born again literally. Thus, if no one is capable of experiencing it and sharing this with other people, how reliable are the claims people make about death? Would this be knowledge or opinion or imagination? [Knowledge Issues]