The issue of prolonged life has been debated for centuries. In fact, Ponce de Leon spent his life’s work looking for the Fountain of Youth all over the globe. The century long limit of human life has essentially created the fantasy of those who wanted to live longer. This curiosity of these individuals has led to the fantasy of seeing history when it transpired rather than reading it in a book. For this reason, many television shows and books have explored the possibility of a human living beyond their one-hundred-year timeframe. For example, vampires, warlocks, and the like have been created to show beings that were able to live beyond one – hundred years. What makes this debate complex is that if the religious theories of the “afterlife” did not exist, then there would be no place for the souls to go after death. Thus, it brings up the question as to whether having the opportunity to live beyond one – hundred years would potentially be a good idea or something that would not benefit society as a whole? Upon looking at what the belief of the afterlife inspires in society, it is advisable that people should not be able to live longer than one-hundred years.
In order to understand the impact that the afterlife has on society, it is imperative to look at what the afterlife has historically signified. By taking a look at the world religions, the afterlife has been a place that has inspired fear and complacency in life, (Adams, J., 2007). What is fascinating about this is that the concept of the afterlife has been around for thousands of years; however, it has taken on completely different meanings in the world religions. For example, if one looks at the Ancient Egyptians who are surely some of the most famous with regards to the afterlife, they will see that the afterlife was glorified as a place of respect where souls went after their mission of life had been accomplished, (Adams, J., 2007). The citizens of Ancient Egypt greatly prepared themselves for the afterlife for their entire lives, particularly the wealthy, (Adams, J., 2007). It is for this reason that the elite constructed temples that would survive ages to properly signify their send off to the afterlife, (Adams, J., 2007). By taking this preparation away, the citizens of Ancient Egypt would struggle to find meaning in their life to pursue a prolonged existence. These beliefs of the afterlife preserved the society to allow for the natural progression of life and achievement. By eliminating the natural progression of the afterlife, the society would not progress in the natural way.
In looking at the Ancient Egyptians, it is also prudent to analyze other ancient cultures to see how the concept of death was viewed. In Latin America, the Aztecs and the Incas also shared a vision of the afterlife that was portrayed in paintings and carvings, (Hussain, A., 2009). The Aztecs and Incas celebrated death and dying and did not fear what it would bring their citizens all the way from the peasants to their elite, (Hussain, A., 2009). This is very important to also show how they would be altering their entire society if death did not exist as some finality. The innovation that their ancient societies produced some of the most impressive monuments in the Americas, which would pose the question of where their modern society would be without their beliefs?
In the ancient world, the Greeks and Romans were the very pioneers of the beliefs of afterlife that modern society shares, (Adams, J., 2007). Their mythology at that time was believed as fact to many and inspired them to live a good life and also inspired them to fear the Gods and their role in ruling society and then Hades in the afterlife, (Adams, J., 2007). This is a very important set of values that governed their societies and allowed their societies to flourish in terms of politics, language, culture, and ethics that are still witnessed in modern society today. The Greeks and Romans are the catalyst to the modern set of values and that success that society sees today is solely dedicated to the celebration of life while living and then the afterlife after death has transpired. That being said, where the Romans and Greeks particularly shone was their addition to the modern Civil Code of Law that is seen in legal systems all over the world. Without this substantial addition, it would be literally impossible to have the structure of society that is witnessed today. This structure goes beyond the faith of religious deities. They imposed a moral high ground into law that shaped society without religious figures such as Jesus and God. They formed a code that showed right from wrong that was derived from their ritualistic practice and also principals that came about from ancient rulers before the dawning of Christianity. In fact, “the Dark Ages” were an era where the Christian Law ran supreme and that code of the Romans and Greeks was forgotten until the Renaissance centuries later. What this demonstrates is that while the religious aspect of death as a deterrent with Heaven and Hell is necessary, there also is necessary to have a moral code in law that is universal and separate from religion. This code that the Romans and Greeks built provided meaning and structure to the everyday life of their citizens, which proved to be an invariable value to society. This code also had rituals that did celebrate death and the Roman and Greek citizens abided by this, which is why their societies were some of the most remarkable that the world has ever seen.
When looking at the very root of Christian faith and the Muslim faith, one must turn to the Jewish faith and how they debated and celebrated death in their faith. What the Jewish faith instills is the importance of family and community surrounding death, (Ogilvie, D., 2016). The Jewish community has an immense service where the celebrate the life of the fallen and also celebrate their achievements. Their beliefs are centered around family and what has been accomplished in life and the importance of cherishing every moment. Had death not existed or aging, the Jewish faith would be significantly altered along with the future faiths of Muslim and Christianity that followed in the separation of the New and Old Testaments of the Bible and Qur’an.
Considering the Muslim faith, Muslims have a unique viewpoint pertaining to life and death that is unique from the prior discussions. Muslims essentially believe that life is a trial for another existence that is known as death, (Hussain, A., 2009). This is important because it shows that Muslims value death as an element of fear in their life’s course. If death did not exist as a reward for their achievements in life, society would stay stagnant and families would not produce anymore children. Death serves as a necessary force to promote progression and the celebration of life while living in order to be able to be removed to another superior plane of existence. In the Muslim faith, their family member is wrapped in a white cloth by a close family member as a final send off, (Hussain, A., 2009). This white cloth symbolizes a final purity to the good or the bad that the individual committed in their life and then the heavens judge on a clean slate what their fate shall be in the next plane of existence, (Hussain, A., 2009). This is a remarkable symbol of how death allows life to prosper in that death encourages fear of living a good life and the two entities are intertwined in the most significant way.
It is impossible to understand how death has been used as a tool to manipulate society in a positive way without looking at the Christian faiths and how they have branched out over the ages. While many do debate the existence of heaven and hell, it is still important to analyze their relevance on how they implement the behavior of society. For those who believe in heaven and hell, it influences how they act in their current life in order to ensure that they ideally make it to heaven, (Ogilvie, D., 2016). Without the fear of death and dying that has been implemented into the Christian faiths, it would be very difficult to encourage morality of their society. This furthermore shows why death and dying are necessary to maintain morality because they provide the ultimate fear for individuals to explore when they are contemplating their actions. If there was no death to guide their judgment, there would be no incentive if everyone could ideally live forever.
Branching out from the meaning of whether people should age and die, it is a fascinating argument to explore that society should not be permitted to age. This relies on the notion that people are forced to be able to die, but the idea that people can remain an age of their choice forever is a fantasy that has made many quite obsessed over the ages. What makes this obsession relevant in the battle of whether death should exist is that it poses the question as to whether people should remain the same age until they die or whether they should remain young forever? Religions from all over the world have made folklore about this possibility and the modern creative minds have also contributed to this fantasy in modern books and literature. While death is essential, aging per se is not necessary to serve as a deterrent to death. That being said, this brings up a pivotal debate as to whether the act of aging is necessary to foster future life?
In contemplating this question, one has to wonder if aging is necessary to further the existence of life? This question is absolutely justified in that the natural progression of life that society has taught the individual dictates both biologically and spiritually when the time “should come” to attempt to have a family. The notion of family fosters future life and if people could not age, would future life still foster? This question is absolutely relevant, which causes one to think of books such as “Brave New World” where society is much more structured by a governing entity. If there were no aging and no progression, would the existence of humanity be more clone-like? These debates are what has structured society to find religious beliefs in order to justify the progression of life that inevitably leads to death?
In analyzing this viewpoint, Existentialism becomes a relevant theory because existentialism is defined by the individual’s power to be the owner of and be responsible by their own actions, (Ogilvie, D., 2016). In relating Existentialism to the necessity of whether death or aging should exist at all, it is pivotal that the individual must have some accountability for society to act in a respectable way. In the theory of Existentialism, society would face major contradictions and flaws if people did not have religion or moral principles to follow that were governed by a universal fear of death, regardless of the faith. If every individual fought for their own principles, then there would be an anarchy of sorts with religion. This would be something that would also cause society to not function properly if every man fended for themselves and were responsibly for their own actions. The nature of the order that is necessary to have a functioning society would be greatly compromised if there was not some sort of balance or accountability that society needed to feel compelled to act on behalf of others and have morals.
References
Adams, J. (2007). Greek and Roman Perceptions of the Afterlife in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil’s Aeneid. McNair Scholars Journal. Retrieved from: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1178&context=mcnair
Hussain, A. (2009). Death, Dying, and the Afterlife. Oxford. Retrieved from: http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195390155/obo-9780195390155-0017.xml
Ogilvie, D. (2016). A Partial History of Afterlife Beliefs. Rutgers University. Retrieved from: http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~ogilvie/HistoryAfterlife.htm
