Why does not it make sense to fear death?

The topic indicated in the title of the article will be discussed a little later. First, you need to think about the story, the main character of which was Rachel Dolezal. Many believe that the former president of Spokane (Washington), as well as the head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is a fraud. Others believe that Dolezal is no different from Caitlin Jenner, a 65-year-old woman who until recently was known as Bruce Jenner and was a man. The only difference between these two people is how much society is ready to accept what they offer.

History Dolezal

When the truth about Dolezal was revealed, both sides argued with each other very fervently and actively. However, the most interesting aspect of this scandal was how perverse and passionate was humanity in relation to the strange history of the "trans-racial" of one woman. Deceivers and scammers wear a variety of masks to show themselves on the side that would be beneficial to them, and Dolezal chose a specific racial identity for herself to sue the Howard University, and then another to start her career in academic circles. If you can say so, this is the story of a racial fraudster, who literally has two faces. But why is duplicity so morally outrageous when it comes to the race?

Is she right?

Those people who say that Dolezal is to blame for misappropriating someone else's identity may be right. And its deception may in fact be engendered by the unquestioned privileges of white people. However, these accusations are based on the widespread concept of personal identity, which may prove to be false and at the same time cause negative emotions about their own death more than they should be.

Parfit and its judgments

Derek Parfit, a philosopher from Oxford, thinks that people's self-image is based on a fundamental error. The natural way people interpret their own identity is a whole, deep and fairly stable set of vital qualities that has been preserved for many years. So when you look at your infant photos, you can interpret certain facial expressions as a manifestation of one or another character trait that you currently have, or even as a manifestation of your spirit. Dolezal claims that she used brown, not peach chalk, when she painted herself as a child. This is the whole point of this theory.

Or, for example, when you imagine yourself after a certain period of time (ten to forty years), you have in your head a rather specific and concrete image of how you will look - this is a person who has experienced a number of new ones, but for the time being To you of unknown impressions. The key to presenting yourself to yourself now compared to "yourself" in the past or the future is the understanding that all these individuals are a single whole. You are yourself throughout your life. You will pass through inevitable difficulties and trials, you may even have a transformation experience, but you will still remain yourself from beginning to end.

Peculiarities of the Parfit theory

Parfit considers this approach wrong. Your personalities do not need to be interconnected. Two-year, twenty-year, forty-year-old and ninety-five years old you can have certain psychological connections (memories, desires, preferences, inclinations) and you can safely say that your personalities are related to each other. But given that physical changes in the body can occur, memory problems and various reorientations happen, it makes no sense to think of yourself as one and the same person moving through time. This is a series of more or less related personalities, and not one particular person.

How to relate to this story?

Suppose that Dolezal is absolutely honest in her statements that she feels like a black person and did not use this move solely for profit or any profit. What if she really feels "black"? Why can not we assume that a variety of impressions in her life, such as the four black brothers and sisters, as well as the dark-skinned former husband, led to the fact that she began to identify with a black man? Why is her actions evaluated from a genetic point of view? Does not this seem strange in an age when the race is perceived not as a biological fact, but as a social image? This article is not intended to criticize Dolezal for who she feels, but only for a public deception act (if it did take place), but this is a completely different story. It's time to fulfill the promise and return to the title. How can Parfit's concept of personal identification lead to a reduction in the fear of death?

Parfit and attitude to life

Parfit admits that some people may be depressed and upset by the recognition that someone has a strong spirit. However, Parfit himself considers such a thought "liberating and comforting." He writes: "Earlier I was imprisoned in myself. My life seemed to me a glass tunnel, through which I moved faster and faster every year, and at the end of this tunnel there was only darkness. " But after a long philosophical reflection everything changed: "When I changed my views, the walls of the glass tunnel suddenly disappeared. I live in the open air. Naturally, there is still a difference between my life and the lives of others. But it is getting smaller. Other people are getting closer. I'm less concerned about my future life and are more interested in the lives of others. "

Parfit and attitude to death

How does Parfit look to death now? He writes that, according to his former views, he cared much more for his imminent death. After his death, there would not be a man on Earth who would be his. But now he can look at this fact from a different point of view. Although later in his life there will be a lot of impressions, none of them will be the same as now. As a result, the death of a particular person is simply a lack of connection with his future impressions. If you look at the problem from this point of view, then death no longer seems terrible, and there is no reason to be so afraid of it.