18. Is Your Own Death Real To You?

Q1. Is your own death real to you?

Q2. What is considered real?
Something is real if it happens in the lives we live. Rocks are real to us because they physically exist in our lives. Thoughts are real to us because they are thought within the lives we live. Heaven is not real to us because it did not happen in our lives, although we may believe it to be real for religious reasons. Dinosaurs are not real to us because they did not exist in our lives, but we believe them to be real because we have their remains. WWI is not real to us because it did not occur in our lives, but we believe it to be real because we have footage and testimonies.

Q3. How does perspective play a role in the value of “real?”
Example scenario: Bill saw Joe kill Mandy’s brother Steve. Bill, Joe, and Steve were there at the time of Steve’s death, but Mandy was not. To Bill, the murder of Steve happened in his life because he witnessed the event. Therefore, the death of Steve is real to Bill. To Mandy, however, it did not happen in her life because, technically, at the time of Steve’s death, Mandy had no awareness of the occurrence. Therefore, the death of Steve is not real to Mandy. However, she could believe through reasoning that it is real when she sees Joe’s bloody hands and the dead body of Steve.

Q4. Was the death of Steve real to Steve?
The death of Steve is real to Bill and Joe because it happened in their lives. However, for Steve’s death to be real to Steve, it must occur in his life. Factually speaking, Steve was not alive at the time of his death. Therefore, Steve’s death did not occur in Steve’s life. Therefore, Steve’s own death is not real to him.

Q5. What is the underlying meaning of this logic?
Everyone’s death is real to you except yours. You must still be living while your death occurs for it to be real to you. Therefore, your own death does not exist in your world because you cannot die while you are still living. Technically, YOUR OWN DEATH IS NOT REAL TO YOU.