Books/resources on non-existence

Question

I believe that after we die there is nothing. The same that was before being born. So while I won’t care about not existing when it happens, the thought of it does bother me now, as I like being and would like for that to continue.

When I close my eyes I see darkness, black. But according to various sources, blind people see nothing. I’m not capable of imagining what seeing nothing really means, but I have wondered often that it may get one a step closer to being able to understand what it is to be nothing (or, more accurately, to not be). To clarify, I’m not claiming to believe blind people have a deeper understanding of non-existence, just that they have an extra data point, an experience that I don’t that may allow new insights on how to rationalise the process.

I am interested in this notion of non-existence, and would like some recommendations on it. On first look I thought ontology would be the branch of philosophy to read on (I’m not completely convinced it isn’t), but I’ve read part of Sartre’s Being and Nothingness and what he discusses isn’t exactly what I’m looking for. I also found the writing somewhat boring.

I’ve also started to look into Yale’s course on Death and found the first few videos interesting (I’m less than a fifth in) and don’t know yet if it’s what I’m looking for, but it’s interesting enough for me to keep watching.

What’s the branch of philosophy that concerns itself with non-existence, especially after death? What good literature is there on it? The more logical the arguments, the better. Please be specific in your recommendations. I’m looking for “read this book by this person”, not “read the entire history of this religion, as sometimes they mention it”.

Answer 1

Aha, an easy question for a change. The entire literature of the Perennial philosophy, mysticism, nondualism, call it what you will, is devoted to explaining that you do not exist, or at least not in the way you usually imagine. This is said to be what we discover if we take the advice to 'Know Thyself'.

Middle Way Buddhism, for instance, is philosophically grounded on Nagarjuna's logical proof that nothing really exists and nothing ever really happens. You might like to check out the doctrine of 'dependent existence' and the theory of emptiness. Radhkrishnan's 'Philosophy of the Upanishads' might be a useful starting point, or Gyamptso's book on Nagarjuna 'The Sun of Wisdom' (Shambala)

And then of course, there's the cantor, the rabbi and the janitor.

The cantor (he's the guy who sings in Jewish services) was getting ready to leave and was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of devotion. He went up to the front of the temple, got down on his knees and called out,"Oh Lord, Lord, I am the least of your children. Truly I am nothing."

The rabbi happened to see this, and went up to the front, sat down next to the cantor, and cried out, "Oh Lord, I too am the lowest of the low. Oh truly, truly, I am nothing."

Well, the janitor happened to overhear this as he was sweeping, and went down and sat down on the other side of the cantor, and poured out his devotion, "Lord, Lord, Lord, I am less than the dust at your feet. Truly, I am nothing."

At which point the rabbi jabbed the cantor in the ribs and said, "Hah! Look who thinks HE'S nothing!"

Answer 2

The problem of fear of death is that it's an irrational fear:

If I am, then death is not.If Death is, then I am not.Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not. (Epicurus)

If fear of death is irrational, then why do we fear death? Because we are not completely intelligent creatures, but we have an irrational organismic side, a result of which is that we are controlled by instincts, specifically here the instinct of self-preservation, which is:

Natural or instinctive tendency to act so as to preserve one's own existence.

This is only why we fear death.

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Kierkegaard was the first to make a clear distinction between fear and anxiety (dread); he contrasted fear that is fear of some thing with dread that is a fear of no thing-"not," as he wryly noted, "a nothing with which the individual has nothing to do." (Existential psychotherapy)

The way we deal with anxiety is by transforming it into a fear, as fear can be defined and dealt with:

The nothing which is the object of dread becomes, as it were, more and more a something.(Kierkegaard, Concept of Dread, P. 55)

The nothing here is death and the something could be anything (Ex: social anxiety). Death is nothing, because as I mentioned before, it's irrational due to being an instinct.

This leads to the fact that fear of death rarely comes in its non diluted literal form, it usually comes in the form of a seemingly unrelated manifestation.

What the genius Kierkegaard is point to, is a defense mechanism which leads to the repression of death anxiety.

This is what Ernest Becker says on the repression of death anxiety:

If this fear were as constantly conscious, we should be unable to function normally. It must be properly repressed to keep us living with any modicum of comfort. We know very well that to repress means more than to put away and to forget that which was put away and the place where we put it. It means also to maintain a constant psychological effort to keep the lid on and inwardly never relax our watchfulness. (The denial of death, p.17)

What we conclude, is that who repress pay the price of their repression (Endless death anxiety manifestations) and who does not repress (as in your case) will pay the price of not repressing (Death anxiety).

Every conscious existence will have to pay for their existence, unless you are not a maniac free of the body and its guilt, you will pay.