Epicurus thinks it is important for one to study nature and the heavens because once we understand these concepts that are so much bigger than ourselves, we will have no reason at all to fear death.  By understanding these concepts we will no longer live a life of fear but a life of greater understanding and reasoning.  If we understand these things, then we can firmly form our opinions with certainty and knowledge.  By understanding the celestial beings, we can begin to understand how we got placed on this earth and why we are here.

The whole universe consists of atoms and space and once we gain the understanding of this concept, no questions are left unanswered concerning our life on this earth.  Without atoms we will be deprived of our sense experience and there will be no point left to living in this way.  All of these things help us live a life free from fear and anxiety.

Epicurus argues that death is nothing to us.  He also argues that death is a deprivation of the “sense experience”.  Because death means nothing to us, it makes humans not long for immortality.  When one no longer fears death, they have nothing to fear in the life they are currently living.  Epicurus states that: “So death, the most frightening of bad things, is nothing to us; since when we exist, death is not yet present, and when death is present, then we do not exist”.  Therefore, Epicurus is stating that we have nothing to fear because death is not there in everyday life and when it does arrive, it is painless.

Epicurus makes his case by giving an example of the wise man and the young man.  He advises that living life well and to its fullest will make death less painful and the trip through the gates of Hades as quick as possible.  Death is so important because the goal in life is to live a blessed life.

Death is such an interesting philosophical issue because everyone has varying views on what exactly happens after death.  Where does one’s soul go?  There is no right or wrong answer. How could there when  how can anything in the after life be proven? Supposedly if you live a good life, you will go to heaven and if you live a bad life you will go to hell.  However, has anyone ever heard a first hand encounter with either of these places?  How is anyone to make a decision regarding these dilemmas without the proper proof and research?  Death is an issue with many sides and forms; and lots of questions to be answered.

I believe that Aristotle is hoping to accomplish the distinction of what our purpose is here on earth.  Even though our time here is limited, being a spectator of the truth will help us to fulfill our time here to the utmost extent.  By living our lives here to the fullest, we can achieve more than we thought possible if everyone followed the mentality of living every day like it was your last.  Being virtuous and good on this earth will make the transition out of here much smoother and each individual can feel like they have done all they can in order to make their life worthwhile.  Aristotle probably wanted to help everyone gain a clear understanding of what they were supposed to do here in their time on this earth and that way everyone feels like they have a purpose and are here for some reason or another.

Experience plays a big role because one’s life experience is a founding principle on how one chooses to live their life.  If past experiences in their life has caused trauma and bad memories, this person should want to strive to never have to relive anything like this and always should be striving for happiness.  If past experiences in this persons life have been positive, then they will more then likely continue to live a life filled with happiness and will always be striving to gain the most positive experience possible.

I feel that he is right to assert that the young in years and in character will learn little from the study of ethics.  Personal experience plays a huge role to determine whether someone will learn anything from ethics or if it will simply a waste of their time.  The more personal experience you have, the greater advanced your character is.  All of these things add together to create a well rounded individual who is motivated and is eager to advance in ethics/philosophy.

The fact that Socrates is willing to die in order to not to break his “Contract” with the state of Athens can be viewed as “taking the easy way out”.  However, it was an extremely brave choice.  The fact that Socrates would rather die than betray his “Contract” shows that he would not want to be exiled from his beloved Athens.  Athens obviously has a strong hold on Socrates.  He was born and raised there, educated there, and has his sons there.  Why would he want to live anywhere else?  What other city has anything to offer him?

Socrates is an old man at the time of his imprisonment.  He states in Plato’s Apology: “…like a dreamless sleep, then death would be a great advantage. …If death is like this I say it is an advantage, for all eternity would then seem to be no more than a single night”(43).  He does not fear death, so his own execution does not frighten him in the least.  Death in order to fulfill his “Contract” with Athens is his final wish for the ties to his beloved state.

Socrates’ contract with the state of Athens requires him to abide by all the laws.  Breaking the law would imply that Socrates does not have any regard for his “Contract”.  When Crito tells him that he has paid the guard some money in order to smooth over Socrates’ escape from jail, Socrates declines.  If he had accepted Crito’s offer of escape, he would be breaking all the laws of the state of Athens.  While his life would be spared, breaking the law is not the way to achieve freedom.

Only in certain circumstances is breaking the laws of the state not a huge crime.  One instance that comes to mind is when someone or some group of people is being persecuted in their own country by a dictator and want to flee to refuge.  Leaving your homeland illegally in order to try to start a better life for your family, seems not so much like breaking the law.  For example, say the leader of a country wants to rid the country of all boys aged 10 to 14.  Would you not try and keep your family together and flee?  Would you not try and save your 10 year old sons life?  In extenuating circumstances like the one previously mentioned, breaking the law is okay.  However, breaking the law is not a path that most should be planning on taking.  Socrates would not approve of the lifestyle of a criminal.  Because Socrates chose not to break his “Contract” with the state of Athens, he can attend his execution without the regret of hurting his beloved Athens.

Human wisdom is only a knowledge of materialistic information and will do us no good when we are faced with the next life.  On earth the human knowledge is good because it pertains to the materialistic society in which we live in.  However, in order for the mind to grow and to be able to think outside of our comfort zones we must try to find a way to achieve wisdom greater than human.

Wisdom greater than human is not attainable in the society in which we live.  Our minds are constantly searching for this knowledge but must wait for our time on Earth to end in order to receive this knowledge.  This knowledge will help us when we leave this world and continue on our journey.

Socrates’ quote saying that human wisdom is worth little or nothing because if this statement regarding the wisdom greater then human knowledge is true, death is not something to fear.  This is what Socrates reasons at the end of the dialogue and believing in this makes the end seem not as terrifying