We Need to Die
Motivation, deadlines, and meaning
- Some agree with the article: a finite lifespan and looming death create urgency, structure, and “deadlines” that push people from passive consumption into striving and growth. Retirement and loss of purpose are cited as examples of decline without goals.
- Others strongly reject this, saying they’re motivated by curiosity, pleasure, and wanting experiences now, not by fear of death. They argue plenty of people pursue ambitious long‑term projects despite short lifespans, and that more time would increase willingness to take on century‑scale work.
- Several commenters call the death‑as‑motivation thesis post‑hoc rationalization or projection from one person’s procrastination.
Quality of life vs length of life
- A recurring theme: the real problem is not living “too long” but prolonged decline—pain, dementia, dependence. Many say they’d eagerly take centuries of healthy life but don’t want decades of senescence.
- Some older commenters report becoming more accepting of death as they age and lose novelty; others see that as coping with inevitability, not evidence that death is good.
Societal and political concerns
- Many worry immortality under current capitalism would entrench inequality: rulers, billionaires, and dictators hoarding life‑extension, wealth, and power indefinitely. Fiction like Altered Carbon and In Time is invoked.
- Others argue institutions, term limits, and forced turnover could mitigate this; the real issue is power structures, not lifespan per se.
- There’s debate over whether death is crucial for cultural and scientific progress (“science advances one funeral at a time”) versus whether that’s just historical contingency.
Technology, uploads, and feasibility
- Some fantasize about “digital ancestor spirits,” mind backups, or periodic wake‑ups; others note data rot, hardware obsolescence, and deep identity questions: a copy with your memories isn’t obviously “you.”
- A number of commenters stress that true immortality is impossible: even with perfect anti‑aging, accidents, violence, and rare diseases will eventually get everyone over long enough timescales.
Philosophical and psychological reactions
- A camp finds immortality viscerally horrifying—an inescapable prison or endless alienation as values and societies change beyond recognition.
- Another camp finds death itself horrifying, likening pro‑death arguments to defending a ball‑and‑chain everyone has always worn. They emphasize individual choice: let those who want to die, die, and those who want to live, live.
- Several note that debates about immortality often smuggle in unresolved questions about selfhood, continuity, desire, and whether changing enough over time already constitutes a kind of “death.”