Embracing the Nothingness of Death as a Form of Death Acceptance: a Study Based on Irvin Yalom’s “Staring at the Sun”

Abstract

This paper examines Irvin Yalom’s Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death, focusing on how Yalom utilizes Epicurean philosophy to address and mitigate death anxiety. Central to Yalom’s approach are three Epicurean arguments: the mortality of the soul, the notion that after death there is nothing, and the equivalence between the state of non-existence before birth and after death. These arguments provide a framework for understanding and reducing the fear of death by emphasizing the finite nature of human existence. While this secular perspective offers a path to overcoming death anxiety, the paper also recognizes the significance of religious and spiritual beliefs that offer comfort and meaning to many. It argues that various approaches – whether philosophical or religious – serve as valuable tools for individuals to find peace with mortality and to embrace life more fully.

Keywords

• irvin yalom
• epicurus
• death acceptance
• death phobia
• contemporary death-acceptance literature