From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!floyd!cmcl2!philabs!sdcsvax!sdccsu3!sdcvax!lwall
Newsgroups: net.philosophy
Title: Re: Immortality and fear.
Article-I.D.: sdcvax.131
Posted: Wed Feb 16 10:34:50 1983
Received: Sat Feb 19 04:47:21 1983

A great deal of what Lady Arwen says about fear of death is true, but
mostly applicable to those who don't believe in survival.  It's interesting
to look at the other side of the coin too:  those who believe in survival
are probably more afraid of survival than of non-survival.  C. S. Lewis
found himself (at least for a time) to have a profound distaste for the
notion of immortality, probably acquired from Charles Williams, who quite
detested the idea, though he believed in it.  Perhaps one element of this
fear is not knowing what sort of a person, good or bad, that I might turn
into, given enough time.  Sauron probably thought he was one of the good
guys in the beginning.

Fear of non-survival is fear of the known; fear of survival is fear of the
unknown.  If Somebody is going to perpetuate my pattern, what kind of a
pattern will that be?

					Larry Wall
					...decvax!trw-unix!sdcvax!lwall