Tolkien was right. The greatest stories of the ages center on death—how people face it, or how they respond to loss.
In “Braveheart,“ William Wallace takes up Scotland’s cause after his wife is killed by an English soldier. In ”The Return of the King,“ Eowyn risks her life to slay the Witch-king after her uncle Theoden falls. In ”Wonder Woman,” Steve Trevor sacrifices himself to save others, flying away with a payload of poison gas.
The lesson of these stories is clear: When humans stop fearing death, they are capable of extraordinary things. Yet fear of death is common—nearly half of Americans report fearing death.
Many consider this natural, but Socrates disagreed. He called fear of death “the pretence of wisdom,” observing that “no one knows whether death, which they in their fear apprehend to be the greatest evil, may not be the greatest good.”
Socrates understood the same lesson of our stories: When we no longer fear the grave, we can live our full life. He was not the only teacher to grasp this truth.
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,” Jesus of Nazareth says in the Gospel of Matthew.
The idea that we cannot live fully until we accept death appears in other religious texts and can also be found in modern films. It is the premise of David Fincher’s 1997 film “The Game,” a psychological thriller starring Michael Douglas and Sean Penn that is resolved when the wealthy but isolated investment banker Nicholas Van Orton (Douglas) is reborn when he believes he is losing his life.
Ward Farnsworth, dean of the University of Texas School of Law, notes in “The Practicing Stoic“ that freedom from the fear of death was a central goal of Stoic philosophy.
“We must make ready for death before we can make ready for life,” Seneca wrote in “Epistles.”
The way one faced death was of such importance in the Greek tradition that many believed a man’s life could not be judged until he had died. Writing in the 16th century, Montaigne shared an anecdote about the Theban general Epaminondas (4th century BC), who was asked who should be held in the highest esteem, himself or the Athenian generals Charbrias or Iphicrates.
“You must see us die before deciding,” Epaminondas replied.
To modern readers, this emphasis on death may seem strange. But the ancients understood that confronting mortality is essential to living a full life....