Title: The irrational fear of non-being (and the havoc it may be causing)

Authors: Alun H. Brown

Addresses: Austria

Abstract: In this turbulent year of 2020, are we individually and collectively manifesting a future that is optimistic, life-affirming and celebrates the miracle and wonder of being - or is our attitude more informed by pessimism, nihilism, and a pathological 'rage against the dying of the light', as Dylan Thomas would put it? In our collective desperation to avoid the inevitable end of ourselves and those we love, are we in danger of forgetting how and why we should live? How well does our dread at our inevitable annihilation stand up to scrutiny? Could there perhaps always be light at the end of the existential tunnel? This article takes a closer look at some of the age-old conundra surrounding the riddle of being and non-being, and highlights a few possible reasons to suppose there may be far more grounds for optimism than many might have considered.

Keywords: life; death; being; non-being; oblivion; void; zero; nihilism; fear; optimism; future.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGENVI.2021.121014

International Journal of Global Environmental Issues, 2021 Vol.20 No.2/3/4, pp.156 - 166

Received: 02 Dec 2020
Accepted: 07 May 2021
Published online: 21 Feb 2022 *

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