Death: Life's finitude makes our time valuable

Death should not be feared as an experience, as it is not a state of being at all, argues Emeritus Professor Timo Airaksinen in an opinion piece for Helsingin Sanomat. While acknowledging that the fear of non-existence is common, Airaksinen posits that imagining ourselves experiencing our own absence is a contradiction, as experiencing requires an experiencer.

The author connects consciousness closely to brain function, noting that near-death experiences are often interpreted as proof of consciousness continuing. However, he points out that these experiences come from individuals who were revived, not from those whose brain activity has irreversibly ceased. While we cannot definitively prove that consciousness does not continue, the most reasoned conclusion is that experience also ends with death.

Airaksinen distinguishes between death and dying. He asserts that dying can understandably be frightening, evoking fears of pain, helplessness, loss of function, loneliness, or leaving loved ones behind. These fears, he argues, can and should be addressed through good palliative care, adequate pain relief, respecting advance directives, and open conversations about death. He also suggests that regulated euthanasia should be an option if suffering cannot be alleviated to a terminally ill patient's satisfaction.

The piece concludes that death represents a real loss, but this loss is borne by the living. The deceased does not suffer from their absence, nor do they anticipate, miss, or notice their lost future. This realization, though potentially somber, carries a liberating aspect: the absence of post-death loneliness or endless emptiness. Ultimately, the author states, life's finitude does not render it meaningless; rather, it makes our time valuable, urging readers not to postpone love, reconciliation, or life itself.