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I have recently watched this rather old TED presentation - A philosophical quest for our biggest problems.

The first big problem is considered death:

death is a big problem. If you look at the statistics, the odds are not very favorable to us. So far, most people who have lived have also died. Roughly 90 percent of everybody who has been alive has died by now.

These are facts and also from an economical point of view this looks like a terrible waste.

However, biologic evolution is possible due to presence of death. This also seem to be true for scientific evolution (Max Planck):

Science advances one funeral at a time.

Question: Why is death considered a big problem?

Alexei
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  • Because of experience and knowledge lost 2) because people generally find life kind of neat and worth holding on to and the notion that this neat and worthwhile condition may go away at any time and eventually will go away with utmost certainty is upsetting to most.
    • – MichaelK Apr 27 '18 at 09:22
  • @MichaelK - yes, these are certainly true. However, pretty all knowledge (actually its current complexity) seems possible only when death is present. Solving this big problem seems to create other big problems. – Alexei Apr 27 '18 at 09:31
  • I have no idea what you meant by that. Try again please? – MichaelK Apr 27 '18 at 09:35
  • @MichaelK - I feel that the loss is greater as the knowledge is greater. Having a greater knowledge is possible due to evolution. Yet, evolution (at least until genetics become much more evolved) relies on people to be replaced. – Alexei Apr 27 '18 at 09:37
  • I am sorry but at best you are talking about two completely different things here. At worst I still have no idea what you are talking about. Evolution is a very long-term process, stretching over billions of years, and over billions of individuals. For evolution to work you need to breed and then make room for the new generations, yes. That still does not make death any more appealing to the individual. Also a fear of, and an aversion to, death is evolutionary advantageous for the individual's own lineage. – MichaelK Apr 27 '18 at 09:44
  • There is a hidden meaning to this: "Roughly 90 percent of everybody who has been alive has died by now."? Because, of what I know... everybody who has been alive, died. – lukuss Apr 27 '18 at 10:31
  • @lukuss, people who alive now are not dead. – rus9384 Apr 27 '18 at 12:11
  • Who says death is a problem? It's like saying birth is a problem. What's the problem? Making sense of death is a problem requiring some work but as you say, death is what makes life possible. ,. –  Apr 27 '18 at 12:13
  • We, humans at any moment of time want to exist in present. We feel like we are significant. And we intuitively know we are continuously changing at any moment of time. – rus9384 Apr 27 '18 at 12:14
  • @rus9384, that's why I've bolded "has been". A person who has been alive, is not alive anymore :) – lukuss Apr 27 '18 at 12:32