Consolations for Death

Among all of the letter writers, J. Frank Dobie had a particularly unique, brief response. He wrote, “I thank you for the compliment, but I do not consider myself wise enough to solve the multiplied problems of mankind. I will say, however, that I never have thought much of depending on ignorance and unreality for happiness. I myself enjoy knowing about realities and having a liberated mind. I never have wished to be back under the curtains.” His language is interesting. He speaks of “realities” vs. “dependence on ignorance,” the “curtains” of illusion, and a “liberated mind.” His perspective sounds very similar to a quote by astronomer-physicist Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington: “Reality is a child which cannot survive without its nurse, illusion” (cited in Sheets-Johnstone, 2003). What are the realities, and what are illusions? Throughout human history, and present in all cultures, we have held beliefs that, whether we believe in them wholeheartedly or not, function to keep the fear of death at bay. As we have seen throughout the analysis of the letters, these beliefs address certain aspects of our fears of death— oblivion, nothingness, mystery, timing, etc.

The purpose of this section is not to make a claim as to the truth of these beliefs, but rather to explore the contrasting views and theories referenced among the other letters that suggest that these beliefs may function as necessary illusions. Some of these views are put forth by other writers, such as Dobie: what might he have meant by his sparse words, so greatly contrasted by the richness of the various perspectives on death given by other respondents? On the other hand, some writers might have doubted their own beliefs: in the fascinating letter by British writer and lay theologian C.S Lewis, we see both an injunction to believe and an expression of doubt, a suggestion of the personal turmoil that Lewis was experiencing at the time.