Death and Cosmic Purpose of Life

Abstract

We can now discuss topics directly related to the quest for a cosmic meaning/purpose of life, which has been a constant trend in humans since times immemorial, as attested by the fact that the oldest written epic tale—the fascinating Epic of Gilgamesh (Fig. 2.1), composed earlier than c. 2150 bc—specifically deals with Gilgamesh’s—“the great king of Uruk”—quest for the meaning of life. The tale includes enthralling details about the myths and beliefs of the people of Mesopotamia, their Gods and heroes, and their history. Importantly, The Epic of Gilgamesh was one of the sources from which the Bible absorbed many of its stories, including the ones related to the garden of Eden and the genesis flood narrative. Such examples are often used by historians as empirical chronological evidence that it was not God that created humans, but humans that created—better said, that recycled ideas about—God (Box 2.1). Another famous story, The Appointment in Samarra, modified in 1933 by W. Somerset Maugham from an ancient Mesopotamian tale recorded in the Babylonian Talmud—Sukkah 53a—in which the narrator is death itself, also clearly illustrates our obsession with the inevitability of death, and its links to the building of teleological narratives and to the notion of “fate” and “meant to be”:

More than well-being and pleasure, pain, suffering and the perception of death are particularly empowering. I imagine that religions have developed around this conscience. To a certain extent, from a historical and evolutionary point of view, consciousness was a forbidden fruit that once tasted left us vulnerable to pain and suffering and, ultimately, exposed to the tragic confrontation with death…. Death as a source of tragedy is very present in biblical narratives and in Greek theater, continuing to impose itself on current artistic creations…. We are puppets in the hands of pain and pleasure, occasionally liberated by our creativity.

(Antonio Damasio)