Morozov A. Fear of death as existential problem. The ethical aspects.

The dissertation is dedicated to the mankind's moral attitude toward the death. The author analyses the genesis and transformation of the concept of death. He shows that the fear of death is the expression of inner anxiety of "non-being". The anxiety is an immanent attribute of human existence, but it can be regulated by complicated social and cultural mechanisms. In pre-modern paradigm "non-being" is interpreted as the meeting with sacred, that gives sense and hierarchy of moral values for our life. The pre-modern society considers the death to be the most important event in men's life. In modern paradigm "non-being" is mostly interpreted as the nothingness and absurd that leads to personal "existential vacuum" and despair. In everyday life we try to eliminate all our thoughts about death. This concept of death elimination can explain the cult of consumerism in modern society, men's "dissolving" in things. Since the modern society has tabooed the death, the integral moral growing and true spiritual initiation is not possible any more. However, the will to transcend our life still remains. It is expressed in various non-conformist youth subcultures, in archetypes of contemporary pop art. The spiritual way to transcend the impersonal existing in the world of objects one can find in love. Feeling of love requires going through symbolic death and revival, revealing transcendent spheres, becoming authentic and immortal personality.