No. Death is really not that bad; to be dead is no more evil than not to exist, because to be dead <i>is</i> to not exist. Dying itself is evil in that it causes grief to others still living; but while grief is painful, I do not think anyone would compare the evil of suffering grief to the evil of suffering slavery.<p>One might argue that death is bad on counterfactual grounds: if a person had not died, they could still be alive and happy, and isn&#x27;t that better than them not existing? But this argument leads to the Repugnant Conclusion (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Mere_addition_paradox" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Mere_addition_paradox</a>)! So be very careful if you take this line of argument that you understand what you are saying.<p>I happen to be a total-happiness utilitarian, and <i>do</i> accept the repugnant conclusion. But ultimately all this means is that death is a mirror-image of birth - it ceases one hopefully-happy life; birth begins one. There is grief attached to death and joy attached to birth, but apart from that there is just as much imperative to maximize births as there is to prevent deaths - and one of these is far easier. This is, however, a deeply counterintuitive position that I don&#x27;t expect many others to share.<p>This isn&#x27;t Deep Wisdom. It&#x27;s just utilitarianism, taken seriously.