When it comes to death, I may have a weird view. I find the idea of finality more comforting than an afterlife. A death is sad, yes, due to the loss to the world, but an eternity knowing you have died is sadder yet. Sure, you may be reunited with others, but you would be acutely aware of what you left behind, what you left unfinished, and what you never did.
Give me an end to existence, as an eternity in paradise would be its own kind of hell.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.But suppose there is some ... repository of people 'stuff' where new people or other types of animals are put together for the next generation and you have a chance to do it again right here on earth or better yet, at some other location in the universe.
TimothyIII
Level 5
June 28, 2018
0
I believe that the universe is not wasteful. Our consciousnesses will probably be recycled in some way.
Denker
Level 7
June 27, 2018
3
Every piece of me will be recycled, but my consciousness is no piece. It is the neurons firing, the experiences I have had, and the chemicals interacting in me. I cannot see a way to believe my consciousness will be recycled in any meaningful sense.
If it is, and I have no memories, I will not be me. If I have my memories, it would be kind of awful to reconcile them with any new existence. Finality is fine.
We go on. The entire universe is conscience and we are a part of it. A story that I know to be true: A few years ago a lady died while receiving treatment for cancer. Heart attack, she did not pass right away. Other ladies got there and were with her as she passed. One of them was a really close friend. After lady dies and on the way home the really close friend casually asks her husband who is a straight catholic, "I wonder if she has gone on yet"? Some people think that you stick around for a while after passing. . 30 seconds later her phone rings, this person does not text and nobody texts her. It was a text from an unknown number and it said "yes I have and I'm figuring things out" , a direct answer to a question. I later asked the husband -"did you see that text" Yes he did. Go figure and leave your phones on at all times!
starwatcher-al
Level 7
June 27, 2018
1
That's not an unusual or weird view at all - based on the various other conversations we've had on this site about what might or might not happen at the point of and after death, it'd be fairly safe to say that the majority of atheists and agnostics share it.
Jnei
Level 8
June 27, 2018
3
I guess I find it weird as I take in a culture that assumes some level of spirituality. Television, books, plays, music... They all act as if an afterlife should be some comfort. It would not be to me.
If you die , but realize what you left behind , then it's reasonable to think that they will follow you into where ever you wind up . On the other hand , if you are reincarnated , you may or may not bring some memories with you , but they don't seem to cover much or last long on average . While physics seems to suggest that matter may change form , but it doesn't just become nothing . There are those who've weighed the dying and they claim there's a difference in weight of humans of several ounces between the dying and when they're dead . I guess that would suggest ghosts have some weight , if ghosts exist . But , in the end , we have no choice in the matter . What will be , will be .
Cast1es
Level 9
June 27, 2018
1
The 21 gram soul was one of six subjects, and is highly suspect. The matter in me will indeed be recycled, but not in any way that preserves what I am. It's like taking a lego house and using those pieces in a rocket, a tower, and a globe. None of those things are still the house, no matter how many bits of the house are in them.
Sounds like you're buying the standard perception. But we just can't know - can we ?
evergreen
Level 8
June 27, 2018
1
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