Comment by abhaynayar
3 years ago
I read this, and while I felt immense sadness, I will obviously move on with my life soon enough and forget about it. I wondered, if I were ever in the same situation, and someone read what I wrote before dying, they might empathize for a bit, but then they'd move on as well.
I just really wish that there's something beyond death, that there's something out there, and that all the suffering and unfairness and randomness in life is not for nothing. I hope we someday truly figure out what the fuck we are doing here in this universe. And if not that, at least we reach a point in biology where we have the ability to solve a lot of problems of the mind and body and make life better for everyone.
When there is nothing beyond death, there is no death. We won’t be sitting on the sidelines blindfolded. We won’t exist. From our perspective the death never actually happens.
I’m surprisingly okay with my lack of experience of the billions of years before the earth existed, and I won’t experience the billions after.
That said, just because we can’t stay at Disneyland forever, we might as well go on the rides while we are here.
We are all dying. Some sooner than others. As a student of philosophy, this perspective has driven me to avoid the common status concerns that many people chase.
All though you're correct it is rational to not fear death. I personally, and likely many other people here, have a very very strong aversion to it.
I DO NOT want the cessation of experience.
Ideally, I'd like to continue in perpetuity, to see the sun rise from Venus, or visit my tenth generation offspring on Saturn.
All of those missed experiences would be deeply saddening. To see our species conquer to universe, to see intelligent life bloom in the darkness of space, that is the goal.
I would also like to continue in perpetuity, it's why maintain general fitness and I generally avoid some life-shortening things like smoking (though I do consume alcohol). The problem is that life in perpetuity doesn't actually happen even from treatments of even our wildest sci-fi fictions. By extending life, we merely kick the can of death down the road...
Actual immortality achieved would just push concerns to the heat death of the universe, and folks acting as Cyber-Punk Holden Karnofsky would be spilling ink about the need to invest in star-moving technology to create a big crunch. I don't mean to be trite here. The point is 10 years, 100, years, 1000 years, or 100 billion years, the dilemma is the same, because the linearity of time means any non-infinite amount of life is ultimately minuscule.
The psychological dilemma of existentialism is a challenging one, I'll fully admit that. It's one I've accepted. The benefits also exist though. It forces you to live in the moment to some extent, when others are solely focused on the future.
> I DO NOT want the cessation of experience.
What you want isn't always what you get. There are a lot of people that have all kinds of urges that they know aren't going to happen. That's perfectly normal, but for so called 'rational' people that fraction that has these irrational desires is a bit strange to me. Rationally: everything dies, sooner or later, and so will you. So the way to get the most out of it is to make sure that you make every minute count.
The cessation of experience is not so bad when you're asleep. It wasn't so bad before you were born.
I'm not overly concerned about death on its own (I feel it's going to be kind of like being asleep), neither am I that concerned about my role in the universe. Instead, I feel more for people who truly suffer in life maybe due to poverty, or due to disease, etc. who don't get to go on Disneyland rides. It makes me feel what was the point of it all? It has to be teaching us a lesson beyond the "simulation" and if not -- that's what makes me sad -- not my personal fear of death, or anything to do with status.
And even to a lesser extent -- why do we suffer -- is it a law of physics that can't be bent? I don't agree with people who believe more pleasure equals more pain. There will be people who live amazing lives, and those who don't. And so I feel that we as intelligent beings can reduce randomness, and take control of our environment and make sure we can all go on Disneyland rides at least to some extent, and hopefully eventually figure out what's outside of Disneyland.
I completely agree. Ironically, the existentialist should be more concerned about general welfare, not less. There is no afterlife to set things right. We should not be surprised that ethical hedonists like Peter Singer are so concerned about animal welfare.
We suffer almost certainly because it's an evolutionary adaptive feature for us we picked up somewhere along the way. It is no surprise that the general suffering we find in developed countries, namely loneliness, is directly related to human reproduction.
Is it a generally happy or sad state of affairs? Who's to say. It's our state of affairs, and we best do what we can to make the most of it.
I'm not scared of death. I'm scared of an extended painful exit.
Let us say that there is nothing beyond death, does that really mean that life is ultimately pointless? I'd argue that the idea that there is nothing beyond death is what makes life all the more meaningful. We are only going to get one shot at all of this, we better make it count.
From this I derive the motivation to work hard at what I do and ultimately try to contribute to the problems we face as a species before I pass. It also makes me appreciate the raw human connection that we can all experience: love, passion, friendship.
I may not be the one to light the altar of discovery that allows us to say, cure cancer or become a spacefaring species, but I will proudly carry the torch and pass it on.
You can philosophise yourself into just about any position: death is real & life is meaningless, death is real and life is meaningful, death is but a transition & this life is meaningless, death is merely an illusion and life is meaningful,
I believe that Jesus is Lord, and everyone who seeks him finds him.
Matthew 7:17 - "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
I was given a very clear sign 17 years ago, not when I asked God to prove himself, but only incidentally when I was seeking his guidance on something; it's nevertheless lasted as an undeniable proof for me. Though, it's better to believe without seeing.
John 20:29 - "...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Acts 2:38 - "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins."
Disclaimer: I do not identify with American/political 'Christianity'.
Wishing is one thing. Hope is the better thing. There is something beyond death. I don't know how anyone can think otherwise. Who else has the words of life?
We all find out
Why’d you be so pessimistic when there’s plenty of evidence that there is.
Or are you saying that billions of Buddhists and Hinduists are delusional?
It's not that they are delusional, it's that they can't prove it. They don't have evidence, they have faith.
Oh, you know, it's just someone that thinks everyone except them is wrong!
Doesn’t really add anything to the conversation though
6 replies →
Our salvation is in psychedelic drugs. I'm serious.
There is no cheaper way to turn swine into gentlemen.
Now we just need to trick them into eating the stuff.
I agree more/most folks ought to try them under the right circumstances (yada yada mental health caveat here), but I also know plenty of psychonauts who are complete pricks, even some who have broken through on DMT and are still complete wastes of oxygen as humans. Go figure.
They are a doorway to new perspectives. You still gotta internalize the message.