How Do You Get Over Death?

[Shuffle]

All of us are "Idont'tknowist." That is called an agnostic. He is not talking about knowledge, he is talking about belief.

And one can say "I don't know" in regards to beliefs as well as knowledge. He's shopping an excluded-middle fallacy.

So, are you saying he doesn't know what he believes? If this is so, then I am wrong.

[Thumpalumpacus]

And one can say "I don't know" in regards to beliefs as well as knowledge. He's shopping an excluded-middle fallacy.

So, are you saying he doesn't know what he believes? If this is so, then I am wrong.

... or, he hasn't made up his mind, which is a different thing that still results in "I don't know" as an answer.

Props to you for being willing to listen.

[robvalue]

I would say "I don't know what to believe" is equivalent to "I don't yet believe the statement is true, and I don't yet believe it is false."

In the case of the God question, in my opinion that makes you an atheist, you do not actively believe in gods. But of course, it's just a label. It's a sticker I put on people who walk past me on the street and they are welcome to pull it off and put another one on instead. But I got plenty more stickers... and I put one on your back that you haven't noticed yet... Hahaha!

If you genuinely don't know what your own beliefs are, to me that suggests a different situation. Then you literally wouldn't know if you were an atheist or a theist.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

This question is obviously directed towards my fellow atheists, hence why it is in the Atheism Sub Forum.

Anyway, how did you get over the thought of dying? After the huge support structure called "Religion" was taken away from your life, how did you get over the thought of everything you have ever done having no effect on the Universe as a whole. Or everything ever done by anyone is going to be completely destroyed by the inevitable heat death of the Universe.

Personally I feel that, because of all of our fates, it makes life even more precious. This took me a while to understand, but hopefully most of you do.

I wanted to know if our reasons matched up or differed.

Thanks!

Nihilism rears its ugly head.

Viewing life as precious is 'ugly'? How, exactly?

Your head must be so fucked up it's un-true.

Anyway, OP, I've never been religious or believed in a deity, so I've never had a support structure from religion. Instead I take solace from friends and family during times of death. Death can be scary, and I don't want to die, but neither am I delusional that I will live forever (nor do I want to), and instead aim to live my life the way I way I want, and to get the best out of things. Some days I don't do that, naturally, but that's my overall goal.

Nobody knows what happens when we die, and there's nothing we can do about it, so I won't worry about it until it's time to.

[robvalue]

You bet, no one can ever know exactly what happens after death due to lack of testimony. As far as science can tell, nothing happens. If consciousness is just an emergent property of an active brain, then that will cease.

Some people will always cling to the hope that the consciousness will somehow survive. We don't know, maybe it's possible.

[Celestine]

This question is obviously directed towards my fellow atheists, hence why it is in the Atheism Sub Forum.

Anyway, how did you get over the thought of dying? After the huge support structure called "Religion" was taken away from your life, how did you get over the thought of everything you have ever done having no effect on the Universe as a whole. Or everything ever done by anyone is going to be completely destroyed by the inevitable heat death of the Universe.

Personally I feel that, because of all of our fates, it makes life even more precious. This took me a while to understand, but hopefully most of you do.

I wanted to know if our reasons matched up or differed.

Thanks!

Making a lot of assumptions there, one you assume I believe in the big bang or the big crunch, I don't. 

Death is nothing to be afraid of, once you are dead there will be no more suffering, no more anxiety just peace. Now this might tempt some people into committing suicide, it is my belief that you can not escape life. I believe strongly that we collectively will experience existence again and again in some form or another for all eternity, an eternity of the joys of living as well as an eternity of suffering that comes with being alive. I view it as rather depressing and would prefer to being dead forever which in a sense I suppose I will be, in the sense that i will never again be who I am now. My greatest concern with my own belief is that by this logic I will exist one day as  a female which I guess kind of works out if I come across as something like a praying mantis.

You bet, no one can ever know exactly what happens after death due to lack of testimony. As far as science can tell, nothing happens. If consciousness is just an emergent property of an active brain, then that will cease.

Some people will always cling to the hope that the consciousness will somehow survive. We don't know, maybe it's possible.

I am beginning to ponder if consciousness is a universal material by which all things happen, and that our brains are simply using it in the way that a light bulb uses electricity, I wonder what would happen if you would remove the part of the brain that defines us as individuals. You may ask what happens to you after you die, but have you ever asked how you came to be in this world in the first place? Many would say that since we have brains we are aware of ourselves, so in there must lay a clue to the answer, but does consciousness limit itself to our brain? If it is a universal material then it would not, and rather than a cosmic consciousness being a higher level of consciousness I would call it the base level. It should be noted I really don't like using the term consciousness because it means the state of being aware, and I would much rather there be a name for this hypothetical substance. If there is one already then I do not know of it.

[The Grand Nudger]

Why would anxiety and suffering cease, while peace somehow persists? Pretty sure this "peace" business goes out the window as well. Got plenty here in my life, much more peace than anxiety or suffering, personally, I suppose I'd miss that, but since I won't be there to miss it.....lol.........bit of a non-issue, eh>?

You posting from Turdistan or something? Life sounds really shitty where you're at....maybe you should move? I doubt you prefer death over life in any way, shape, or form....it's not like you're made of titanium, and yet here you are, still breathing.....

[Brian37]

You don't get over it, ever. But coping varies from individual to individual.

I can say after all the death in my 48 years I have seen of family, my mom' s friends and pets, you can get to the point of being spent emotionally.

But I know with my mom, that will not be the case, and while hopefully no time soon, I cannot predict how I will handle it, other than to say I freak out over her with even sniffles, so with her, I don't like thinking about it.

[Shuffle]

Making a lot of assumptions there, one you assume I believe in the big bang or the big crunch, I don't. 

Death is nothing to be afraid of, once you are dead there will be no more suffering, no more anxiety just peace. Now this might tempt some people into committing suicide, it is my belief that you can not escape life. I believe strongly that we collectively will experience existence again and again in some form or another for all eternity, an eternity of the joys of living as well as an eternity of suffering that comes with being alive. I view it as rather depressing and would prefer to being dead forever which in a sense I suppose I will be, in the sense that i will never again be who I am now. My greatest concern with my own belief is that by this logic I will exist one day as  a female which I guess kind of works out if I come across as something like a praying mantis.

I am beginning to ponder if consciousness is a universal material by which all things happen, and that our brains are simply using it in the way that a light bulb uses electricity, I wonder what would happen if you would remove the part of the brain that defines us as individuals. You may ask what happens to you after you die, but have you ever asked how you came to be in this world in the first place? Many would say that since we have brains we are aware of ourselves, so in there must lay a clue to the answer, but does consciousness limit itself to our brain? If it is a universal material then it would not, and rather than a cosmic consciousness being a higher level of consciousness I would call it the base level. It should be noted I really don't like using the term consciousness because it means the state of being aware, and I would much rather there be a name for this hypothetical substance. If there is one already then I do not know of it.

What the HELL does the big bang or the big crunch have to do with this!?

Peace? The part of the brain that identifies and registers peacefulness will be shut off when I die, along with the rest of my brain. Nope. Your completely unsupported conclusions do not tempt me to anything but. Eternity does not exist, at least in the sense that things will be happening for all of eternity. The inevitable heat death of the universe would stop eternity right in its tracks. With your logic, you have been and will be a female an INFINITE amount of times, the same amount of times that you have had sex with a monkey in your previous lives.

Blah blah blah. Do you have ANY evidence to support ANY of these claims? Jesus, you are a endless spouting fountain of crap.

[Celestine]

Making a lot of assumptions there, one you assume I believe in the big bang or the big crunch, I don't. 

Death is nothing to be afraid of, once you are dead there will be no more suffering, no more anxiety just peace. Now this might tempt some people into committing suicide, it is my belief that you can not escape life. I believe strongly that we collectively will experience existence again and again in some form or another for all eternity, an eternity of the joys of living as well as an eternity of suffering that comes with being alive. I view it as rather depressing and would prefer to being dead forever which in a sense I suppose I will be, in the sense that i will never again be who I am now. My greatest concern with my own belief is that by this logic I will exist one day as  a female which I guess kind of works out if I come across as something like a praying mantis.

I am beginning to ponder if consciousness is a universal material by which all things happen, and that our brains are simply using it in the way that a light bulb uses electricity, I wonder what would happen if you would remove the part of the brain that defines us as individuals. You may ask what happens to you after you die, but have you ever asked how you came to be in this world in the first place? Many would say that since we have brains we are aware of ourselves, so in there must lay a clue to the answer, but does consciousness limit itself to our brain? If it is a universal material then it would not, and rather than a cosmic consciousness being a higher level of consciousness I would call it the base level. It should be noted I really don't like using the term consciousness because it means the state of being aware, and I would much rather there be a name for this hypothetical substance. If there is one already then I do not know of it.

What the HELL does the big bang or the big crunch have to do with this!?

Peace? The part of the brain that identifies and registers peacefulness will be shut off when I die, along with the rest of my brain. Nope. Your completely unsupported conclusions do not tempt me to anything but. Eternity does not exist, at least in the sense that things will be happening for all of eternity. The inevitable heat death of the universe would stop eternity right in its tracks. With your logic, you have been and will be a female an INFINITE amount of times, the same amount of times that you have had sex with a monkey in your previous lives.

Blah blah blah. Do you have ANY evidence to support ANY of these claims? Jesus, you are a endless spouting fountain of crap.

I stopped trying to prove things to people a while ago. If you think being an atheist makes you more intelligent, more open-minded, or less gullible than a theist, I've got some unfortunate news for you.

Somewhere along the line I must have hit a cord to vex you so, I ask that you not respond with such an emotionally charged answer next time.

In an effort to get you to read that, I will reply to a single point on your earlier post that I think is worth replying to. I point heat death on the same level with the big bang and the big crunch in that I do not believe in them.