RE: Proof that I'm immortal
September 3, 2018 at 9:07 am
(This post was last modified: September 3, 2018 at 9:10 am by Angrboda.)
(September 3, 2018 at 8:44 am)Shantideva Wrote:(September 3, 2018 at 7:30 am)Jörmungandr Wrote: So 'you' are created by a self-sustaining series of actions. When you die, those actions cease sustaining themselves and end. There is no more series of actions creating a 'you'.
Every action is energy used and converted, but always in existence...the omniverse is a never ending series of self sustaining actions of which we will ever be a part of...in some form or another. Who's to say that the actions are self sustaining either, the reality is that we don't know what our converted energy might go on to sustain. The "I" that we identify as ourselves is energy in a temporary form. The form will change, but every bit of that energy that we used in thought and in physical structure will still exist. It's not a form of solace to anyone that limits their version of self to the immediate here and now, and that's not a criticism, nor have I attained some enlightenment that makes me see things too differently. However, the fact that as humans we can give pause to the thought, is of significance to me.
A process is only self sustaining if it sustains itself, i.e. maintains it's identity as that process. (Duh.) Sustaining something else or becoming something else is not the same thing. So, no, the universe isn't composed of "a never ending series of self sustaining actions" except insofar as the identity involved is only that it is matter and energy. But simply being matter and energy is not what makes a self, so that is insufficient.
The "I" that we identify as ourselves is more than just energy. It is a process: matter and energy in specific configurations and undergoing specific changes.