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Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Why are people so conflicted about what happens after death, but rarely wonder what happens before birth, since they're likely the same states of nonexistence?
Found this as an solid answer,any additional thoughts?
Quote:I would reckon that people are not concerned what happens before birth because the true fear lies in ego death. Our ego is a manifestation of our environment and social conditioning. Our ego developed as a result of life so the birth of our ego was the birth of our personal identity. We came in to this world and an ego developed after birth, so concerning yourself with the past non-existence of it seems to be wasted energy. We spend much more time in fear, anticipating the eventual death of our identity.
That being said the connection you made ia very insightful to those contemplating death. When preparing for it you can take cpmfort in knowing that before this particular life you were amongst the non-existent. We all came from death.
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RE: Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 2:08 pm
I don't think it's that hard to understand. We weren't conscious before we existed, so now we have experience of something that, at least those in a stable economic conditions, generally enjoy and we don't much fancy loosing it.
"The reason things will never get better is because people keep electing these rich cocksuckers who don't give a shit about you."
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RE: Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 2:09 pm
It basically boils down to humans who just have to think they are so fucking special.
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RE: Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 2:11 pm
(June 20, 2014 at 2:09 pm)Minimalist Wrote: It basically boils down to humans who just have to think they are so fucking special. That appears to be a feature of the human mind; we are the center of the universe and the concept of death is probably way overblown by our minds, because when we die, EVERYTHING DIES. That, or the thought of missing out on whatever it is that comes next. I dunno, we're all at least a bit crazy.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
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RE: Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 3:28 pm
(This post was last modified: June 20, 2014 at 3:30 pm by Jenny A.)
Quote: I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.
Mark Twain
Which answers to OPs question too. We don't worry about before we were born because we have no bad memories of it. This is because we were not.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
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RE: Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 4:22 pm
(This post was last modified: June 20, 2014 at 4:25 pm by MountainsWinAgain.)
(June 20, 2014 at 2:11 pm)Tonus Wrote: (June 20, 2014 at 2:09 pm)Minimalist Wrote: It basically boils down to humans who just have to think they are so fucking special. That appears to be a feature of the human mind; we are the center of the universe and the concept of death is probably way overblown by our minds, because when we die, EVERYTHING DIES. That, or the thought of missing out on whatever it is that comes next. I dunno, we're all at least a bit crazy.
Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.
-Epicurus
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RE: Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 6:12 pm
Isn't reincarnation about your pre existent personality?
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RE: Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 6:16 pm
When I die, "I" will go back to where "I" came from. Where that is, I cannot say, and anyone who claims they know for sure is at best, deluded, and at worst, insane.
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RE: Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 6:21 pm
(June 20, 2014 at 6:12 pm)fr0d0 Wrote: Isn't reincarnation about your pre existent personality?
I suppose it is. I never thought I had one, so I hadn't considered it.
--- The ugly thing about some religions that include past lives is that they assume you deserve what you get in this life because you earned in a past life. So it's ok to ignore the poor.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
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RE: Why do people worry what happens after death,but dont think what happens before birth
June 20, 2014 at 6:30 pm
I'm sorry, but I've heard this question before, and I think it's a little bit retarded. We are moving through time in one direction, and there's a moment ahead of us in which we believe we are going to lose everything we've ever worked or cared for: family, friends, home, job, memories, absolutely everything. And we do not LIKE to invest time, effort and emotions in things only to have them taken away.
If you were driving a car with a blindfold, you wouldn't be worried about the road already behind you, because time matters.
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