desire for afterlife

[joe90]

Just wondering, do Atheists like the idea of the afterlife? Do they wish that there was one? Or would they rather have eternal oblivion after death? This is not a troll question.

[Silver]

Plenty of unrealistic concepts are desirable to some extent. In the end, however, I always prefer the harsh truth over the comfortable lie.

[Alan V]

Consciousness was evolved to deal with the circumstances of ordinary life. Many eternal-life schemes are so different from ordinary life that people would go mad after a while. Who would wish for that?

[Peebothuhlu]

At work.

Maybe?

Problem is;

Who's version? What might such a thing be like? What would, even, this new transformed being be like? (How much of the caterpillar doth the butterfly remeber?)

How might such happen? Why should such happen? What other transcendent forms of life might share such a state?

I suppose it couldn't hurt?

But..... there's nothing to indicate that there is. Unless the Greeks, Romans, Norse, Babylonians, Minoans, Egyptians..... (The list fades back unto deep antiquity) ALSO got it right?

I know I keep a blade in my pocket so as to die with weapon enhand to enter Valhalla.

How about yourself?

[Succubus]

Just wondering, do Atheists like the idea of the afterlife? Do they wish that there was one? Or would they rather have eternal oblivion after death? This is not a troll question.

By afterlife you mean heaven, yes? What are you going to do in heaven for an eternity, time without end?
Long after the last black hole has evaporated and the closest two protons are a trillion light years apart you will still be in heaven, doing what?

[Smaug]

To be honest, for me the idea of complete oblivion after death is rather hard to accept although it's technically understandable. It's hard to accept that consciousness does not function under some sort of special conservation law and to wrap you mind around 'nothingness' which comes after it dies. Of course it's kind of depressing. It must be a normal defensive reaction against potentially going mad, I guess. I'd say that a little bit of self-delusion in this matter is ok unless it starts to affect your reasoning in a harmful way. It's better to accept the facts if you can, of course.

Speaking of Afterlife as the Abrahamic religions put it... for me it's too much composed of naive wish-fulfillment. 'The evil' are eternally punished, 'the good' are living happily ever after etc. etc.

[brewer]

Just wondering, do Atheists like the idea of the afterlife? Do they wish that there was one? Or would they rather have eternal oblivion after death? This is not a troll question.

It's a nice fantasy but there is absolutely nothing to confirm that an afterlife exists, at least nothing that I will accept. 

Death is just death, part of life. There will be no feeling/sense of eternity or oblivion.

They only afterlife you'll get is the memory others will have.

[Fake Messiah]

Well, if you ask me what I wish then that would be death after a few centuries long life full of exploration. Eternal life would be tiresome. But, perhaps eternal life could be achieved by science.

Again, as I said it before, people should stop waiting for God to do something that they want and do it themselves.

[The Grand Nudger]

Just wondering, do Atheists like the idea of the afterlife? Do they wish that there was one? Or would they rather have eternal oblivion after death? This is not a troll question.

Some do.  Atheism concerns belief in gods.  Afterlives (and any sort of life beyond this life, or a next life, or many past and next lives) are fair game.

[Athene]

An afterlife could possibly be nice perhaps, so long as it wasn't static and eternal. 

I'm quite fine with there most probably being no afterlife though.
Oblivion gets a bad rap for obvious reasons, but those who actually experience it are unbothered by it.

And I'm certainly not one to be bothered by the idea of being unbothered.