people's views on Death

[devilish_uk]

From an evolutionary point of view, you could say that death is adaptive. Not to the individual of course, but to the population as a whole; we are born, raised under the protection of adults until we are capable of looking after ourselves, if we are lucky we survive to reproduce, then long enough to look after our children and perhaps the next generation too.

If the organism can no longer reproduce, it no longer serves a purpose. Why do we live as long as we do and no longer? Evolution has shaped it. Why do we die? To enable the next generation to live.

However, what if human evolution could overcome these limitations? If the issue of limited resources could be dealt with, medical science may be able to sustain or replace our failing organs indefinitely, and we could then choose when we die.

I would not choose immortality if it were offered; I believe there can be no appreciation of life without the possibility of death. But would I choose to extend my life beyond my anticipated 70 or 80 years? Most definitely. Finite, but longer, that would be perfect...!

 

[monoxide_child]

I don't think calling it a cult is particularly fruitful, but I can see what you're getting at.

Also, if you concede these complex societies can develop without the concept of hell, then you completely undermine your own point that hell, or fear of it, was required as a precursor to societal development.

my point about Christianity wasn't that it's a cult per se, but just that Christianity and (to a much lesser extent) other religions are frequently used as a psychological crutch for those who can't deal with the idea of living in a world where deities don't exist
when the hurricane kills people, we say "the devil did that" or "it was God's plan for them to die young" and when our families survive the hurricane, we refer to that as "a miracle"

but since i'm an atheist, i just avoided the whole hurricane thing by NOT LIVING ON THE FUCKING BEACH

my point about complex societies was that, societies becoming complex, is something that comes out of "fear of punishment" whether that "punishment" turns out to be legal system or "hell" doesn't really matter, because "you wouldn't have to make a rule against doing something if no one ever had the inclination to break that rule to begin with" (someone please tell me which pilosophical person i just quoted there) humans are inheirently evil, "deer hunters" actually kill the deer that they "hunt" because humans have the "killer instinct" and ofcourse killing humans is against the law, the "ten comandments" and the "laws of leviticus" are nothing more than just descriptions of things that humans would instinctively do, with the added instruction, "don't do these things" without somesort of system of rules and regulations, with somesort of fear of punishment, there would be no funtioning society

 

[BlackZepellin]

To me, Death and Life are part of a cycle.NO beginning, or end. I believe in death in yogi terms. If you haven't learned enough in your mortal existence, then you reincarnate until your soul is fit to live eternally.

 

[Silver Incubus]

To me, Death and Life are part of a cycle.NO beginning, or end. I believe in death in yogi terms. If you haven't learned enough in your mortal existence, then you reincarnate until your soul is fit to live eternally.

What is a soul anyways. What separates a soul from the body? At what point do you cease to be body and only soul. What types of things can the soul do?

 

[monoxide_child]

What is a soul anyways. What separates a soul from the body? At what point do you cease to be body and only soul. What types of things can the soul do?

wow
someone finally posted a "philosophical"-sounding post on this "philosopher" forum

 

[nick-metalhead]

I think that it is healthy, (most obviously) to be aware that death is an inevitable fact of life.

It is not healthy however, to dwell on the subject and to try and make something that your mind can actually understand of it.

Their is no physical way that our brains can interpret the realisation of what occurs during, or after death.

For this reason, simply, Don't worry about it.

And besides, once your last seccond has arrived, you will have no recolection that you ever lived. So there isnt anything to miss.

 

[Sepia~]

Death is quite much what one makes of it. I believe that it is a final rest for the body and the start of something new for the soul (which I believe in, yes). And by that definition it could be anything. And that might be called Heaven, Hell or anything one wills.

Biologically it means that the organs stop functioning, philosophically it might be anything from a final relief to a personal apocalypse, spiritually it might be some kind of a Heaven or Hell situation. Maybe the "best" definition might be found in between all of these different aspects. And even then most people wouldn't be satisfied.

 

[metal_wrath]

If you believe that people are completely individual beings with a soul, can this entity be created by the act of intercourse. Is every person born for a reason and is the process of birth a creation of an eternal being that will live on even after death. I do not believe this is accurate.

 

[XxSNAPxX]

I think it like this: People are born naturally through means of intercourse, hence they die, and then they're body goes naturally, through decomposistion. As on the veiws of life after death and sould, i find specualtion trivial at best due to the many opinions of the many religious masses all so neck deep in there own mythos that un fitting opinions and logic mean balls to them.

 

[monoxide_child]

I think that it is healthy, (most obviously) to be aware that death is an inevitable fact of life.

It is not healthy however, to dwell on the subject and to try and make something that your mind can actually understand of it.

Their is no physical way that our brains can interpret the realisation of what occurs during, or after death.

For this reason, simply, Don't worry about it.

And besides, once your last seccond has arrived, you will have no recolection that you ever lived. So there isnt anything to miss.

there are places on earth where a "funeral" is sort of a party, a celebration, celebrating that the soul has moved on from the frustrating existence of life and into a peaceful and blissfull afterlife, i think all funerals should be like that, it would lessen the intensity of our grieving proccess

 

[hexwind]

have any one read Apology by Plato? The view of Socrates towards death is quite interesting tbh

 

[hexwind]

there are places on earth where a "funeral" is sort of a party, a celebration, celebrating that the soul has moved on from the frustrating existence of life and into a peaceful and blissfull afterlife, i think all funerals should be like that, it would lessen the intensity of our grieving proccess

or maybe celebrating that they got rid of em
or maybe trying to glorify their departure from this world in the best possible way
or just there for the sake of lamenting and saying the final goodbye

 

[PastorofMuppets]

We all fear the unknown, it's part of the human nature.

Whether or not this is "human nature," that is, a characteristic common to all humans, is arguable. The exact opposite of "fear of unknown" is curiosity. We want to know the unknown, not necessarily because we want to rid ourselves of fear of the unknown but because it is probably more part of the "human nature" you mention to want to learn what some things are and what they are made up of.

Do you wish to learn about, say, a metal band, because you fear them? No, you ultimately want to know what they are, and what traits they hold, their influences, etc. simply because you're curious.

The same could be said of death. Since curiosity, or the love of knowledge for the sake of knowledge is more intrinsic to "human nature" than is fear of the unknown, one might say that it's possible that this fear of the unknown has been brought about by external sources.

It's possible that one of these sources could be another trait that is common among humans, though not necessarily something that comprises "human nature": the narcissistic tendencies that come about when knowledge is gained among humans.

We come to fear the unknown not because it is the unknown but it threatens some way of existence we have grown comfortable with. Death is the ultimate fear because it threatens all that we know and will ever know.

That alone makes it impossible to fully embrace death.

 

[BaNnEdFrOmHeVeN]

like everyone else i have no idea what will happen when i die. my main opinions on what what will happen are 1) when you die you will become born again as a child and what you did before you died will have an affect on how you life will end up. 2) (a lot of people don't like this thought because it seems to cold to be true) when you die that is it, there is nothing else to do your just dead and gone which if you think it kind of makes you feel alone and empty inside.

 

[NikeGoddess]

I'm fine with death for as long as it isn't a painful one.

 

[Bone_Machine]

I would not choose immortality if it were offered; I believe there can be no appreciation of life without the possibility of death. But would I choose to extend my life beyond my anticipated 70 or 80 years? Most definitely. Finite, but longer, that would be perfect...!

I find it very interesting that you would actually choose death over immortality. I love being alive and can't bear the thought of not existing anymore, which is what I am unfortunately quite sure will happen upon death.

Why do you think we couldn't appreciate life without death? I do not agree. It's easy to appreciate life with all the pleasures found throughout it, I don't need death to remind me that life is beautiful. All death does is make me more anxious about living life and getting the most out of it that I possibly can. That's how I feel because I was brought up a Christian and used to believe that I had an afterlife, and it made life no less precious. Now that I am agnostic I fear death more than anything else, which is probably true for most people I would guess - because after death I can't help but feel there will be nothing, no me.

My idealism wants me to believe that nothing ever dies permanently, but that the 'energy'of a human consciousness (something like a soul if there is one) is transferred somewhere else. However there is no evidence for this and so it seems only wishful thinking

 

[monoxide_child]

so
are people just posting on this thread instead of the thread about my mom being dead???

 

[TesticleMilkshake]

so
are people just posting on this thread instead of the thread about my mom being dead???

Is there any way to merge the two threads?

 

[monoxide_child]

Is there any way to merge the two threads?

that would actually be awesome
someone should ask the mod about that

 

[SouthernAbyss]

I believe that once we die, we control where we want to go.
Whether we decide to be reborn into another life, or spend eternity in the timeless land of Heaven, or Hell with our friends from the past life.

P.S None of that had anything to do with religion. I believe that religion in this life has nothing to do with our next lives.