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I read this, and while I felt immense sadness, I will obviously move on with my life soon enough and forget about it. I wondered, if I were ever in the same sit

I read this, and while I felt immense sadness, I will obviously move on with my life soon enough and forget about it. I wondered, if I were ever in the same situation, and someone read what I wrote before dying, they might empathize for a bit, but then they'd move on as well. I just really wish that there's something beyond death, that there's something out there, and that all the suffering and unfairness and randomness in life is not for nothing. I hope we someday truly figure out what the fuck we are doing here in this universe. And if not that, at least we reach a point in biology where we have the ability to solve a lot of problems of the mind and body and make life better for everyone.

I_Byte 3y ago
Let us say that there is nothing beyond death, does that really mean that life is ultimately pointless? I'd argue that the idea that there is nothing beyond death is what makes life all the more meaningful. We are only going to get one shot at all of this, we better make it count. From this I derive the motivation to work hard at what I do and ultimately try to contribute to the problems we face as a species before I pass. It also makes me appreciate the raw human connection that we can all experience: love, passion, friendship. I may not be the one to light the altar of discovery that allows us to say, cure cancer or become a spacefaring species, but I will proudly carry the torch and pass it on.
- kortex 3y ago
  You can philosophise yourself into just about any position: death is real & life is meaningless, death is real and life is meaningful, death is but a transition & this life is meaningless, death is merely an illusion and life is meaningful,
grrdotcloud 3y ago
Wishing is one thing. Hope is the better thing. There is something beyond death. I don't know how anyone can think otherwise. Who else has the words of life?
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
skilled 3y ago
Why’d you be so pessimistic when there’s plenty of evidence that there is. Or are you saying that billions of Buddhists and Hinduists are delusional?
- hattmall 3y ago
  Oh, you know, it's just someone that thinks everyone except them is wrong!
  - skilled 3y ago
    Doesn’t really add anything to the conversation though
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      You quoted evidence without providing any, and conflate evidence with belief. That also doesn't really add anything to the conversation. The smart money says 'there is no afterlife, so use what you've got'. If you - or anybody else - is so sure that an afterlife exists then it would be nice to present some actual proof and absent that to admit that you're making it up or that it's hearsay.
      - skilled 3y ago
        The smart money? Do you think that Buddhists make up the whole idea of succession just for show?
        jacquesm 3y ago
        No, I think they made that up because they fell for the exact same trap as most other religions did: a desire to explain that which they didn't know anything about. They obviously didn't do it 'just for show' so I'm not sure why you would make it seem like I was thinking that. Religions are several thing: power structures, coping mechanisms, focal points for social functions, explanatory mechanisms, scams and stories (origin myths etc) all rolled into one. Depending on which religion you are looking at one or more of these traits may be more dominant. Every religion lays claim to some unique knowledge and tries to explain a lot more than they can and as a result they are - to me comically - incapable of adjusting to knowledge as it became available. The result is dogma, in one form or another.
swayvil 3y ago
Our salvation is in psychedelic drugs. I'm serious. There is no cheaper way to turn swine into gentlemen. Now we just need to trick them into eating the stuff.
- kortex 3y ago
  I agree more/most folks ought to try them under the right circumstances (yada yada mental health caveat here), but I also know plenty of psychonauts who are complete pricks, even some who have broken through on DMT and are still complete wastes of oxygen as humans. Go figure. They are a doorway to new perspectives. You still gotta internalize the message.
scoofy 3y ago
When there is nothing beyond death, there is no death. We won’t be sitting on the sidelines blindfolded. We won’t exist. From our perspective the death never actually happens. I’m surprisingly okay with my lack of experience of the billions of years before the earth existed, and I won’t experience the billions after. That said, just because we can’t stay at Disneyland forever, we might as well go on the rides while we are here. We are all dying. Some sooner than others. As a student of philosophy, this perspective has driven me to avoid the common status concerns that many people chase.
- HPMOR 3y ago
  All though you're correct it is rational to not fear death. I personally, and likely many other people here, have a very very strong aversion to it. I DO NOT want the cessation of experience. Ideally, I'd like to continue in perpetuity, to see the sun rise from Venus, or visit my tenth generation offspring on Saturn. All of those missed experiences would be deeply saddening. To see our species conquer to universe, to see intelligent life bloom in the darkness of space, that is the goal.
  - scoofy 3y ago
    I would also like to continue in perpetuity, it's why maintain general fitness and I generally avoid some life-shortening things like smoking (though I do consume alcohol). The problem is that life in perpetuity doesn't actually happen even from treatments of even our wildest sci-fi fictions. By extending life, we merely kick the can of death down the road... Actual immortality achieved would just push concerns to the heat death of the universe, and folks acting as Cyber-Punk Holden Karnofsky would be spilling ink about the need to invest in star-moving technology to create a big crunch. I don't mean to be trite here. The point is 10 years, 100, years, 1000 years, or 100 billion years, the dilemma is the same, because the linearity of time means any non-infinite amount of life is ultimately minuscule. The psychological dilemma of existentialism is a challenging one, I'll fully admit that. It's one I've accepted. The benefits also exist though. It forces you to live in the moment to some extent, when others are solely focused on the future.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
m3kw9 3y ago
We all find out
elwell 3y ago
I believe that Jesus is Lord, and everyone who seeks him finds him. Matthew 7:17 - "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." I was given a very clear sign 17 years ago, not when I asked God to prove himself, but only incidentally when I was seeking his guidance on something; it's nevertheless lasted as an undeniable proof for me. Though, it's better to believe without seeing. John 20:29 - "...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Acts 2:38 - "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." Disclaimer: I do not identify with American/political 'Christianity'.

I_Byte 3y ago

Let us say that there is nothing beyond death, does that really mean that life is ultimately pointless? I'd argue that the idea that there is nothing beyond death is what makes life all the more meaningful. We are only going to get one shot at all of this, we better make it count. From this I derive the motivation to work hard at what I do and ultimately try to contribute to the problems we face as a species before I pass. It also makes me appreciate the raw human connection that we can all experience: love, passion, friendship. I may not be the one to light the altar of discovery that allows us to say, cure cancer or become a spacefaring species, but I will proudly carry the torch and pass it on.

kortex 3y ago
You can philosophise yourself into just about any position: death is real & life is meaningless, death is real and life is meaningful, death is but a transition & this life is meaningless, death is merely an illusion and life is meaningful,

grrdotcloud 3y ago

Wishing is one thing. Hope is the better thing. There is something beyond death. I don't know how anyone can think otherwise. Who else has the words of life?

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

skilled 3y ago

Why’d you be so pessimistic when there’s plenty of evidence that there is. Or are you saying that billions of Buddhists and Hinduists are delusional?

hattmall 3y ago
Oh, you know, it's just someone that thinks everyone except them is wrong!
- skilled 3y ago
  Doesn’t really add anything to the conversation though
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    You quoted evidence without providing any, and conflate evidence with belief. That also doesn't really add anything to the conversation. The smart money says 'there is no afterlife, so use what you've got'. If you - or anybody else - is so sure that an afterlife exists then it would be nice to present some actual proof and absent that to admit that you're making it up or that it's hearsay.
    - skilled 3y ago
      The smart money? Do you think that Buddhists make up the whole idea of succession just for show?
      - jacquesm 3y ago
        No, I think they made that up because they fell for the exact same trap as most other religions did: a desire to explain that which they didn't know anything about. They obviously didn't do it 'just for show' so I'm not sure why you would make it seem like I was thinking that. Religions are several thing: power structures, coping mechanisms, focal points for social functions, explanatory mechanisms, scams and stories (origin myths etc) all rolled into one. Depending on which religion you are looking at one or more of these traits may be more dominant. Every religion lays claim to some unique knowledge and tries to explain a lot more than they can and as a result they are - to me comically - incapable of adjusting to knowledge as it became available. The result is dogma, in one form or another.

swayvil 3y ago

Our salvation is in psychedelic drugs. I'm serious. There is no cheaper way to turn swine into gentlemen. Now we just need to trick them into eating the stuff.

kortex 3y ago
I agree more/most folks ought to try them under the right circumstances (yada yada mental health caveat here), but I also know plenty of psychonauts who are complete pricks, even some who have broken through on DMT and are still complete wastes of oxygen as humans. Go figure. They are a doorway to new perspectives. You still gotta internalize the message.

scoofy 3y ago

When there is nothing beyond death, there is no death. We won’t be sitting on the sidelines blindfolded. We won’t exist. From our perspective the death never actually happens. I’m surprisingly okay with my lack of experience of the billions of years before the earth existed, and I won’t experience the billions after. That said, just because we can’t stay at Disneyland forever, we might as well go on the rides while we are here. We are all dying. Some sooner than others. As a student of philosophy, this perspective has driven me to avoid the common status concerns that many people chase.

HPMOR 3y ago
All though you're correct it is rational to not fear death. I personally, and likely many other people here, have a very very strong aversion to it. I DO NOT want the cessation of experience. Ideally, I'd like to continue in perpetuity, to see the sun rise from Venus, or visit my tenth generation offspring on Saturn. All of those missed experiences would be deeply saddening. To see our species conquer to universe, to see intelligent life bloom in the darkness of space, that is the goal.
- scoofy 3y ago
  I would also like to continue in perpetuity, it's why maintain general fitness and I generally avoid some life-shortening things like smoking (though I do consume alcohol). The problem is that life in perpetuity doesn't actually happen even from treatments of even our wildest sci-fi fictions. By extending life, we merely kick the can of death down the road... Actual immortality achieved would just push concerns to the heat death of the universe, and folks acting as Cyber-Punk Holden Karnofsky would be spilling ink about the need to invest in star-moving technology to create a big crunch. I don't mean to be trite here. The point is 10 years, 100, years, 1000 years, or 100 billion years, the dilemma is the same, because the linearity of time means any non-infinite amount of life is ultimately minuscule. The psychological dilemma of existentialism is a challenging one, I'll fully admit that. It's one I've accepted. The benefits also exist though. It forces you to live in the moment to some extent, when others are solely focused on the future.
- jacquesm 3y ago

m3kw9 3y ago

We all find out

elwell 3y ago

I believe that Jesus is Lord, and everyone who seeks him finds him. Matthew 7:17 - "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." I was given a very clear sign 17 years ago, not when I asked God to prove himself, but only incidentally when I was seeking his guidance on something; it's nevertheless lasted as an undeniable proof for me. Though, it's better to believe without seeing. John 20:29 - "...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Acts 2:38 - "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins." Disclaimer: I do not identify with American/political 'Christianity'.