Is there an afterlife ?

[Taejin]

Originally posted by: Srfrbum
Discuss.

People act like you're 'whole' in your afterlife. WTF does that mean? It's been well documented many times that our behavior and thought processes are directly affected by our brain. Those who have had traumatic brain injuries and survived are not the same people they were before. So that begs the question - who are we really? What says that you are 'you' after you die, if there is an afterlife?

And if you aren't really you after you die, then why does it even f*cking matter if there is an afterlife or not?

EDIT: Also as an addendum, this brings into serious question the fact that people are supposedly rewarded or punished by their actions in life. If people are hopelessly governed by their mind (although they are their mind..give that one some thought), then it stands to reason is their physical brain at fault, not their soul. If you took a petty criminal and took away his ability to think coherently except as a drooling idiot who could respond to simple commands, then will he go to heaven, since he won't end up killing anyone? The entire idea of heaven and hell and being rewarded or punished for your actions in life is patently ridiculous, not to mention flawed in all sorts of ways, unless God himself is unreasonable and retarded as well.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: Taejin

Originally posted by: Srfrbum
Discuss.

People act like you're 'whole' in your afterlife. WTF does that mean? It's been well documented many times that our behavior and thought processes are directly affected by our brain. Those who have had traumatic brain injuries and survived are not the same people they were before. So that begs the question - who are we really? What says that you are 'you' after you die, if there is an afterlife?

And if you aren't really you after you die, then why does it even f*cking matter if there is an afterlife or not?

I agree with your argument, but FYI the people who argue the afterlife bit usually believe in the existence of a soul as the container of the consciousness, with the body acting like an interface between that soul and the physical reality. In which case, people who have changed due to serious brain injuries, etc. have suffered damages to that "interface," while the soul at all times remains intact, as it can (somehow) only be damaged by emotional trauma, not physical.

I don't agree with all that, I'm just explaining the argument. It can't be proven or disproven, so they tend to think it holds up even though it spits at Occam's razor right in the face.


And edit to your edit: that's just all about control. Think back ten thousand years or so to a frustrated parent, "Billy, if you push your sister into the fire one more time, the gods will punish you!" and then extrapolate from there.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: Engraver

Originally posted by: Mucho
Its kind of like what cyanide taste like?
We will never know!

Ralph Wiggum: "It tastes like burning"

WIN :thumbsup:

 

[TBone48]

i believe there is, although I can offer no proof.

 

[KeithTalent]

Afterlife=death? right?

KT

 

[Atrail]

Kind of like the question
"Do we have souls"?
We have a mini death every night where we are unaware of our own existence and then we are awoken or sometimes not and our physical alive body no longer exists.

 

[randay]

Originally posted by: Atrail
Kind of like the question
"Do we have souls"?
We have a mini death every night where we are unaware of our own existence and then we are awoken or sometimes not and our physical alive body no longer exists.

lol.

 

[mattpegher]

Although I readily admit that I honestly donot know if an afterlife exists, I will assert that there is no definitive argument that can either prove or disprove the existence of an afterlife, a supreme being or a soul.

As a scientist I know the limits of man's knowledge. First we explained everything with Newtonian physics then quantamechanics, then string theory, chaos theory, and on and on.

The crux of the argument is whether your current existance is more than just that of a complex machine with biochemical triggers. Are your current actions predetermined by your environment, your prior biochemical states and your genetic make up. Can there be free will without a soul. Are we all automatons?

Are we sentient or not? So far we gradiate our belief in the sentience of other species based on how closely they act like us.

Again, I humbly admit that I do not know.

 

[Atrail]

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: Atrail
Kind of like the question
"Do we have souls"?
We have a mini death every night where we are unaware of our own existence and then we are awoken or sometimes not and our physical alive body no longer exists.

lol.

And our awareness of self existence comes from the brain and if that is dead then there ain't alot going on.... So we have souls?

 

[MiniDoom]

No one here knows.

 

[NanoStuff]

I will assert that there is no definitive argument that can either prove or disprove the existence of an afterlife, a supreme being or a soul.

There's no definitive argument that can either prove or disprove the universe is wrapped in a burrito, but let's take people that propose the idea seriously because we have no way to disprove them, yes?

 

[jjzelinski]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

I will assert that there is no definitive argument that can either prove or disprove the existence of an afterlife, a supreme being or a soul.

There's no definitive argument that can either prove or disprove the universe is wrapped in a burrito, but let's take people that propose the idea seriously because we have no way to disprove them, yes?

lol

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

There's no definitive argument that can either prove or disprove the universe is wrapped in a burrito, but let's take people that propose the idea seriously because we have no way to disprove them, yes?

I like this idea. It would allow for beans from other planets.

 

[bdude]

First you must ask, is man a mortal creature just like any on this earth.

 

[zinfamous]

And yet time and time again I have been insulted because I do not hold to the theory of evolution as put forth by Darwin and has been revised over the years. I've said it before and I will say it again: the fundamental and foundational assumption of evolution (on a macro scale) is faulty and false. Does that make me a Bible thumping idiot? Feel free to think so if you want, but that does not make it so.

well, Crono, you sure don't sound like a Catholic...not any catholics that I know. which means if you're not a catholic, then you're a part of a REVISED religion, one that was been re-written, it's rules set forth by fallible men (council of Nicea), for many, many years. You're not even part of the original faith. As a fundamentalist protestant, (the line you are toeing), you left the true religion to join another true religion. Hell, even the Pope accepted evolution "as set forth by Darwin" :roll:

At least the "originally true" religion has some grasp of reality..

 

[DangerAardvark]

Originally posted by: ironwing

Originally posted by: NanoStuff

There's no definitive argument that can either prove or disprove the universe is wrapped in a burrito, but let's take people that propose the idea seriously because we have no way to disprove them, yes?

I like this idea. It would allow for beans from other planets.

I concur with this model of the universe, and also the zesty taco salad for only 99 cents more. There's your peer-review. Now go publish.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Originally posted by: Atrail

Originally posted by: randay

Originally posted by: Atrail
Kind of like the question
"Do we have souls"?
We have a mini death every night where we are unaware of our own existence and then we are awoken or sometimes not and our physical alive body no longer exists.

lol.

And our awareness of self existence comes from the brain and if that is dead then there ain't alot going on.... So we have souls?

The soul is not something you "have". It is what you are.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

It's worth noting that by the time a person reaches adulthood his consciousness has already survived the death of his body several times over, although it happens cyclically over periods of years as the cells continuously die and are replaced by new ones. Indeed, we are already literally alive amidst the constant deaths of ourselves.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
It's worth noting that by the time a person reaches adulthood his consciousness has already survived the death of his body several times over, although it happens cyclically over periods of years as the cells continuously die and are replaced by new ones. Indeed, we are already literally alive amidst the constant deaths of ourselves.

that is a very good point. ...you'd think being in genetics/molecular bio such a thought would occur to me...

 

[DangerAardvark]

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
It's worth noting that by the time a person reaches adulthood his consciousness has already survived the death of his body several times over, although it happens cyclically over periods of years as the cells continuously die and are replaced by new ones. Indeed, we are already literally alive amidst the constant deaths of ourselves.

Except that the consciousness hasn't survived either. If you count the cyclical death and replacement of individual cells as "death", then surely you must acknowledge that the state of your consciousness is inextricably tied to the sum of your experience and with every new experience your consciousness changes. Indeed, the person you are is not the person you were last week, or yesterday, or even one second ago. If one has experienced "the death of his body several times over" already, then one has already experienced death of the consciousness innumerable times.

 

[Ruptga]

Originally posted by: MattCo
Who knows? I don't even know if you guys exist when I am not on this webpage.

Basically, what you're saying is that for all we know we're living in the matrix, a perfect simulation where nothing can be trusted to actually exist. Maybe God's an evil genius that just likes to screw with us, maybe we're (or should I say I'm) on some alien's holodeck, or maybe even an alien zoo!

But you know what I'm really afraid of? Maybe this whole world exists in some guy's dream.. what if he wakes up? Think about it, I've had some pretty lifelike dreams you know. Heck, for all I know a hundred realities have already been made and destroyed in my head. But that would mean there's someone dreaming about a guy dreaming about people that may or may not be dreaming as well...

:laugh: Existentialism cracks me up every time

 

[Modelworks]

I really think God is a supreme being who loves to experiment.

I think the universe and everything in it is one giant sandbox for his enjoyment !
Lets make dinosaurs !, nah, too brutal, wipe them out, lets try this ape thing, boring, lets convert them to man, hrm, held promise once.

Get annoyed, supernova it all, and start over !

Is there an afterlife ? Defenitely.
Anyone that can create a universe, is certainly capable of continuing on our existence after what we consider to be death.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Originally posted by: DangerAardvark

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
It's worth noting that by the time a person reaches adulthood his consciousness has already survived the death of his body several times over, although it happens cyclically over periods of years as the cells continuously die and are replaced by new ones. Indeed, we are already literally alive amidst the constant deaths of ourselves.

Except that the consciousness hasn't survived either. If you count the cyclical death and replacement of individual cells as "death", then surely you must acknowledge that the state of your consciousness is inextricably tied to the sum of your experience and with every new experience your consciousness changes. Indeed, the person you are is not the person you were last week, or yesterday, or even one second ago. If one has experienced "the death of his body several times over" already, then one has already experienced death of the consciousness innumerable times.

I am still, and always will be myself. It's an issue of identity, not a summation of experiences.

 

[Cerpin Taxt]

Originally posted by: zinfamous

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
It's worth noting that by the time a person reaches adulthood his consciousness has already survived the death of his body several times over, although it happens cyclically over periods of years as the cells continuously die and are replaced by new ones. Indeed, we are already literally alive amidst the constant deaths of ourselves.

that is a very good point. ...you'd think being in genetics/molecular bio such a thought would occur to me...

Off topic: If you ever need any free advice about (optical) microscopy or digital micro-imaging, I can be a resource for you. That is my business.

<---- Former username was "Garth."

 

[DangerAardvark]

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt

Originally posted by: DangerAardvark

Originally posted by: Cerpin Taxt
It's worth noting that by the time a person reaches adulthood his consciousness has already survived the death of his body several times over, although it happens cyclically over periods of years as the cells continuously die and are replaced by new ones. Indeed, we are already literally alive amidst the constant deaths of ourselves.

Except that the consciousness hasn't survived either. If you count the cyclical death and replacement of individual cells as "death", then surely you must acknowledge that the state of your consciousness is inextricably tied to the sum of your experience and with every new experience your consciousness changes. Indeed, the person you are is not the person you were last week, or yesterday, or even one second ago. If one has experienced "the death of his body several times over" already, then one has already experienced death of the consciousness innumerable times.

I am still, and always will be myself. It's an issue of identity, not a summation of experiences.

"Well that's like... you're... opinion, man." -The Dude

If only we could make things true just by saying them...