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Newbie
User of semicolons.



Registered: 07/18/04
Posts: 24,711
Loc: SoCal
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Re: What % of ppl believe in afterlife? [Re: Silversoul]
#14572385 - 06/07/11 12:11 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Silversoul said: Well, this of course takes for granted the traditional religious assumption that the afterlife is somehow unique to us. I'm not terribly interested in the whole concept of substance dualism where we have these non-material "souls" that only inhabit humans and nothing else. I'm more interested in the concept of panpsychism -- the idea that some form of subjectivity is there at all levels of existence, from electrons to molecules to cells to plants and animals to humans all the way up to massive stars and nebulas.
See this part I can get behind, it could hold some scientific merit, but then the second half of the post completely contradicts it:
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Admittedly it's pretty speculative, but I think that, combined with the idea of a kind of cosmic memory, allows for the idea that our subjective experiences are not ultimately lost, but have some kind of eternal existence. The trick is try to think of this moment here and now as eternal. If you can do that, then the idea of the continuity of experience after death doesn't seem so far out.
Further:Quote:
Well, this of course takes for granted the traditional religious assumption that the afterlife is somehow unique to us.
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The trick is try to think of this moment here and now as eternal.
You mean the "here and now" where we're consciously experiencing the universe? Going on your theory that there's a form of subjectivity on all levels, what can you logically and scientifically explain about your past existences as a molecule, sentient being, liquid, rock, etc? Probably not much... which really makes me lean toward the side of no conscious afterlife.
After I wrote this I realized we're probably not arguing the same topic... I'm arguing that the afterlife, if any, is not a conscious thing that you can prepare for. You won't be tortured in a hell or be granted eternal happiness, "you" won't even be a part of it, just the energy that was in your brain. IMO it'll probably just dissipate into the ground/air and be scattered throughout the universe.
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Newbie
User of semicolons.



Registered: 07/18/04
Posts: 24,711
Loc: SoCal
Last seen: 16 hours, 52 minutes
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Re: What % of ppl believe in afterlife? [Re: Newbie]
#14572396 - 06/07/11 12:15 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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The trick is try to think of this moment here and now as eternal
Which is also kind of like saying, "The trick to believing in religion is falling for it."
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the human abstract
malaka the werewolf



Registered: 11/30/09
Posts: 8,817
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Re: What % of ppl believe in afterlife? [Re: Newbie]
#14572421 - 06/07/11 12:23 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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the trick to believing into death also is falling for it..
you cannot experience not being conscious
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the human abstract
malaka the werewolf



Registered: 11/30/09
Posts: 8,817
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and some people are able to have 0% brain activity but still be experiencing..
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Newbie
User of semicolons.



Registered: 07/18/04
Posts: 24,711
Loc: SoCal
Last seen: 16 hours, 52 minutes
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0% brain activity... So you mean if you completely smashed a brain into bits, they'd still be experiencing? How can you test something like that? And what other credible evidence do we have of that happening besides NDE's from already dying people, and people that are about to go to sleep, already sleeping, or within a few minutes of waking up?
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Silversoul
Rhizome


Registered: 01/01/05
Posts: 23,576
Loc: The Barricades
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Re: What % of ppl believe in afterlife? [Re: Newbie]
#14572461 - 06/07/11 12:37 AM (12 years, 8 months ago) |
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Newbie said: 0% brain activity... So you mean if you completely smashed a brain into bits, they'd still be experiencing? How can you test something like that?
Well, I realize that a flat reading on an EEG machine isn't quite the same as zero brain activity, but you gotta check this out:
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