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What do you think happens after death?

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Comments

  • #182
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 27,489 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123103420#Comment_123103420

    Sure. I agree completely. I didn't intend any criticism of you and, if it came across that way, I apologise.

    What I'm saying, I think, is that the reason you offer for holding the belief you do is not a particularly compelling reason for holding that belief. And that raises the possiblity that you may, in fact, hold the belief for other, unacknowledged reasons, which might be worth considering and exporing.

    Again, this is not a criticism of you or of your beliefs. The reasons why any of us hold the beliefs we do are often complex, and often poorly understood, even by ourselves. This does not invalidate the beliefs, but it does open up a field of enquiry that we usually neglect. The psychology of belief is worth unpacking.



  • #183
    suvigirl
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 12,438 ✭✭✭✭suvigirl


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123107134#Comment_123107134

    Sure, your probably right, it isn't very compelling. I know I would actually love to believe in an afterlife, I just can't, for whatever reason



  • #184
    smacl
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 15,908 Mod ✭✭✭✭smacl


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123104132#Comment_123104132

    Also if you are fabulously rich and feel that death is somewhat inconvenient, you'd like to believe in your ability to transfer your conscious mind into either a computer, or more chillingly, into one of those sub humans you don't believe have a soul. This is, of course, insane.

    While I agree that the idea of being able to transfer a human consciousness into a computer is very far-fetched based on our current levels of technology, any religiously held beliefs relating to an after-life are similarly far-fetched to someone who does not share those religious beliefs. Suggesting a belief is insane because it is not one you share is unwise as it is a path towards conflict and arguments that can't be resolved. Easier just to say you don't share someone else's belief.

    While I don't think we have any technology as yet that even approaches transferring consciousness, I do think there are strong indications that may well develop conscious AIs at some point in the future. Interestingly, if we do, they may well have transferable, replicable consciousnesses and a potential lifespan approaching what we would consider immortal. Ensoulment aside, I'm not sure I'd classify them as sub-human on that basis.



  • #185
    carveone
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,345 ✭✭✭carveone


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123108212#Comment_123108212

    I was suggesting that transferring of a rich person's conscious mind into into another human would be insane. I stand by that.



  • #186
    smacl
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 15,908 Mod ✭✭✭✭smacl


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123108573#Comment_123108573

    And has anyone suggested this is actually possible? A quick search for brain transplant (cerebrosomatic anastomosis) comes up with solid negatives on any link I've checked.



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  • #187
    carveone
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,345 ✭✭✭carveone


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123109042#Comment_123109042

    Ah well, I was indulging in some science-fiction style whataboutery there perhaps which distracted from what I was trying to say. It was poor form on my part to bring it up but I couldn't help myself.

    What I was trying to get at is that there are people who will staunchly say they are Christians but happily align with non-Christian philosophies if they believe it allows them to cause suffering to other people without consequence, moral or spiritual or otherwise. They want to say or believe they are good people while doing terrible things. This happens all the time.

    I found it fascinating that first of all people were wrestling with conflicting philosophies of mind/body/soul as far back as Paul and second of all that Christianity aligns itself with the concept that these are inseparable properties of an individual. The concept that you can be a human without these properties is anathema and the idea that you can harm people because you believe they don't have a soul is therefore unchristian. Not that it stops people but…

    As I said, this is something I agree with even I don't believe in life after death per se myself (although give me another 20 years and I'll probably want to believe in it a lot more!)



  • #188
    yagan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,751 ✭✭✭yagan


    What we think no doubt can be very influenced by traditional cultural beliefs. The medieval mind saw this life as merely preparation for the afterlife.

    What we know, what we believe and what we think are three different things.

    We know that death is the end, we can believe it is or is not the end, and what we think is mere projection.

    More interesting though is what we feel happens after we die.



  • #189
    smacl
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 15,908 Mod ✭✭✭✭smacl


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123109261#Comment_123109261

    Thanks for the clarification. Very much my take on Christianity, as I imagine it was originally intended for the greater good, versus how it has become subverted for the exact opposite on so many occasions across its chequered history, which continues to this day.



  • #190
    54and56
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,854 ✭✭✭54and56


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123103443#Comment_123103443

    "there is also no proof of there being no afterlife" is about as credible as saying "there is also no proof that when we die we all become flying spaghetti monsters"

    If you want to demonstrate something is true you should present some evidence of same. Saying no one can prove a hypotesis isn't true demonstrates nothing other than an inability to provide any evidence that it is in fact true.



  • #191
    These Are Facts
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 54 ✭✭These Are Facts


    Just head for the light, and you'll be grand.



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  • #192
    lumphammer2
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,036 ✭✭✭lumphammer2


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123110845#Comment_123110845

    Well there is only one way to find out what exists or does not exist after life ….. there is simply no way of presenting evidence about topics like afterlife, when did time begin, how did matter form, what was there before, etc. …… inability to provide evidence is ….. for rather obvious reasons ….. the status quo here ….. scientists can only go so far and end up down a cul de sac because there simply is much …. in fact nearly everything ….. we don't know because we do not know where life came from and how life/time/matter began if it even began ….. because no matter how far you go back you have to say what caused what lead to the formation of matter and what lead to the thing that lead to the formation of matter etc etc etc …… no one has the answers yet ……. no one even knows how to go about truly getting them …… let alone having a hypothesis to test ……



  • #193
    FishOnABike
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,851 ✭✭✭FishOnABike


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123110845#Comment_123110845

    I like the idea of pan-dimensional pasta. 😋 yummy!



  • #194
    Deregos.
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,198 ✭✭✭Deregos.


    I like what Jesus said about all being revealed in Luke.12.2
    "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known".

    Of course . . that's only if I actually make it into heaven, but I'm afraid it's not looking great atm.



  • #195
    hfenton
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10 ✭hfenton


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123109318#Comment_123109318

    I can't think of anything that is intended for the greater good that isn't often subverted for the exact opposite. Can anyone else? To me it reflects the human condition and our capacity for both good and evil.



  • #196
    smacl
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 15,908 Mod ✭✭✭✭smacl


    https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123188388#Comment_123188388

    In terms of human behavior inspired by abstract philosophy, Taoism comes to mind, maybe Humanism too though I've not had much exposure to it. For large organisations, the United Nations or the International Committee of the Red Cross International Committee of the Red Cross perhaps.

    I agree entirely that collectively we have capacity for both good and evil, though find they are rather broad and ambiguous terms, and would tend to break them down into more concrete aspects of good and evil. For example greed is as much part of human nature as generosity, probably more so in very many people. Corruption tends to be insidious and will creep into any large organisation that is open to it given the opportunity. Large, monolithic, hierarchical organisations that lack high levels of transparency and public accountability yet wield significant social power are something of a breeding ground here. Among them, but certainly not alone, are large religious organisations though in my opinion political oligarchies would seem to be the larger problem for humanity right now.



  • #197
    Archduke Franz Ferdinand
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,860 ✭✭✭Archduke Franz Ferdinand


    it’s one of those head melting questions, like why are we here, where do we go, what’s the point of it all, how did life start, how did the universe start etc etc etc. l recently seen a clip of David Attenborough asked if he believed in a higher power. He said he had looked into a termite mound by taking the top off, these creatures are blind and as he looked on they busied themselves with their lives unaware he was looking on. So l guess what he was saying is we could be the termites in the sense we cannot conceive of some possibilies that may exist



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