Death: The High Cost Of Living

[Avatar]

(With thanks to Neil Gaiman for the title. )

So, we've had this discussion across various threads. How does everybody feel about it, and if you know, why?

--A

[Cambo]

I ticked "nothing to worry about." "Inevitable" also applies.

I don't pretend to be certain about what happens after death. I am certain of some things: Cameron will cease to be. The Universe will go on as always. I see no reason for worry in either of those statements. Especially as I see myself as literally a part of everything else, so the greatest sense of "I" won't die when my body does. But even without my particular faith, I don't see any sense in worrying about death, save perhaps the effect on one's loved ones.

[Fist and Faith]

I ticked "nothing to worry about." "Inevitable" also applies.

I reversed that. Heh. Inevitable is, after all, THE most basic fact of life.

[Loredoctor]

Death, like ageing, terrifies me. The cessation of consciousness is scary, but not enough to dissuade me from being an atheist. I want to live forever; our lives are too short and there's too much wonderful stuff out there to see.

[TheFallen]

I'd have got rid of "Terrible" as a choice - that's pretty much covered by either "Wrong" or "Scary".

I'd have replaced it with "Something I'll do my level best to avoid for as long as possible, but hey, eventually there'll be bugger all I can do about it, so I might as well make hay while the sun shines". And that gets my vote.

[Damelon]

Inevitable.

Anaximander's quote gets the gist of the matter:

Whence things have their origin,
Thence also their destruction happens,
According to necessity;
For they give to each other justice and recompense
For their injustice
In conformity with the ordinance of Time

Nothing to fear, what good does that do? That fear distracts from living one's life well. That said, I'm not anxious to rush the date either.

[Cambo]

I ticked "nothing to worry about." "Inevitable" also applies.

I reversed that. Heh. Inevitable is, after all, THE most basic fact of life.

Yeah, I agree. So I felt like it said more about my opinion to put "nothing to worry about," given that "inevitable" is set in stone.

I feel this disconnect in our priorities represents a fundamental difference in our conceptions of truth.

[lorin]

I feel dying is like leaving the movie before it's over. It angers me that I won't know how the story ends. This world is a giant mega production of a great adventure. There are heroes and villains, evil societies, plots and sub plots and I will never know how the movie ends....if it does end.

I once asked my therapist, who is getting very old if he is afraid of dying. He said he is not afraid of death since he won't be there, he worries about dying. I see his point, the quality of your life and process of dying is what will determine how you approach your death.

He said death will be his last great adventure....you never know.........

[Cambo]

I don't think the movie ever ends. I like Jake's attitude in The Gunslinger; "Go then. There are other worlds than these."

[Menolly]

I ticked "nothing to worry about." "Inevitable" also applies.

I don't pretend to be certain about what happens after death. I am certain of some things: Cameron will cease to be. The Universe will go on as always. I see no reason for worry in either of those statements. Especially as I see myself as literally a part of everything else, so the greatest sense of "I" won't die when my body does. But even without my particular faith, I don't see any sense in worrying about death, save perhaps the effect on one's loved ones.

Ditto, pretty much.
Panentheism.

[Cambo]

Ayup.

[Vraith]

You forgot "pisses me the hell off" as on option.
I don't really believe in any afterlife, though sometimes I wish I could, and the most common reason is cuz I wouldn't have to be so angry in this one so often.

[Cambo]

You forgot "pisses me the hell off" as on option.
I don't really believe in any afterlife, though sometimes I wish I could, and the most common reason is cuz I wouldn't have to be so angry in this one so often.

Because the idea of an eternal afterlife would make you more patient?

[Vraith]

You forgot "pisses me the hell off" as on option.
I don't really believe in any afterlife, though sometimes I wish I could, and the most common reason is cuz I wouldn't have to be so angry in this one so often.

Because the idea of an eternal afterlife would make you more patient?

That's part of it...and related closely to being able to enjoy things more in the process of doing, without so much need to get it done, get it accomplished right now, perfectly, on a deadline. [heh...deadline...that's funny, I laughed at myself...I've gotta stop doing that over dumb jokes.]
I think "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we LIVE" would be a better version of reality than the original.

[Fist and Faith]

Perfection and joy are in every moment. The "process of doing" is only important for the task being done, not for your happiness.

[Cambo]

Perfection and joy are in every moment. The "process of doing" is only important for the task being done, not for your happiness.

Couldn't have said it better myself. As for eternity, that exists in a moment as well.

[Vraith]

Perfection and joy are in every moment. The "process of doing" is only important for the task being done, not for your happiness.

Couldn't have said it better myself. As for eternity, that exists in a moment as well.

My, my, aren't we all so nearly zen-like? [ loosely interpreted/modified anyway]

Seriously, though, I get it...even have times when I live in it.
But in between, "time presses sorely," and it freakin kills me...literally, eventually.

[Fist and Faith]

So now you only need to increase the number and/or duration of times when you live in it. Start filling in the gaps.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

I chose "inevitable" because it's true--death will happen to us all at some point, regardless of what we do to try and avoid it. The best advice I can offer is "don't worry about it". Worry will only make you live the rest of your life in fear and who wants to live like that?

Although I agree that when my brain shuts down, I am no longer am able to accept any sensory input, and the elecrochemical process of consciousness stop that it is really going to ruin my day, my beliefs are that I will then enter into a new, eternal life and my old cares and concerns will fade.

Just for the sake of argument, though, suppose that my beliefs are incorrect. In that case, I still win because I won't know that I was wrong.

Maybe the Singularity will occur before I die, in which case it might be possible to copy my personality and thought processes onto an AI computer. Technically, this is "immortality" but I don't know if I would still be self-aware. That is really far-fetched, I know, but the idea is intriguing nonetheless.

[I'm Murrin]

Maybe the Singularity will occur before I die, in which case it might be possible to copy my personality and thought processes onto an AI computer. Technically, this is "immortality" but I don't know if I would still be self-aware. That is really far-fetched, I know, but the idea is intriguing nonetheless.

It's cetainly an interesting area for thought. It brings up questions of whether you would still be the person you are.

Bear with me here, this is fiction but I think it offers an interesting perspective on the matter:

The videogame Portal 2 has some bearing on discussion of this kind of immortality - over the course of the game, you come to realise that the insane AI controlling the facility was originally a copy of a human woman who was loaded into a computer so that she could avoid death; but being in that state, and having further systems attached to the original one over time, actually caused her to completely forget who she once was. When she rediscovers that part of herself, she finds the change this brings problematic (learning that she is capable of emotions towards humans) - and so deletes what remained of the copy entirely.


Personally I would embrace any opportunity that did arise to perpetuate my own existence, but I do not believe there is much likelihood of such a thing happening in my lifetime. I'm not going to let something that cannot be changed bother me much, though.