The Feeling of Nothing
- Thread starter Synobun
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7ronin
海軍少佐
Being dead without eternal life afterwards does not scare me. It does not bother me. I don't even think about it. I concentrate on the now - living the best and most honorable life that I can.
PlutonianEmpire
King of the Plutonian Empire
As much as I hate being alive, I do fear death and the potential for nothingess. I do believe in reincarnation and all that jazz, but in the end of the day, it still petrifies me.
My fear of nothingness is the reason I fear 2012. Deep down inside, I know that December 21st of next year will bring about the demise of billions. I fiercely believe there WILL be survivors, but my gut tells me I won't be one of them, and that is why I deeply fear next year. And having known about this for five or six years now doesn't help.
My fear of nothingness is the reason I fear 2012. Deep down inside, I know that December 21st of next year will bring about the demise of billions. I fiercely believe there WILL be survivors, but my gut tells me I won't be one of them, and that is why I deeply fear next year. And having known about this for five or six years now doesn't help.
Ice_Tyrant
Prince
Back when I was christian I actually feared forever after death. The idea that nothing would ever end would terrify me. Nothingness is a bit comforting I guess compared to forever.
MjM
Deity
Not at all. It is a natural part of death, and many people look for other ways to explain/escape this feeling, which, IMO, is wasting valuable time and energy in their one life.
This is one way to "escape" the fear. The fear of nothingness for some people is ultimately rooted in the fear that you would not be able to do everything you want to do in this life. But if you do, or at least try to, live the best life you can live, then I suspect nothingness would seem less terrifying.
Not all religions are Abrahamic, you know. And even with the Abrahamic ones, you need not interpret them literally.
rugbyLEAGUEfan
Deity
The nothingness ? Not at all,though I have some fears about the actual act of dying .it's also nice to know that every atom of my body will last forever.
I wasted a lot of time in my 20's and now I am absolutely passionate about living . I've done more in the last 7 years than the prior 30 . The knowledge that unquestionably I will cease living within a pretty pinpoint time frame , is for me , quite exciting yet sad . But it provides the inertia to really try and make the most of things.
Life would be a lot blander without knowing that void is just around the corner.
I wasted a lot of time in my 20's and now I am absolutely passionate about living . I've done more in the last 7 years than the prior 30 . The knowledge that unquestionably I will cease living within a pretty pinpoint time frame , is for me , quite exciting yet sad . But it provides the inertia to really try and make the most of things.
Life would be a lot blander without knowing that void is just around the corner.
I don't think I'll cease to exist when I die. My consciousness, in some form, will survive. And if I'm wrong, I'll never realize it. So no, I'm not particularly scared by the idea -- it's a perk of being a Christian. 
I'm not entirely sure why it should be feared even if you don't believe in an afterlife, though. After all, I'm not sure "nothingness" is really something that can be properly conceived of. And since "you" would be gone, it's not something that you can actually experience or feel in any meaningful sense. So why should you fear something that you can't really think about, experience, or feel?
That's not to denigrate the very real, instinctual and valuable fear of death that most people have. I'm not saying that this isn't real or useful. Rather, what I'm suggesting is that it's not really rational, and should be kept as reasonably under control as possible by (mostly) rational beings like us.
I'm not entirely sure why it should be feared even if you don't believe in an afterlife, though. After all, I'm not sure "nothingness" is really something that can be properly conceived of. And since "you" would be gone, it's not something that you can actually experience or feel in any meaningful sense. So why should you fear something that you can't really think about, experience, or feel?
That's not to denigrate the very real, instinctual and valuable fear of death that most people have. I'm not saying that this isn't real or useful. Rather, what I'm suggesting is that it's not really rational, and should be kept as reasonably under control as possible by (mostly) rational beings like us.
mayor
Heart & Mind
I find death to be a permanent loss, and permanent destruction. I am burying my last grandparent next month, and will have to listen to the solace of people envoking religious thinking. But I won't feel any of their relief. I still suffer the permanent loss, and my grandparent (who certainly didn't want to die) is gone forever.
Now, my own nothingness doesn't bother me per se. I accept nothingness every evening, when I seek blessed relief from fatigue. If I was in enough pain, I'm sure I'd prefer nothingness to continuing. Heck, we only accept the nothingness of sleep because we're familiar with it. So, most of my death avoidance is actually pain avoidance.
That said, I want to continue. And so, I rage against involuntary death. I think that it's a solvable issue, scientifically. I know that this is an aberrant position. I know that I could be suffering from a cognitive bias. But I continue to think that it is actually solvable, and it's a matter of when it will be solved. And so this is why I so often ask for more help. I'm sick of the relentless pattern of burying loved ones. I'm trying to save your loved ones too, and really would like some help.
Now, my own nothingness doesn't bother me per se. I accept nothingness every evening, when I seek blessed relief from fatigue. If I was in enough pain, I'm sure I'd prefer nothingness to continuing. Heck, we only accept the nothingness of sleep because we're familiar with it. So, most of my death avoidance is actually pain avoidance.
That said, I want to continue. And so, I rage against involuntary death. I think that it's a solvable issue, scientifically. I know that this is an aberrant position. I know that I could be suffering from a cognitive bias. But I continue to think that it is actually solvable, and it's a matter of when it will be solved. And so this is why I so often ask for more help. I'm sick of the relentless pattern of burying loved ones. I'm trying to save your loved ones too, and really would like some help.
Synobun
Deity
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2006
- Messages
- 24,884
May I ask why you believe in 2012?
@El: If you ever find the cure for death, be sure to send it my way
I think you should take into consideration that the universe might be infinite and, if that is true, that everything that may exist, will exist. In case of death, your most plausible future in this case would usually be a world identical to ours, where you survived. If such a continuation is extremely unlikely - then who knows which afterlife is most likely. Maybe the religious stuff.
This is a good point. We actualy do not fear nothingness or even death. They are both natural part (at least ATM) of our everyday lives. We have developed attachments for the way we think of life and giving up these is what brings us pain and fear.
The question/problem is perhaps that one could get sick of life if one would achieve a physical immortality. Right now we value the limited life and its joys and pleasures also thanks to fact that we are aware of its finality.
Can I present you with brief version of my wiew?
There is actualy only one reality/consciousness. For convenience lets call it God. That reality has expanded and from tiny portion of itself has created what we know as creation. In order to do that it did created opposite of itself, the Ignorance/Matter. So you can say that matter is God as well with all the capacities of God present in it but it is hidden an it is in process of evolution/manifestation of the hidden God. Slowly the consciousness is emerging from it by manifesting higher consciousness through Life and Mind and that manifestation is not over of course...
Whats illogical about religion then? It uses mans abilities and potentialities to consciously bring forward that hidden God-consciousness to the fore.
Obviously there is much silliness and perversion present in religions but there is no reason why this shouldnt be transcended and illumined by higher consciousness.
Akka
Moody old mage.
Because it was before, not after, duh...
_random_
Jewel Runner
Word.I don't think I'll cease to exist when I die. My consciousness, in some form, will survive. And if I'm wrong, I'll never realize it. So no, I'm not particularly scared by the idea -- it's a perk of being a Christian.
I don't think it's entirely unreasonable to fear something completely incomprehensible.
kiwitt
Road to War Modder
I have always thought ... so long as you have had a long and enjoyable life doing what you have wanted to do ... most of the time ... you can then rest in peace.
Here is a thought to ponder ... we are made up of particles that are as old as the universe ... so our particles will continue forever.
Here is a thought to ponder ... we are made up of particles that are as old as the universe ... so our particles will continue forever.
Synobun
Deity
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2006
- Messages
- 24,884
Yes, and when we die, those particles return to a purely element state, thus we lose our consciousness and "spirit" so to speak. It isn't very comforting to think about that as a means to reduce the severity of losing everything. I know that when I die and get cremated, what I was will flourish as a flower or tree somewhere on this planet, or as the foundation of a new species that came forth from a creature eating my remains. I know that everything I was will still remain, just as something else. My problem isn't with the eternalness of the particles or the memory, but rather of myself. I myself will be gone forever after a certain point, and no matter what I accomplish in life, I will still feel like there is so much to do, even if it's just to sit in a chair and think.
I have a feeling that I'm putting way too much philosophical emphasis on the state of mind and its importance, judging by the poll results.
@Gorak: I'm not entirely sure what you just asked me. Could you explain it a bit more thoroughly?
kiwitt
Road to War Modder
Try to see life this way then.
1) You pass on your genes to your children for them to continue
2) You pass on your knowledge and experience unto others
Either way elements of your consciousness continues. If you reach the end of your life and you have done either of the two you can be content.
I myself have done the later, even on this forum and others as well as helped people develop in their career and am now helping people volunteering. Try to think of it as the "pay it forward" philosophy.
1) You pass on your genes to your children for them to continue
2) You pass on your knowledge and experience unto others
Either way elements of your consciousness continues. If you reach the end of your life and you have done either of the two you can be content.
I myself have done the later, even on this forum and others as well as helped people develop in their career and am now helping people volunteering. Try to think of it as the "pay it forward" philosophy.
bathsheba666
Fast 'n Bulbous
What's the difference, duh...
PlutonianEmpire
King of the Plutonian Empire
It is partly all the internet articles and conspiracy theories I've read, but the big thing that made me believe in it was a tarot card reading I and my grandmother (RIP) did on the subject.
However, it told me I'd wind up surviving it, which, tbh, scares me just as much as the nothingness. It scares me because I envision the post-2012 world as a world of stone-age suffering. No computers, no luxuries, living like a hunter/gatherer, hard manual labor, only the strong survive, post-apocalyptic death squads, slavery, etc.
