Beliefs in an afterlife - the benefits?

[Galateasdream]

are in conflict.

Yes. I once believed B and now hold not B

not all of them comport with reality

Yes, they can't all be correct

Meaning that all but one of them must necessarily break from reality,

Yes, they can all be wrong, or one right.

you are contradicting yourself when you say that you always attempt not to deceive

There's no contradiction between:
P1) I always try and not deceive myself
P2) I got something wrong once

Not sure why you hold this to be a contradiction?

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

Yes. I once believed B and now hold not B



Yes, they can't all be correct



Yes, they can all be wrong, or one right.



There's no contradiction between:
P1) I always try and not deceive myself
P2) I got something wrong once

Not sure why you hold this to be a contradiction?

I admitted as much when I said that if you were only holding the beliefs based on the best information you had at the time, then you were not really deceiving yourself. Was this, then, the case? And are you sure that you have all the right information this time? Is it perhaps not also a deception of oneself to feel that you do have all relevant/correct information when the subject at hand is something like "the supernatural" or "the afterlife?"

 

[Galateasdream]

I admitted as much when I said that if you were only holding the beliefs based on the best information you had at the time, then you were not really deceiving yourself. Was this, then, the case?

Of course.
I never have ever deliberately deceived myself. I have always tried my best to follow the evidence and best argument as I had it. Why do anything else? Doesn't everyone do the same?

 

[A Vestigial Mote]

Of course.
I never have ever deliberately deceived myself. I have always tried my best to follow the evidence and best argument as I had it. Why do anything else? Doesn't everyone do the same?

Who ever feels that they deliberately deceived themselves? They may think of themselves as adhering to reality, and the truth, but if better evidence for better explanations is given, and turned away, that is when a type of deceiving can begin. But barely anyone ever recognizes this type of self deception in themselves until after they have changed due to being convinced.

And no. Not everyone follows the evidence and best arguments. Not hardly. They may try to convince themselves that they do... but there is a whole lot of ignoring of facts and desperately clinging to narratives going on... all the time.

 

[Galateasdream]

Who ever feels that they deliberately deceived themselves? They may think of themselves as adhering to reality, and the truth, but if better evidence for better explanations is given, and turned away, that is when a type of deceiving can begin. But barely anyone ever recognizes this type of self deception in themselves until after they have changed due to being convinced.

And no. Not everyone follows the evidence and best arguments. Not hardly. They may try to convince themselves that they do... but there is a whole lot of ignoring of facts and desperately clinging to narratives going on... all the time.

Well, I do the best I can.

 

[MonkeyFire]

This is a wrong premise. Nothingness is pulsating. Just a little perturbance and it blows up into a universe.

The universe is a pertuance as it is, and if you were you will be.

 

[Aupmanyav]

.. and if you were you will be.

Nothing remains the same. I have changed all 77 years of my life. What constitutes me will change even after my death. the universe too keeps changing all the time. Andromeda galaxy is approaching our Milky Way galaxy with a speed of 110 kms per second.

 

[MonkeyFire]

Nothing remains the same. I have changed all 77 years of my life. What constitutes me will change even after my death. the universe too keeps changing all the time. Andromeda galaxy is approaching our Milky Way galaxy with a speed of 110 kms per second.

You change forever into a limited amount of things, but the world never stops fluctuating.

 

[Aupmanyav]

No. There are no limits and no restrictions on what constitutes me can change into. Energy or material, from a grain of sand in River Tames to boiling lawa in a Hawaiian volcano. Nothing in the universe is ever static, change is inherent in all things. It is the nature of 'Quarks'.
"Quarks have various intrinsic properties, including electric charge, mass, color charge, and spin." - Wikipedia

 

[theQuestion]

I'm not a fan of one-sided appraisals of complex topics, but since we have the other side represented here - Beliefs in an afterlife - the problems? - this one is being created to balance it. Note that the nature of and belief in the afterlife is quite heterogenous and the below represent generalizations that may or may not apply to a specific framework.

Some of the benefits of belief in an afterlife for the living:

• Alleviating Fear. Death represents a big unknown in our lives - it is something we often fear. Telling narratives about death, including though not limited to what happens after we die, help us as a species to cope with fears and anxieties surrounding death especially for the terminally ill. It helps us live.
• Alleviating Grief. If you've ever lost someone who has meant the world to you, you know how hard that is to deal with. Even if an afterlife isn't real, believing that your beloved continues on in some form is a tremendous boon to the bereaved. Again, it helps us live.
• Honoring our Ancestors. Connecting to the past is important for cultures worldwide, and our fallen ancestors often play a role in making those connections. Tales of afterlives can bring vibrancy to these tales and help us celebrate who we are and our culture. It brings together the living.
• Instilling Responsibility. Some cultural narratives about the afterlife emphasize how our behavior in this world impacts that across the veil. So in addition to being held accountable for our actions by the living, we are also held accountable once dead. This doubly encourages us to be responsible!
• Psychopomps and Mediums. Embracing the idea of an afterlife creates a space for experts who help guide both the living and the dead along the journey. In cultures where they are respected, they serve as advisors and counselors who help us reconcile with death.
• Instilling Purpose. Accepting the idea of an afterlife often allows us to create the notion that our lives are going somewhere or adding up to something. A sense of purpose is a very important motivator while living because it brings our lives focus and meaning.

There are no doubt quite a few more, but are these enough to consider such beliefs as beneficial and helpful?

_____________________________________________________

The only REAL 'Afterlife' is the Day of Resurrection & Judgment- all foretold by the prophets, which included Jesus & the Apostles.
Benefits of believing Fantasy?
Happiness from not having to THINK?

 

[Mock Turtle]

_____________________________________________________

The only REAL 'Afterlife' is the Day of Resurrection & Judgment- all foretold by the prophets, which included Jesus & the Apostles.
Benefits of believing Fantasy?
Happiness from not having to THINK?

I think this latter item is what dictators rely on, and what makes the existing state of affairs to remain rather than getting any better.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

It seems to me that the best benefit of an afterlife is that the injustices of this present life can be addressed, and what we experience as needless suffering will stop.

I am an agnostic on the afterlife. Its hard to have a firm opinion when there is a lack of empirical evidence to study.

My biggest objection to an afterlife is that it appears to me that the thing that seems to give so much meaning to existence, is the very limited nature of it. It doesn't go on forever, thus what you do with the time you have matters.

An afterlife that is all sweet and wonderful and (insert your idea of the perfect heaven) just would end up being a boring hell if it went on forever.

I think... and this is only a thought... that if the world to come really is going to exist, it would not be eternal. That somehow or other, in a peaceful and nice way, there would have to be a final end.

I was surprised to find this acted out in the Finale of one of my favorite comedies, The Good Place. After 4 seasons of being in the Bad Place that only pretended to be the Good Place, our favorite characters finally make it to the real good place, only to find that everyone was becoming mush minds from lack of challenge. How many times can you Go-Cart with monkeys before it gets boring? And so our friends have the Good Place remade so that there are exit doors. People in there can, whenever they are ready, of their own wish, simply leave the Good Place forever and go... ? Its implied that they become one with the universe again.

I have to say, not bad for a silly TV show. Either than, or my own brain is lowered to the level of TV comedy !!!!