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How Do You Know That All Of Existence Won’t End The Day You Die?

Jimmy

King Phenomenon
…and begin again with your reappearance on earth? I’m not talking about your personal existence. I’m talking about all of existence. The universe and everything in it.
So how do you know you’re not that person?
 

Jimmy

King Phenomenon
People around me die, and the world goes on.

I do not have the amount of ego that would allow me to assume I am the pillar of all of existence.

People around me die, and the world goes on. The world will go on, within or without me.
It doesn’t require ego. It requires acceptance and humility.
 

JustGeorge

Imperfect
Staff member
Premium Member
Indeed, he was god in the flesh
I'm reading a book right now about all these various 'sun deities' who are periodically reborn on earth to guide. Jesus is listed as one, but there are others. King Tut caught me by surprise.

It was a little dry at first, but so far, its been a good read.
 

Brickjectivity

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
…and begin again with your reappearance on earth? I’m not talking about your personal existence. I’m talking about all of existence. The universe and everything in it.
So how do you know you’re not that person?
I have had deja-vu moments. Psychologists have an explanation for this kind of thing, however there are some experiences I've had, too, which could be considered either paranormal or else very lucky.

Reality. Reality is one thing and sensing reality is another. Your question is like the holo-deck question. If your world is not real, does it matter? What makes a fake world real? My answer is that its relationships and also proof of work. Even if your world is the absolute basis of reality it won't seem real without relationships. Instead it will seem pointless, perhaps arbitrary. Just look at what happens to the minds of cult leaders and certain absurdly successful people like Howard Hughes. Therefore to even begin to assess what is real you have to have some relationships first. Proof of work is related but is more about creative processes. Creation takes time. Boundaries are also related -- you know limitations such as not being able to summon lightning.

What about pets for relationships? Maybe they are good enough maybe not. It couldn't hurt to have a pet. Some people get a lot from pets, but pets can be outsmarted. Pets are easily manipulated, so I think they cannot perfectly heal a lost sense of reality. There's nothing like people with their own wills and realizations. They are inexplicable, internally secretive. They are, unfortunately, sometimes not easy to get along with. They can hurt us, and so sometimes we withdraw. In that case pets are the best we can do though we can try and reconnect with people.

Books. I think a sense of awe and gratitude might be effective in gaining some objectivity. I can own books, but I don't mistake that for knowing what is in them. I can own a book, but I don't presume that it means I am the author. The content is something that I cannot create as I am reading. Its far too complex for my mind to create on the fly.

Music. Ever more complex and pleasant music. Who can predict what is next every time? There is so much music.

But do I absolutely know? What I know is this that it is unsurprising if we cannot understand the context of reality. It follows from some basic truths about context. Consider if you can Godel's discovery that no logical system can prove that it has no contradictions within itself. Proofs always must presume some axioms. Parts must fit into a machine without which they are meaningless shapes. Therefore if I truly could understand the context of reality that would be the frightening evidence that it might not be real.
 

Eddi

Christianity, Taoism, and Humanism
Premium Member
I'm reading a book right now about all these various 'sun deities' who are periodically reborn on earth to guide. Jesus is listed as one, but there are others. King Tut caught me by surprise.

It was a little dry at first, but so far, its been a good read.
What's it called and who wrote it?
 
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