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The desire to live when there is no afterlife

SpeaksForTheTrees

Well-Known Member
Do you eat meat? How do you know humans is where the buck stops? You don't consider there could be other life in this vast universe? Your insistence on humans being 'precious' is an opinion.

What is more precious than life in particular human life in this universe , or are you nihilst ?
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I used to believe in the afterlife of eternal bliss and that I would live there after I die. Having this belief was an absolute psychological need for me that I desperately depended upon my whole life. Why? It is because most of us as human beings are hardwired for survival. The desire to live forever is hardwired into us. At least, that is, most of us. Some people are actually fine for whatever reason with the idea of dying forever.

This hardwired feature is stronger in some people and weaker in others. Unfortunately, in my case, it is very powerful. So upon losing my belief in the afterlife, it was completely devastating for me. I felt very strong feelings of suffocation mentally. Suffocation is a feeling that you need air. So a feeling of suffocation that is instead experienced mentally means that you have a psychological need for something (in this case, my need to live forever).

So me living forever is like the air I need to breathe. Having that taken away from me is like having a big pillow suffocating that life away from me. I am also in a state of depression. At this point, it is not a feeling of depression that is caused by any thought. Rather, it is the type of depression one would feel when they stop taking drugs that they desperately need. It is a psychological low since they can no longer get what they desperately need.

I feel that this desire to live keeps on kicking in, resulting in me experiencing those feelings of mental suffocation. I have no control over it. I am wondering if this will get better to the point of going away on its own. Will both this feeling of depression and this desire to live that is causing me so much turmoil pass on its own over time?
It's not like you haven't been dead before you were born.
 

Rainbow Mage

Lib Democrat/Agnostic/Epicurean-ish/Buddhist-ish
What is more precious than life in particular human life in this universe , or are you nihilst ?

Thinking that human life isn't somehow more precious than other life doesn't make me a Nihilist. No I'm not a Nihilist. A Nihilist sees no particular point in living. I see living as the point of living.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
This still sounds selfish, misguided and unbalanced. Please don't confuse your problem with the normative feelings of the rest of us who don't believe in an afterlife. And once again I implore you to seek professional help.
If I was selfish in the sense of harming and demeaning others, then that does warrant frown and scorn. But if you are doing no such things to others and only wish to enjoy your life and have a life all to yourself to fully enjoy for all eternity, then I see nothing wrong with this. In a situation like this, there needn't be any frowning or scorning upon the individual as long as he/she is keeping to his/herself, not harming/demeaning others, etc.
 

SpeaksForTheTrees

Well-Known Member
Good as any definition,lets go with it. So, the period AFTER has to be something, at least, different, right? Your definition of life dont encompass the possibilitie of its existence AFTER death.
Life will still exist after death however I won't be part of it , what your trying to describe falls outside of an objective definition to become subjective philosophy ?
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
If I was selfish in the sense of harming and demeaning others, then that does warrant frown and scorn. But if you are doing no such things to others and only wish to enjoy your life and have a life all to yourself to fully enjoy for all eternity, then I see nothing wrong with this. In a situation like this, there needn't be any frowning or scorning upon the individual as long as he/she is keeping to his/herself, not harming/demeaning others, etc.
Would you harm someone to keep yourself from dying? If not then your life and bliss isn't the most important, if you would then that is indeed worthy of scorn.
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Did I say the universe would care ? Like it misses the Aztecs .
Subjectively or not , parable or tale , why did God ask Noah to build an ark ?
I'm not a theist. So I see the story only as what a man thinks about himself.
I do not believe that human life or any other life is objectively valuable, just subjectively. Which is not to say that there is no reason to value life, including human life, but that the value will always be subject to human ego.
 

SpeaksForTheTrees

Well-Known Member
If I was selfish in the sense of harming and demeaning others, then that does warrant frown and scorn. But if you are doing no such things to others and only wish to enjoy your life and have a life all to yourself to fully enjoy for all eternity, then I see nothing wrong with this. In a situation like this, there needn't be any frowning or scorning upon the individual as long as he/she is keeping to his/herself, not harming/demeaning others, etc.
Maybe is selfish to set such high requirement to be happy , is like if you got your eternal life you would find something else not to be happy about.
The period between life and death is what you make of it provided you haven't been dealt a really bad hand like in cards, again is it possible to overcome a really bad hand , I think so if people still have a will and receive proper support.
If your fully abled bodied then you are feeling sorry for yourself.
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
Would you harm someone to keep yourself from dying? If not then your life and bliss isn't the most important, if you would then that is indeed worthy of scorn.
If harming someone meant me living that eternal blissful life, then if it was someone cruel, then I would harm them. Now if it was someone innocent, I would be frozen. I know that I am an important person just as important as anyone else and that I deserve to live an eternal blissful life since it is something so vital and absolutely life depending for me, but at the same time, I know this other person is just as important as well. So I would find myself standing there frozen. I don't think any decision would be made here. I wouldn't know what to do here.
 

SpeaksForTheTrees

Well-Known Member
I'm not a theist. So I see the story only as what a man thinks about himself.
I do not believe that human life or any other life is objectively valuable, just subjectively. Which is not to say that there is no reason to value life, including human life, but that the value will always be subject to human ego.
Narcissist? nice lol nilihist ? cool
Remind me to step over you if ever need assistance.
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Narcissist? nice lol nilihist ? cool
Remind me to step over you if ever need assistance.
Neither narcissist nor nihilist. I rather think being convinced of human superiority and trying to put an objective value to human life is both more nihilistic and narcissistic than being humble enough to realize the universe doesn't care, just humans.
 

SpeaksForTheTrees

Well-Known Member
Neither narcissist nor nihilist. I rather think being convinced of human superiority and trying to put an objective value to human life is both more nihilistic and narcissistic than being humble enough to realize the universe doesn't care, just humans.
Well if you can't recognise that your life ,comfort is the most important thing to me in this universe is really a no brainer.Then animals
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Well if you can't recognise that your life ,comfort is the most important thing to me in this universe is really a no brainer.Then animals
I'm assuming you hit reply too early but life and comfort of any one individual, including myselfisn't the most important thing to me. So that can hardly be narcissistic.
And I don't think that subjective meaning is non-meaning, just meaning that is subjective. So it's not nihilism either.
 

SpeaksForTheTrees

Well-Known Member
I'm assuming you hit reply too early but life and comfort of any one individual, including myselfisn't the most important thing to me. So that can hardly be narcissistic.
And I don't think that subjective meaning is non-meaning, just meaning that is subjective. So it's not nihilism either.
Your talking philosophical rubbish I mean no objective value wow .individuals wow
The value is , if your having a good day or a f**king bad one , and if you can't see that is all that matter as a system of value ..
 

ADigitalArtist

Veteran Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Your talking philosophical rubbish I mean no objective value wow .individuals wow
The value is , if your having a good day or a f**king bad one , and if you can't see that is all that matter as a system of value ..
I'm talking about the philosophies you brought up and why it doesn't actually fit. :p
But to be honest you sound kind of drunk so I'm going to leave this here.
 

SpeaksForTheTrees

Well-Known Member
I'm talking about the philosophies you brought up and why it doesn't actually fit. :p
But to be honest you sound kind of drunk so I'm going to leave this here.
OK but I'm not drunk . enjoy a pear cider now and then but do not like being drunk gives me headache.
Is nothing more valuable than life in this universe don't need to be drunk to see that .
I see value you don't no probs
 

The Transcended Omniverse

Well-Known Member
The way I see it, if there really is no grand purpose and meaning to this universe, then it doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter if you are someone innocent or someone cruel. We as human beings and our lives would truly be insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, what does it matter who you are and what your actions are? People can frown upon you and tell you that what you are doing is wrong if you were someone cruel. But like I said, there is no grand purpose or meaning here. It is now nothing more than their own personal opinions now. They and their opinions are insignificant since there is no God judging us and our actions. Not that I would choose to be someone cruel, but you get my point here.
 
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