Thread: Does a life have any value?

The only evidence I have unfortunately comes from one near-death experience and two psychedelic-induced ego deaths. At best I have a very vague idea of the truth, at worst I'm just completely wrong, but that's ok. I've got plenty of time to dig deeper.

my 'worst-case scenario' ends with ceasing to think entirely, as you suggest. I mean that while dying, it's common to 'see your life flashing before your eyes.' Before the brain shuts off, it ignores all sensory input and focuses on the archetypes. The people you know and the things you've done leave a lot behind in your mind that isn't normally perceivable except in dreams and in dissociated thought. It's certainly possible that before you cease to think, the brain contents the mind as best it can by showing it everything it wants to see, so at least you can end on a good note.

Assuming that consciousness is possible after death, I don't think it would be anything like the human perception of consciousness. We would have to go from the grey matter in our heads to all the matter in the entire universe, and so nothing we know right now would be anything like it, really.

I still don't think we can ever cease to exist after having once been. We stay in the past, in our little (e.g. 1988-2067) microcosm, doing exactly what we did during our living days. Theoretically we could become once again perceivable if a consciousness existed that could transcend the linear flow of time.

It's all too much for me to understand but it makes a little bit of sense, right?

Originally posted by Dangeruss
The only evidence I have unfortunately comes from one near-death experience and two psychedelic-induced ego deaths. At best I have a very vague idea of the truth, at worst I'm just completely wrong, but that's ok. I've got plenty of time to dig deeper.

my 'worst-case scenario' ends with ceasing to think entirely, as you suggest. I mean that while dying, it's common to 'see your life flashing before your eyes.' Before the brain shuts off, it ignores all sensory input and focuses on the archetypes. The people you know and the things you've done leave a lot behind in your mind that isn't normally perceivable except in dreams and in dissociated thought. It's certainly possible that before you cease to think, the brain contents the mind as best it can by showing it everything it wants to see, so at least you can end on a good note.

Assuming that consciousness is possible after death, I don't think it would be anything like the human perception of consciousness. We would have to go from the grey matter in our heads to all the matter in the entire universe, and so nothing we know right now would be anything like it, really.

I still don't think we can ever cease to exist after having once been. We stay in the past, in our little (e.g. 1988-2067) microcosm, doing exactly what we did during our living days. Theoretically we could become once again perceivable if a consciousness existed that could transcend the linear flow of time.

It's all too much for me to understand * *but it makes a little bit of sense, right?

Yes, it all makes sense. All we can do though is just hope it's not hell.

"A mind not to be chang’d by place or time.
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
-Satan, Paradise Lost book i

have a little faith, I'm sure it'll be alright in the end

Originally posted by Dangeruss
"A mind not to be chang’d by place or time.
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven."
-Satan, Paradise Lost book i

have a little faith, I'm sure it'll be alright in the end *

All we can do is hope.

Well, when you die, of couse it would probably just be blank. I mean, even if there was life after death, it could only exist in the form of awareness. A soul without a body has no storage mechanism, so you couldn't remember things, or even percieve what was going on. And, if you could somehow come back and tell everyone about your experience, you would not be able to remember it.

Originally posted by Gwendolyn
Well, when you die, of couse it would probably just be blank. I mean, even if there was life after death, it could only exist in the form of awareness. A soul without a body has no storage mechanism, so you couldn't remember things, or even percieve what was going on. And, if you could somehow come back and tell everyone about your experience, you would not be able to remember it.

Thats why if you only believe in the physical world , there is no such thing as a soul or an afterlife , consciousness is just all in your brain and the complex chemical reactions combined with the ability to think , remember , and our senses and feelings , all these mesh together into something we call consciousness . Once your brain ceaces to function , these reactions and senses stop and your conscious falls apart into nothingness , like when you goto sleep and dont dream , except forever . Sorry if it sounds bleak , but thats what i think might happen when you die . Its not a belief , just a thought so i am open to a change if serious evidence of a 'soul' were presented . But then , even if we did have a soul , whos to say that wouldn't die when we do . It was 'born' when we were , so obviously a soul can be created , and thus it must also beable to be destroyed .

Yes a life has value.

Originally posted by D.Jenkins
Yes a life has value.

in Your oppinion.

Once when I was driving a car I had the overwhelming perception of time kind of juddering to a halt. I had a huge adrenalin rush and had to pull over and pull myself together. At the time I thought my brain/mind had had some kind of death simulation (perhaps brought about by the driving or something) but now I'm not so sure. I'll never forget that feeling though - it was like an awareness of the time flow slowing and stopping. I felt tiny compared to the power of time. Hard to explain but felt 'true'.

Originally posted by Crow
Once when I was driving a car I had the overwhelming perception of time kind of juddering to a halt. I had a huge adrenalin rush and had to pull over and pull myself together. At the time I thought my brain/mind had had some kind of death simulation (perhaps brought about by the driving or something) but now I'm not so sure. I'll never forget that feeling though - it was like an awareness of the time flow slowing and stopping. I felt tiny compared to the power of time. Hard to explain but felt 'true'.

Ah intresting... maybe it was like a survival system. Just kind of weird why you got it all of a sudden... Maybe that suger on your McWaffle wasn't sugar but coke

Anyway, the subconsious certainly has some tricks up it's sleeve not to get pwned

Life in itself has no meaning, and if a person, or even a group of people, were to be killed quickly and painlessly and missed by no one, then in my opinion, it wouldn't matter in any way whatsoever.

However, when someone dies, they are always missed by at least someone (practically) and i'm guessing dying without feeling any pain isn't easy either.

Apart from that, remember that while all life is meaningless in the end, you can at least give some quasi-meaning to it, whereas in death you can't do anything at all. In other words, life is pointless, but not as pointless as death. ^.^

I chose the third option btw.

Over the weekend, my brother came home from a friend's house carrying a dog. At first, we thought the dog might be OK. He was frozen, almost solid from his waist down. Once we got him in our house, and thawed out and warm, we were able to properly assess the damage. We saw that he was sporting a broken back along with a floating ribcage fracture. The poor thing kept trying to walk, but tragically, wasn't able. It was a sad thing to see. I mean, the dog was scared and rightly so. We soon saw the only alternative: we had to put him down. No animal shelters or animal hospitals were open on Saturday evening or on Sunday, so we had to have my fiance's father do it. The only thing I regret about putting this dog down was the fact that we couldn't do it sooner. It was in pain all night, and I felt so sad that we couldn't do anything about it. Sure, life has value. A lot of value, but then again, so does death. Death is of equal importance and it exists for a reason. So when something dies, I feel sad but in some cases I understand that death is the only thing that save something or someone.

Originally posted by Gwendolyn
Over the weekend, my brother came home from a friend's house carrying a dog. At first, we thought the dog might be OK. He was frozen, almost solid from his waist down. Once we got him in our house, and thawed out and warm, we were able to properly assess the damage. We saw that he was sporting a broken back along with a floating ribcage fracture. The poor thing kept trying to walk, but tragically, wasn't able. It was a sad thing to see. I mean, the dog was scared and rightly so. We soon saw the only alternative: we had to put him down. No animal shelters or animal hospitals were open on Saturday evening or on Sunday, so we had to have my fiance's father do it. The only thing I regret about putting this dog down was the fact that we couldn't do it sooner. It was in pain all night, and I felt so sad that we couldn't do anything about it. Sure, life has value. A lot of value, but then again, so does death. Death is of equal importance and it exists for a reason. So when something dies, I feel sad but in some cases I understand that death is the only thing that save something or someone.

: (

I allways feel sorry for animals. Suffering isn't cool... God thing you put him down, so he didn't have to suffer anymore.
Allso, good that your brother brought the dog, so he didn't have to die even shittier.

So, wouldn't the dog be better off shot right before he broke all those bones? He would feel no pain.

damn sad story

^Perhaps, but maybe if the dog's owner had taken better care of him, he would never have had to suffer, or die.

Originally posted by Gwendolyn
^Perhaps, but maybe if the dog's owner had taken better care of him, he would never have had to suffer, or die.

Yeah well people suck <=/