Thread: Know the truth and die? Or live forever?

Living forever in the same place sucks anyway, forever is a pretty long time So I would rather die, even if I didn't know the ultimate answers. And I suppose it also depends if you assume there is an afterlife or not.

i would rather know the truth/meaning of life and die instantly than live forever, for the same reasons as lucius

Well, I don't want to live forever nor do I want to know the ultimate answer (assuming it's not 42 as I already know that) and die because I still have my life ahead. Eternity is quite a long time as Lucius noted. If I really had to make that desicion it'd drive me crazy because I couldn't decide. Maybe I could choose the truth and die when I'm very very old.

I would definitely choose to live forever and not know the answers. This is because of two reasons:

1. I don't believe in an afterlife, so this would be the perfect opportunity to live forever...besides I love my life and am easily amused.

2. If I lived forever chances are I might end up finding out the answers anyways.

neither simpliy do what i doo now and grow old

Yea, live forever and figure out the answer on your own. Then you will have both.

I would choose to live forever. It would be amazing to see the future. Being around for the Earth's ultimate destruction by the Sun, is something i wouldn't want to miss.


"Speak for yourself Sir. I plan to live forever" Will Riker

I figure boredom is rooted in survival, so being eternal would grant no boredom.

Then again, what happens after you die...after knowing the truth? What's the point of getting the answers and then immediately not have the consciousness to digest, reflect, or make anything meaningful of it? If you do have afterlife, then it's really living "forever."

Both choices are infinitely as good or bad as the other, really...

Ill take answers over living never to find out

"Faith is not believing without seeing, it is seeing and having to believe as if never having seen".

That is the reality of it.

To live forever in ignorance would probably be quite blissful to an extent, boring in some parts, until you found new things to occupy yourself with.

To suddenly be aware of all the answers to all the questions you ever asked and wondered about before death would be an imbalance of knowledge gathering, however, it would not completely destroy the quality of life, or lives, but [it would] quite considerably.

Therefore, I would choose eternal ignorance.

Some interesting responses. That was a question that an agnostic friend of mine posed to me the other day and I was fascinated with.

I for one would choose to know everything and die. But with my luck, I would probably find out that Christianity is all true and I would go to hell.

Originally posted by Lucius+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Lucius)</div>

And I suppose it also depends if you assume there is an afterlife or not.[/b]

Well I would hope that you would factor your personal beliefs into your response.

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2. If I lived forever chances are I might end up finding out the answers anyways.

Not so fast. You have to 'live for all eternity without knowing the answers\".

Originally posted by Kula
Being around for the Earth's ultimate destruction by the Sun, is something i wouldn't want to miss.

But then you have to sit there alone in the dark for all eternity.

I would personally get bored with humanity pretty quick. Watching as we continue to destroy ourselves and fight endlessly over the same dumb shit would get pretty old pretty quick. Furthermore, I already beleive that existence is pointless, so I'd rather find out what it's all about and get it over with already.

Interesting question.
Although I believe we are one mind having a subjective experience in a holographic matrix, it would be incredibly selfish to take the prize and run. I'd rather stay for the sake of the ones I love.

About the second option, does immortality come with not aging? Or would I still be able to put a bullet through my head and not live to tell what it feels like?

Originally posted by Awaken+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Awaken)</div>

About the second option, does immortality come with not aging? Or would I still be able to put a bullet through my head and not live to tell what it feels like? [/b]

Ummm...

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(ie. you don't age, etc)

Man, this question reminds me of a book I've read called "Time Enough for Love" by Robert Heinlan....
Anyway, I'd most likely choose to live in ignorance forever, because I'm sure there are so many books I could read in an eternity, and so many I could write. Think of how well someone could write after a million years! Anyway, if the stipulation was that were immortal but not invincible, than I could commit suicide, and if I couldn't I'm sure I'd find some way to entertain myself. Anyway, if this option was open to everyone to make, than immortlity would be prevailant....Other technologies would be deveoped such as space travel......
Just a thought...

Originally posted by Rakkantekimusouka

Ummm... *

I understand that I wouldn't age, but the question is, would I still be able to die through other means?

Logic says no but I wanna be sure! This is a life or death decision here!

If immortality came as well I would choose it, the possibility that life does end would be enough for me to choose the second option.

If it didn't it would be a tough decision. I could live to be 1,000 or I could live to be 30.

It also depends on whether death means an end to existance, or the afterlife.

Originally posted by Awaken+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Awaken)</div>

I understand that I wouldn't age, but the question is, would I still be able to die through other means?[/b]

Nope, can't die. For example, if you tried to shoot yourself in the head, you would miss or the trigger would get stuck.

Originally posted by Belisarius@
It also depends on whether death means an end to existance, or the afterlife.

Of course it depends on that, that's what makes the question so tricky. As a theist do you want to risk ending your existence? As an atheist do you want to risk going to hell? As an agnostic do you want to risk either?

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Other technologies would be deveoped such as space travel......

That's an interesting thought...I wouldnt mind taking a spin around the universe to check the place out.

One point that hasn't really been touched on is what you would do with the information should you choose death. Many people would say that the only value that knowledge holds comes in the act of sharing it with somebody else....just a thought.

It also depends on how you aquire this knowledge. It is the learning process itself that is just as important as the actual answers (the path and how its walked being more important than the finish line). Would it be like *poof* you know everything..I think that would be rather overwhelming and you would go crazy Unless you are like send to the school of universal wisdom or something and everything gets taught to you Or maybe it would like the matrix..they never seemed bothered by getting stuff uploaded into their heads

i won't want either of them:
-why would you want to know answers and then die instantly?
then you wouldn't know anything eventually...

-why would you want to live forever? what if it will become boring?
or what if the universe will be destroyed or something, then you're still alive, THEN
WHAT?

Well, I would love to have that information, but I don't know what the point would be of me having it, if I would only die. I couldn't do anything about it, and if I was wrong about the whole christianity thing, I would be so screwed. I mean, having the knowledge is only viable if you can use it. Even an eternity in ignorance would be a well spent one, because all sorts of other knowledge would be open to you. As I've said before, we're bound to develop space travel at one point or another in humanity's existance, so when this world is destroyed or too over populated, we could just go to another planet. I don't think I'd get too bored during my eternal existance, because I think humanity will be around for quite some time. I'd love to witness it's development.

I would definitely choose life. Just think of the experiences you could have! I could easily perfect Lucid Dreaming if I wanted to escape the waking life. Think of it man!

Well, they say ignorance is bliss...but i'd rather know the truth and die when my time comes, rather than live forever and risk being at the behest of some crazy universal cult that's feeding me lies!
I think living forever would be over rated...look at that film Highlander, he lived forever, yet he loved and he always lost his wife...i'm not sure how many times i could stick losing someone i loved if i lived forever...and what's the point of living forever, if you can't share it with someone?
At least by sharing mortality with someone, you can make the most of what you have, and never take it for granted.

Originally posted by InTheMoment
2. If I lived forever chances are I might end up finding out the answers anyways. *

nice

tough question. i don't have an answer.

I would probably chose to live forever. For example, I would be able to master all of the shit that I want, instead of having one lifetime and one profession.

Sometimes I sit there and say, "Christ. I'm probably only going to be very proficient in a single subject, and even then I won't be the best..."

In a way, I could be changing factor to the world--excel in arts, sciences, mathematics, etc, and try to move new ideas around.

Sure I would never die, and never get the answers, but I find it hard to imagine it getting ridiculously boring--after all, a day is a very long time as it is. And, like a user said before, space travel would be something to look foward to as well (even if it does take a few hundred to get things in true motion).

Then, to be honest, there's a fear factor in all of this too. I'll bet you anything that most of you wouldn't want to die on the spot right there. Even as great as human curiousity is, there's a difference between, "Open the box and get scolded" and "Open the box and get killed." In a way, the truths of the universe are this box--they are concept and idea by language, but we do not the answers they represent.