Confessions of a mortician • Hacker News Board

Re: Confessions of a mortician

#61

Post by meowface » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 12:22 AM UTC

philwelch wrote: post #33

meowface wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, the fear is not of dying, but of permanently losing the potential to ever experience any aspect of life again. It's an unsettling thought that I will never be able to experience fun, laughter, love, or success again. I won't have ideas, I won't hope, I won't dream. My conscious mind will simply join the eternal void and cease to exist. I really dislike the idea of not only having no experiences, but never eve…

> For me, the fear is not of dying, but of permanently losing the potential to ever experience any aspect of life again. It's an unsettling thought that I will never be able to experience fun, laughter, love, or success again. I won't have ideas, I won't hope, I won't dream. My conscious mind will simply join the eternal void and cease to exist. Sure, but that's no different than before you were born, and that wasn't…

When you first get a taste of something you don't want to let it go. It wasn't so bad because there was no other possible state; it is bad, from an objective perspective, in comparison to the alternative (consciousness). I'd much rather be alive and who I am now than be an unborn "baby".

Re: Confessions of a mortician

#62

Post by thret » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 1:32 AM UTC

mabbo wrote: post #45

rdtsc wrote: post #7

Some 10 or so years back HBO had the Six Feet Under show. It was centered around a funeral home family business. But it was a pretty good show all around. Highly recommended.

I've never seen any of it, but I do know it was a real jumping point for Michael C. Hall, who went on to star in "Dexter". I just know I'm going to have a hard time not being freaked out by his character being semi-normal.

He still talks to dead people if that helps! His brother in the show, Peter Krause went on to star in Parenthood. Parenthood grows on you, I originally started watching it for Lauren Graham but it's become one of my favourites.

Re: Confessions of a mortician

#63

Post by thret » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 2:00 AM UTC

mietek wrote: post #48

christiangenco wrote: post #19

The raw terror of the inevitability of death without comfort of distraction or mental illusion — "fleshing," as Puchner describes it — was brilliantly captured here in a way I've never before heard or read expressed by another person. It's relieving, in a way, to know that I'm not the only human to chronically go through it. I especially enjoyed his comment on the difficulties of erecting a comforting fantasy of an a…

Your comment reads like something I might have written myself, down to the concern about the heat death of the universe. However, I have had one additional thought. Have you considered a scenario in which our universe may be virtualised? “Being saved” could quite literally mean having the pattern of our existence stored outside the universe. “Omniscience” is simplified when you can pause a virtual machine to inspect…

If we are part of a simulation, any and all kinds of afterlife are possible (although admittedly still improbable).

Re: Confessions of a mortician

#64

Post by toothbrush » Mon, Dec 08, 2014, 10:36 AM UTC

_xnmw wrote: post #39

nagrom wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They may earnestly believe in it, but they cannot provide a shred of evidence that it exists and all authority that claims that it does is inevitably found to be either a) mistaken or b) fraudulent. Very intelligent, otherwise rational people believe in false propositions that make them feel happy, relieved or secure all the time. Unless there's evidence, that belief is as unfounded as the belief of most people that…

> cannot provide a shred of evidence. Human testimony is evidence, especially if corroborated by multiple unrelated sources (i.e. countless mystics from many different backgrounds and eras, many of which are completely absolved of having a material interest). A collective conscience, i.e. the fact that practically all ancient peoples believed in God and an afterlife can be considered atleast a "shred" of evidence. I…

What the sibling post says.

Also, alternative explanation: we're all the same species, and all have the same mental "bug" which causes us to think it's plausible that there's a dude (obviously a dude) in the sky who knows our name. Human testimony is one of the single most fallible sources of information. I can't even remember what my doctor told me to do this morning, while that would actually run the risk of concretely improving my quality of life.

Re: Confessions of a mortician

#65

Post by tomp » Tue, Dec 09, 2014, 12:19 PM UTC

marvin wrote: post #32

cdoxsey wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a curse, in a way, to have (be?) a brain trained to recognize and solve problems, optimize expected outcome, and see through bullshit when the popular solution to existential debilitating dread — religion — crumbles at the slightest analysis. Ignorance is bliss, to add to Puchner's ostensibly empty bromides. There are a lot of very intelligent people who believe in an afterlife. They aren't ignorant about the re…

It's hard to admit in scientific company, but I have a Masters degree in science, excellent academic results, IQ well above average and still believe in God, in spite of the supposed contradictions that should apparently entail. And I'm also a relatively firm believer in rationality (including the parts of science that occasionally gets me in trouble with other religious people), with the caveat that I sometimes crit…

Great - I'm the same in the first 3 properties, but I don't believe in god (I'm agnostic). I'd like to ask you a few questions that I have wanted to ask intelligent self-proclaimed rationalist for a long time, regarding belief.

What kind of God do you believe in? Is it more of an omni-potent being (like the Abrahamic God), or just a being with supernatural properties (like a Roman god), or just "something out there" (like a "first mover" of the universe)? Do you believe in any single god, such as Alah/Jahveh/Christian God, or Vishna (Indian God), or any of the Roman, Greek, Pagan or other gods? If yes, how do you rationalize your belief in this particular god, and the exclusion of some/all other gods? Do you consider your belief to be the ultimate "truth" (i.e. the people who don't believe or believe in something else are wrong)? If not, then I assume it's a personal belief - is it not just a "good feeling" belief, not a rational and universal "fact"? Edit: are you open to renegotiating your belief (i.e. stop believing or believing something else)?

Sorry for the onslaught of questions, but I just can't see how one could rationalize an belief of some unsubstantiated "truth" no matter how hard I think about it, so I'm looking for someone to change my view - hopefully a rational person (as you claim to be) that presents rational, well-thought-out arguments.