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Comment by chroma | Hacker News Reader

They differ in their belief about the deceased's current subjective experience (or lack thereof).

To the religious, death is an illusion. After a short time on the earth, everybody meets up again in the afterlife. It may be sad, but not too sad.

To those who don't believe in an afterlife, death is real. When someone dies, everything about them is annihilated. A lifetime of experiences destroyed; a unique personality deleted from existence, and everyone worse-off because of it.

Sadly, the desirability of an outcome has no correlation with its likelihood.

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The universe existed for ~ 14 billion years and did just fine without me. It will probably be good for at least another 14 billion years after I'm gone.

And the funny thing is, I have never lost a minute of sleep over not having existed for those initial 14 billion years.

I'm not entirely sure how your reply connects to my comment. Are you arguing that death isn't bad? If so, try pointing the argument at someone else:

"The universe existed for billions of years and did just fine without you. It will probably be good for eons after you're gone. And the funny thing is, I have never lost a minute of sleep over your non-existence for those initial billions of years."

It sounds both psychopathic and psychotic.

Are you arguing that death isn't bad?

I'm actually quoting many philosophers and authors that have said the same thing and for which I agree. For example:

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/25647-i-do-not-fear-death-i-...

Essentially, it didn't bother you that you didn't exist 100 years ago. Think hard about why it bothers you that you won't exist 100 years from now.

In 200 years, nobody will remember you.

In 1,000 years, it will be as if you never existed. Just like 1,000 years before you were born.

illusion my friend. How certain/confident are you with that belief ? The "I" that you think you are, was different when you are 3yr old, when you are 30yr old, or at present...the way you behaved, reacted to pain(both physical and psychological) have evolved. There is a theory the subconscious (not consciously comprehended) evolves through lives. Its not rebirth (of your PRESENT SELF), in the traditional sense.

"I" at any moment through out your PRESENT life, is illusion (in other words, its constantly evolving, not same or real). If you cant even pin down present life, how can you be sure of past and future.

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