The Master
I'm not fond of the following paragraph: "Of course, this is the reasoning of people who either can't reason or are so wedded to whatever they want to believe in that they discard the idea out of hand. While the idea of the result of death being annihilation is somewhat distasteful, it shouldn't be something to fear, because, to put it bluntly, you will never know. It's not a lovely Fluffy Cloud Heaven or a boiling molten hell, you know nothing, you feel nothing, and you are nothing. If you "die dead", and are gone forever, you have no knowledge of anything, not even of your own death."
It seems somewhat offensive to those like myself who, while not exactly fearing this possibility, would much prefer to keep on living or find some sort of eternal reward in heaven than simply cease to exist. Of course I wouldn't be worrying about it anymore at that point, but still. I like living. I'm not sure what kind of life Socrates had that he considered a dreamless sleep preferable preferable to continuing living. There is so much left to do, I don't think I would be satisfied with living a hundred million lifetimes.
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I think it makes the point that there is nothing to worry about 'being dead'. For example, this is the ending I subscribe to. If anyone asks me if I'm afraid of being dead, I'll say no. I'm still afraid of dying, as it is both painful (probably) and marks an end to my existence. But I'm more sad that my lifespan is limited than I would be about actually being dead. Eternal happiness would be preferable, but in the spectrum of afterlives, anihilation is better than all those torturous or bleak afterlives.
The point is that there is no reason to be afraid of the fate itself, as you will not suffer in any way, shape or form. Being afraid of this is the fear of ceasing to exist, not a fear of the afterlife itself
I'm usually a pessimistic guy, and I've been thinking a lot about death lately, and I think (or at least I hope) that life is like a big plate of your favorite food. When you eat all the food, are you sad because you don't have any more? No, because you're full. You've had enough to satisfy yourself. You don't want anymore. You're ready to stop eating.
Hopefully, when most of us die and if we cease to exist, our lives will by then be like the food that was on that plate. Gone, but not before we had a satisfactory fill (of life). We've done so many things that wanted to do and had amazing experiences, so it's okay that there's no more food (life) left. We're okay with it— we don't need any more. Again, we've had our fill.
Why?
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-Philip K. Dick
[Wish there was a fucking “delete comment” button!]
Edited by Vinderzlow
This trope is marked as No Real Life Examples Please, yet it has a Religion folder which discusses the concept of Cessation of Existence in various real life belief systems. Is this weaseling around the NRLEP tag, or is this okay?
The reason for NRLEP status is given as "Prone to generating Flame Wars."
Edited by 188.110.6.133 Let's just say and leave it at that.
To answer a question from the page history about just how the excerpt from "Imagine" counts as Moral Dissonance: The underlying premise of there being no final judgment, Heaven or Hell, even if it's meant to be comforting — which I don't know if it is or not — is disturbing or frightening to many listeners. Alternatively, the eternal torment itself is the subject of the "dissonance". In any case, though, the idea of Nothing being more comfortable than the alternative is... a point of contention, to say the least.
Edited by Caswin
"This is when you die, and you cease to exist. No afterlife. No feeling, no thought, no perception, no existence. Your existence — everything you were — simply disappears like a popped soap bubble.
The cessation of existence is not a lovely Fluffy Cloud Heaven or a terrible Fire and Brimstone Hell. You know nothing, you feel nothing, you ''are'' nothing. If you cease to exist and are gone forever, you have no knowledge of anything, not even of your own death or the life you lived before. In other words, permanent and total unconsciousness. And even that is a woefully inadequate comparison, since even the unconscious can still dream. The term most often used to describe this state of affairs is either "nonexistence" or "oblivion"."
This was the description's first part, which has just been deleted by Levi Ackerman 91 on the grounds that it is too upsetting to religious or spiritual people. I don't think that is adequate reason, especially if nothing else replaces what's been deleted. Rather than simply restore it, this seems like something that should be discussed. Does anyone feel this should be edited? We have some descriptions of other afterlife tropes (The Nothing After Death, Fire and Brimstone Hell etc.) that might be upsetting to some as well after all.
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.-Philip K. Dick