How does the concept of an afterlife even make sense at this

>>1845084
This is why rich techies believe in the simulation hypothesis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis

Which is retarded, but compatible with technology. The trilemma doesn't even make sense.

>>1845092
I still don't get it, to be honest. It seems like bad philosophy to identify too closely with any past or future version of yourself.

What I'm saying is, we are all constantly dying and being replaced by something slightly different! Going to sleep is going to "your" death. So is hitting your head on something.

Fear of "death" is really just a glimpse of how weird things actually are. People afraid of "death" should actually be in constant cosmic horror.

One possibility is that the brain is just a receiver for a soul or mind. I don't buy it myself, but it's a possibility that I can't refute.

>>1845100
It's even worse if you subscribe to many worlds.

It's funny how people talk about how they don't want to die, but they love going to sleep and get annoyed when they have to wake up.

>>1845139
That is interesting. Probably something to do with how most people are underslept and live shit lives, and are afraid of death all at the same time.
Being spooked is a terrible thing.

>>1845100
>Going to sleep is going to "your" death.

This is really pushing it.

Physically yes, our cells are constantly dying and replacing themselves and the you that dies probably has very few of the cells you're born with. This is such a gradual process, though. You wouldn't say you died if you cut yourself even if you bled and lost a few cells.

Mentally yeah, we change based on our experiences and we forget / revise our thoughts on things we used to think very pertinent to our lives, but this is a cumulative process. Your past experiences have accumulated to create the present you, so obviously you identify with your memories of your past experiences, because they form the foundation for your current ones.

Anyway I don't disagree on the afterlife thing, I'm pretty convinced our consciousness is entirely tied to our brain, and this is why things like brain damage can so radically influence how we behave, what we remember, etc. Once the brain's dead, our consciousness goes with it, there is no 'soul' that transcends that.

>>1845100

I am in constant cosmic horror, or at the very least, I'm only ever a few seconds away.

The terror is like a yawning, swirling pit on the edge of my mind. One wrong turn in my train of thought, just a few steps in the wrong direction, and it pulls me in. It's the abyssal chasm that awaits those who have already reconciled their first encounter with existential terror, who think they are safe because they have found peace in a meaningless world. In my experience, almost every single one of those people will go the rest of their lives without realizing that the solid ground they stand on gives way on either side to a pit even deeper than the first one they fell down. Very few ever encounter the next level of horror.

I've trained myself to close my mind to it. Even writing this post, I've only felt a few twinges of the real fear. When it takes hold, though, it's like a cold, endless draining in my chest, and a mentally deafening static fog that erodes coherent thought. During the worst encounter I ever experienced with it, I did almost nothing but lay on the floor or sit and stare at the walls for five days. I barely drank water, couldn't eat, and only found relief by covering my eyes and yelling into the empty air.

It hasn't gotten that bad in a while, but I can only hope that there is solid ground at the bottom of the pit.

>>1845224
That's probably mental illness, friend. Not that I'm saying that you're wrong. Some mental illnesses are equivalent to your mind going "out of bounds".

To be honest, if you even understand what existential dread is, you're probably mentally ill.

>>1845224
this >>1845366
existential dread is more of an abstract concept than an emotion

File: 468164beb4963a73970d9ef199ce1660.jpg (95KB, 564x653px) Image search: [Google]

95KB, 564x653px

>>1845084

we change superficially with each moment, just like we will change superficially at death. In truth, what we "are" is too subtle to talk about.

>Don't we all agree that personality and memories are correlated with the brain?

yes, but they aren't what we are. they are baggage we carry around with us.

This loss of the useless details of our personalities we consider ourself which you're describing seems to be confirmed by psychedelics. A complete breakdown of personality and sense of self is possible, but experience remains.
It's possible that the soul or an abstract locus of experience returns to the pool and is later reborn into a human body. Who knows. Pscyhedelics were the origin of real religion, most likely, and that's for a good reason.

>>1845084
>So in the afterlife, which one are you? And if you're just some "other" part like a soul, why identify with it? You wouldn't even remember who you were. So how is that "you"?

stream of consciousness

>>1845084
>Don't we all agree that personality and memories are correlated with the brain?
>implying

You have a soul. You are a substantial unity that won't be destroyed.

Your brain is merely the powerhouse behind your current soul's work. Feeding your body feeds your brain which feeds your soul.

Its not as crazy as you might think.

We have all been dead at one point, was it really that bad?

>>1845366
>>1845371

Oh, I've got no doubt that it's some kind of mental illness. I've always been more comfortable with the abstract than with emotions