Death is...

[alexsok]

Option 11: I'd rather not think about it
Option 12: _________ (fill in the blank)

The options above influence our expectations of everlasting life in this world; those options that presume to hold any promise of life beyond death weaken the motivation to seek effective solutions to (1) optimal health, (2) "successful" aging, and (3) dramatic life and health extension. The assumption of oblivion after we die is, for many, a tough one to swallow. And yet, a belief or conviction in the value of life shaped by this assumption is much stronger for having been shaped by it. If you feel there's another option worthy of mention, please indicate it, but give us a sense of where you think you're going, or what you think will happen, when (or after) you die.

I saw a similar thread on another forum and most people were voting for "oblivion" which is not too surprising, seeing as that is the most natural response once would elicit from himself if he looks deep enough into the mystery...

Let's see how it stacks up here.

 

[Sobek]

Option 12 : The End.

Simple as that.

 

[vazel]

I'm more inclined to believe when we die it's the end but saying that as a definite is too arrogant for me so i leave the possibility that there is some kind of spiritual world out there. I'll notch it down as 'I don't know and I don't care'.

 

[arjan de lumens]

As I believe it: Death is the cessation of emotion, the destruction of the soul, the point where I altogether cease to exist as an individual. I voted "Oblivion", as that is the one of the alternatives that comes closest.

I tend to get the feeling that viewing death in this manner fills most people with a subtle but profound fear, however this fear is not something that I feel myself. There are many things that I fear, but death itself is not one of them.

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

 

[Blazkowicz]

I'm of the opinion that when you die, you're really dead, no respawn or warp zone to aetheral world.

 

[K.I.L.E.R]

Carmack says different.

I'm of the opinion that when you die, you're really dead, no respawn or warp zone to aetheral world.

 

[ANova]

I believe we have a choice, we can be "reincarnated" again in this life or any other limitless possibilities or we can give up the pointless matter based dream and join the whole (that which comprises everything we know and alot more).

 

[Diplo]

I like what Mark Twain said:

I do not fear death, in view of the fact that I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.

 

[EasyRaider]

I honestly don't know.

Is life just a series of events which ultimately lead to nothing? Or is it possible that there is some kind of meaning?

The thought of ceasing to exist at the end of this life depresses me so much that I nearly lose the will to live, ironically. I try not to think about it too much.

 

[Sobek]

No...i'm pretty damn certain we just die.

The End.

 

[Deepak]

Do we have any scientific studies done or in progress to find out what life exactly is? What is it our body which makes it live all through life and after it goes out our body is dead.

 

[digitalwanderer]

"Death is nature's way of telling you it's time to slow down" Piers Anthony

 

[nintenho]

Death is trying not to stick your foot in your mouth figuring it out.

 

[arjan de lumens]

Do we have any scientific studies done or in progress to find out what life exactly is? What is it our body which makes it live all through life and after it goes out our body is dead.

The question of what "life" is probably a philosophical more than just purely scientific question. You can set up a list of some observable properties for distinguishing between "alive" and "dead", and science can in general give fairly detailed answers to whether you satisfy those properties or what is in general needed to satisfy them, but coming up with a complete and final list of such properties is non-trivial. Some elements that may appear on such a list may be:

• Ability to reproduce
• Ability to adapt to one's environment
• Response to stimuli
• Homeostasis
• Metabolism

however there are usually plenty of examples of entities that are intuitively obviously alive or not-alive, but still violate criteria on such lists:

• Computer viruses can easily reproduce, while e.g. mules and people with Down's syndome cannot.
• If a person is connected to e.g. a respirator, is that person maintaining homeostasis?
• A comatose person would presumably not respond to stimuli, while at the same time obviously not being dead.
• A frozen Wood Frog presumably has zero metabolism, however thawing it again will result in a perfectly live frog - is it alive or dead while frozen?

 

[Bludd]

As someone said on another board.

When you die, and you did bad things in your life, you go to the Internet.

 

[Moloch]

Oblivion:
I'm an atheist

 

[Nick]

I honestly don't know.

Is life just a series of events which ultimately lead to nothing? Or is it possible that there is some kind of meaning?

The thought of ceasing to exist at the end of this life depresses me so much that I nearly lose the will to live, ironically. I try not to think about it too much.

Why does it have to be depressing? It just means you have to enjoy every minute of it and make the most of it. I learned to laugh even in my most miserable moments. It makes life so much easier and enjoyable.

 

[Crisidelm]

A surprise.

 

[Dresden]

Where's the "respite from nagging spouses" option?