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Religion
In reply to the discussion: "Proof" (?) of an afterlife [View all]cpwm17
(3,829 posts)57. And the chances of getting the correct number on all 100 roles of dice would be far greater
Last edited Sun Oct 9, 2016, 10:28 AM - Edit history (1)
than any particular human consciousness exiting now, given the common assumptions concerning what leads to each conscious-self.
This is from Richard Dawkins: http://old.richarddawkins.net/articles/91-to-live-at-all-is-miracle-enough
We are going to die, and that makes us the lucky ones. Most people are never going to die because they are never going to be born. The potential people who could have been here in my place but who will in fact never see the light of day outnumber the sand grains of Arabia. Certainly those unborn ghosts include greater poets than Keats, scientists greater than Newton. We know this because the set of possible people allowed by our DNA so massively exceeds the set of actual people. In the teeth of these stupefying odds it is you and I, in our ordinariness, that are here.
Moralists and theologians place great weight upon the moment of conception, seeing it as the instant at which the soul comes into existence. If, like me, you are unmoved by such talk, you still must regard a particular instant, nine months before your birth, as the most decisive event in your personal fortunes. It is the moment at which your consciousness suddenly became trillions of times more foreseeable than it was a split second before....
The lottery starts before we are conceived. Your parents had to meet, and the conception of each was as improbable as your own. And so on back, through your four grandparents and eight great grandparents, back to where it doesn't bear thinking about....
...The odds of your century being the one in the spotlight are the same as the odds that a penny, tossed down at random, will land on a particular ant crawling somewhere along the road from New York to San Francisco. In other words, it is overwhelmingly probable that you are dead.
In spite of these odds, you will notice that you are, as a matter of fact, alive. People whom the spotlight has already passed over, and people whom the spotlight has not reached, are in no position to read a book....
...But we as individuals are still hugely blessed. Privileged, and not just privileged to enjoy our planet. More, we are granted the opportunity to understand why our eyes are open, and why they see what they do, in the short time before they close for ever.
Moralists and theologians place great weight upon the moment of conception, seeing it as the instant at which the soul comes into existence. If, like me, you are unmoved by such talk, you still must regard a particular instant, nine months before your birth, as the most decisive event in your personal fortunes. It is the moment at which your consciousness suddenly became trillions of times more foreseeable than it was a split second before....
The lottery starts before we are conceived. Your parents had to meet, and the conception of each was as improbable as your own. And so on back, through your four grandparents and eight great grandparents, back to where it doesn't bear thinking about....
...The odds of your century being the one in the spotlight are the same as the odds that a penny, tossed down at random, will land on a particular ant crawling somewhere along the road from New York to San Francisco. In other words, it is overwhelmingly probable that you are dead.
In spite of these odds, you will notice that you are, as a matter of fact, alive. People whom the spotlight has already passed over, and people whom the spotlight has not reached, are in no position to read a book....
...But we as individuals are still hugely blessed. Privileged, and not just privileged to enjoy our planet. More, we are granted the opportunity to understand why our eyes are open, and why they see what they do, in the short time before they close for ever.
Richard Dawkins assumes each potential conscious-self only gets one chance at life, and at almost impossibly low odds. And if you include the infinite time that has likely ever existed and likely will ever exist, our chances of existing now are exactly zero. (We don't know what is required to create each conscious-self, so Richard Dawkins is making a lot of assumptions.) There are so many low to zero probability events that must line up and be multiplied that it boggles the mind.
It takes a huge amount of faith to believe this version of reality. It's just like those that believe in a god. They have no problem believing that the starting point of all of existence, out of all imaginable starting points, is an invisible superhero. This invisible superhero would have purposeful design in the extreme. What are the odds that something like that could exist by chance?: zero. The math doesn't add up. But theists are stuck in their faith. Nothing can convince them they are wrong.
Nature doesn't make things in ones. It takes a huge amount of faith to believe otherwise. With infinite lives in an infinite multiverse, no faith is needed.
*Edit: I think the potentially extremely low odds of a particular conscious-self can existing (that you and Richard Dawkins write about) is good evidence of an infinite multiverse. I think you hinted at this above. That would certainly fix the math.
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Thanks for the reply. I agree that is possible, but if it is inevitable we will return, is it also
Doodley
Oct 2016
#14
And the chances of getting the correct number on all 100 roles of dice would be far greater
cpwm17
Oct 2016
#57
You keep trying to put the burden of proof on others for disproving your reincarnation theory
Major Nikon
Oct 2016
#91
Much as I'd like to live on forever after I die, writing a book just seems like too much work.
stone space
Oct 2016
#12
It is only unverifiable if we cannot confirm that we are not already in an afterlife.
Doodley
Oct 2016
#15
Even then it's still unverifiable because you can't confirm the after-afterlife
Major Nikon
Oct 2016
#16
No you can't, but can you confirm that our existence now is life or the afterlife?
Doodley
Oct 2016
#34
You haven't made any logical arguments against the possibility of conscious minds returning.
cpwm17
Oct 2016
#61
I feel no obligation to disprove something that was never proven to begin with. YMMV.
Major Nikon
Oct 2016
#63
And yet you proceed to compare it to other processes in nature as if it were a thing
Major Nikon
Oct 2016
#69
And yet you are claiming your "conscious-self" not only can but has transcended your physical being
Major Nikon
Oct 2016
#74
I have no evidence that my conscious-self is attach to any particular atoms in my body
cpwm17
Oct 2016
#75
You acknowledge "conscious-self" isn't a thing, yet base your premise on its transposition
Major Nikon
Oct 2016
#78
I'm not claiming any position is the "default", which is where you are confused
Major Nikon
Oct 2016
#94
What is consciousness? We can build computers but know very little about the human
Doodley
Oct 2016
#85
Music isn't a "thing." It is neither only soundwaves or perception. Can it be transposed? Yes.
Doodley
Oct 2016
#84
You are the one who made the claim. I am just asking you can back-up your claim.
Doodley
Oct 2016
#60
My "claim" was that any mention of an afterlife is conveniently unverifiable
Major Nikon
Oct 2016
#62
You wouldn't anymore than you'd recognize you are alive. Similarly, there is a theory that
Doodley
Oct 2016
#35
my proof is in the first part............. I just suggested The Shack for your enjoyment
Angry Dragon
Oct 2016
#40
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; rather, it transforms from one form to another.
still_one
Oct 2016
#30