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Originally Posted by Dirty Harry
Because you don't believe it to be true.....to have such strong beliefs about death, which is one of the things we know the absolute least about, is donkey brained.
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A hope in an afterlife is a belief in an afterlife. You are positing something exists, when the default state of the universe (as we know it), is not life. I'm sure I don't have to remind you that, so far, we on Earth is the only life that has ever existed ever. I don't believe that for a second, of course, but you will notice I said "as we know it".
The phrase "as we know it" is something very important I think we should discuss here. It means that, given the evidence (or lack thereof) for certain things, the best answer is to go by the likely truth of the matter. Historically, this has not always been correct, and has lead to several major paradigm shifts. The geocentric/heliocentric theories, for example.
But the thing is, we can't blame those people then. They were going with what they knew best at the time. It's the nature of how knowledge is built -- piece-by-piece. The only people we can blame are those who, after examining the new evidence, and the conclusions that they point to, still chose to believe in the geocentric theory (in this case, the Catholic Church after Galileo presented evidence to the contrary). These people are commonly known as "wrong" or "have the wrong idea".
So, where does that bring us back to. Ah, yes, evidence-based-belief. This is what I consider myself to have. I either hold no opinion on something, until I can see the evidence, or I believe in things, I check them against the evidence, and if it doesn't match my belief, then I change it. That's the nature of a rational mind. You just don't believe in things without evidence.
So when you say...
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What do we really know about death? We know that the body shuts down and organs stop working. Cells die and the body decomposes. A person who lived, who had hopes, dreams, experiences, skills, knowledge, and passion goes away and never comes back.
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...Exactly. We know a lot about death, as death is ending the presence of
life, which is all we do know. I'm not saying for sure there's no afterlife. There could be. But we have absolutely no evidence of it, and we have lots of evidence that show us exactly what you say before.
There's just no evidence for you to believe that a person's "personality" "soul" "spirit" or whatever exists that you know of a person "survives" death. Side question: If the soul or spirit is real, why do head injuries and head trauma often permanently change a person's personality in some way? What more glaring evidence do you need to see that the mechanical, materialist brain, is only a physical object?
There is nothing magical or supernaturally "special" about humans. We're just animals. We die. And we are forgotten. I could be wrong, of course --- but for me to be wrong, and you to be right, you'd need evidence. You're claiming something exists. The burden of proof is on you. It's not 50/50. If you don't have evidence for a belief, you cannot rationally continue believing in it. Therefore, to believe or hope in something so important, without any evidence whatever, makes your views on this subject irrational. I'm not saying you're an irrational person -- every single one of us is at times. Don't even get me started on me and relationships. But on this issue, you are letting your hopes and desires overcome your rationality.