Here is a paper discussing potential biological life signs present in earth's oldest extant hydrothermal vents, establishing that life (extremely basic single cell organisms) may have existed pretty much immediately after the oceans formed on earth, in geological terms. Approximately 4.25 billion years ago. Considering Humans evolved from a common mammalian ancestor to all other mammals roughly 200 million years ago (under 5% of total evidenced life on earth timespan), that seems like adequate time for evolution to develop humanity without outside assistance.
I am certainly not religious, but I am open to possibilities. Perhaps that makes me agnostic?
There is some compelling arguments for simulation theory. Perhaps you do wake up, and next thing you know you are a 9 legged hyper-intelligent exoskeleton creature in an unidentifiable universe with completely different laws of physics. A really good, little known film on this all being a simulation is kind of obscure but excellent film with Ryan Reynolds called 'The Nines'. It really makes you think.
Then there's the eternal dream theory. We've all nodded off for 3 minutes and had one of those dreams that seems to last for hours. Maybe we go into a dreamlike state that seems to last forever. How we perceive time is very arbitrary. A minute to us, may seem like a lifetime to another organism based on what frequency they produce thoughts at. I saw this incredible video on how different animals on earth perceive time. And apparently it isn't universal. I think a sudden and violent death would not allow this to happen. But if you just died peacefully and naturally... it seems plausible.
And lastly, if we were live in an infinite Universe, that would mean there are likely or will likely be infinite and identical versions of ourselves out there as there is a limit to how matter can be arranged. What is consciousness exactly? Perhaps every time matter is arranged in the exact same manner, it creates the conditions for that same consciousness to exist again.
In reality, we're all probably just worm food or kindling... depending on what disposal option you choose. But I still think it's fair to ask questions, and wonder 'what if?'.
Are virgins really that desirable? If I was founding a new religion I'd probably promise the faithful two dozen porn stars upon death instead of prude-ass virgins.
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I'll see your simulation theory and raise you a Boltzmann brain. I'm a brain floating in the void that spontaneously arose with a full memory of my life and all of your talking here.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
Agree with the rest of your post, but I'll just say that it sounds to me as if you've only heard the dumbass Joe Rogan level interpretation of simulation theory. Actual simulation theory in physics terms... seems to be proving harder to defeat all the time. The idea that it actually matters though? No one seriously interested in simulation theory is believing there's an active controller of the simulation on the other side. It doesn't matter if we are in a simulation, has no impact on our lives or experiences, just would be a cool feature of the overall makeup of reality.
A non-interventionist simulation is just deist for atheists. Impossible to measure, observe or make predictions and therefore it’s existence is immaterial.
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The idea that we will go somewhere and meet all of our ancestors and deceased pets is bizarre. What age will they be to us and what age will their ancestors be to them? Would we have the same relationships, good and bad, and the same shared memories? Will we forever be someone’s child again? Will heaven be a giant social event where I can feel awkward for eternity? Eternity sounds awful.
I do, however, believe there is more than our physical life. My wife’s family lived with ghosts, at least what they all independently experienced as ghosts, and they are far from alone.
Life after death beliefs are born out of religion.
Religion = biggest con job in human history
There's your answer
Disagree. Religions had their place in time where they were overwhelmingly more beneficial than detrimental. Prior to the scientific revolution in the 15th century, we had no better general toolsets or language better than religion to understand the world. Evolution theory is only since the 1800s. We can argue that religion is now more detrimental than beneficial, but I do not think you can objectively say that for all of humanity, religion was always more detrimental than beneficial.
This even before we get to the actual study that basically concludes that the term "religion" vs cult vs superstition and other categories and what is associated with it, is actually highly arbitrary.
It's very possible that human tools are not supposed to be topical, but chronological.
Religion/culture was version 1.0 the tool used to transcend time beyond a single human generation.
Science and Maths were version 2.0 the tool used to transcend time beyond a hundred or thousand generations.
Perhaps we don't have a tool yet that will be version 3.0 that will be used to transcend time beyond 100,000 to a million generations.
Like, how do we know what a billion is without counting it out? We were taught some form of condensed logic that allowed us to understand. If we were given a wide enough viewing range at a long enough distance, could we see a light/laser beam travel slowly across the sky rather than flicker? (ie: We know it can take a really damn long time for light to reach the earth from another sun or supernova, is there a situation where we could watch it parallel to us vs perpendicular?)
The tools might be different, but the results the same. Understand something in a condensed form that we would not be able to understand from scratch. This logic that allows information to be compressed, understood and transcend a single human time interval.
Like, I honestly don't know and I won't waste my life caring too much about it. But it seems things once started off simply that life was about survival in this realm. But then due to philosophy, metaphors etc. it seems more complex than that.
Additionally, many cultures independently brought up thought experiments about whether "something" exists after death. Many concluded independently from each other that "something" does exist after death. Not all agreed upon sentience in those alternate "realms" after death and not all agreed if those sentients could "reach" into our realm and affect it. Is this the nature of human stupidity, or is there some deeper logic that has deemed there's the potential of such a thing, and science merely is in a certain state of infancy where it doesn't have the language and tools to describe it and allow the data to transcend a human time interval yet?
I do, however, believe there is more than our physical life. My wife’s family lived with ghosts, at least what they all independently experienced as ghosts, and they are far from alone.
Disagree. Religions had their place in time where they were overwhelmingly more beneficial than detrimental. Prior to the scientific revolution in the 15th century, we had no better general toolsets or language better than religion to understand the world. Evolution theory is only since the 1800s. We can argue that religion is now more detrimental than beneficial, but I do not think you can objectively say that for all of humanity, religion was always more detrimental than beneficial.
This even before we get to the actual study that basically concludes that the term "religion" vs cult vs superstition and other categories and what is associated with it, is actually highly arbitrary.
It's very possible that human tools are not supposed to be topical, but chronological.
Religion/culture was version 1.0 the tool used to transcend time beyond a single human generation.
Science and Maths were version 2.0 the tool used to transcend time beyond a hundred or thousand generations.
Perhaps we don't have a tool yet that will be version 3.0 that will be used to transcend time beyond 100,000 to a million generations.
Like, how do we know what a billion is without counting it out? We were taught some form of condensed logic that allowed us to understand. If we were given a wide enough viewing range at a long enough distance, could we see a light/laser beam travel slowly across the sky rather than flicker? (ie: We know it can take a really damn long time for light to reach the earth from another sun or supernova, is there a situation where we could watch it parallel to us vs perpendicular?)
The tools might be different, but the results the same. Understand something in a condensed form that we would not be able to understand from scratch. This logic that allows information to be compressed, understood and transcend a single human time interval.
Like, I honestly don't know and I won't waste my life caring too much about it. But it seems things once started off simply that life was about survival in this realm. But then due to philosophy, metaphors etc. it seems more complex than that.
Additionally, many cultures independently brought up thought experiments about whether "something" exists after death. Many concluded independently from each other that "something" does exist after death. Not all agreed upon sentience in those alternate "realms" after death and not all agreed if those sentients could "reach" into our realm and affect it. Is this the nature of human stupidity, or is there some deeper logic that has deemed there's the potential of such a thing, and science merely is in a certain state of infancy where it doesn't have the language and tools to describe it and allow the data to transcend a human time interval yet?
Have you read Asimov? If not, go pick up Foundation immediately. You missed "economics" as a step, for the record.
Are virgins really that desirable? If I was founding a new religion I'd probably promise the faithful two dozen porn stars upon death instead of prude-ass virgins.
I'm pretty sure Gary Larsen did a comic on exactly this.
Deism for atheists! I love that. GGG I think you nailed that one.
I do, however, believe there is more than our physical life. My wife’s family lived with ghosts, at least what they all independently experienced as ghosts, and they are far from alone.
Your wife’s family probably lived with carbon monoxide poisoning.
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Location: A simple man leading a complicated life....
Exp:
Now I'm not saying I believe in NDE but I find the whole subject fascinating. I've read numerous books from people who have shared their NDE.
The one commonality that I found is that vast majority of these people had a religious or spiritual background. They'd describe seeing themselves leaving their body and entering a bright light or tunnel, where they come out into a very bright room filled with warmth and love. Some describe meeting family members who died long ago while the vast majority talk about meeting some mystical figure or hearing a booming voice telling them they had to go back as they still things to finish on earth. The response was usually anger as they didn't want to go back. Most said the experience changed the way they viewed their life and what was important.
