Infinity Lover

Have a look at these questions if you please.
-1.What happens when we die?
-2.Is there a part of us that goes on after we end?
-3.Where did it all come from?
-4.What does the future have to offer?
-5.Who are we?
-6.Why are we here?
-7.How should we live?

I'm saying these questions were originally answered by the concept of soul/afterlife/God/Bible/Church

Now if I take a closer look:
1. and 2. deal with limitation and potential; fear and desire.
3. and 4. deal with source and destination; wish and wonder.
5. and 6. deal with identity and purpose; want and choose.

Now those are stages of awareness. Fear and desire is about as far as animals and primates can take it. Whish and wonder goes with primal man. And Want and choose, is the level we Homo Sapiens are on.

But how about question seven. How should we live?
That one deals whith responsibility. And to act responsibly, you first need to be AWARE!

That gives us a No.8. question

How do you think?

Because our thoughts govern our actions.

Now here's the ticket.

I'm giving you number eight! You give me the other seven.

Here's how you think:

In a way we're much like a computer, input through the senses, remembering, forgetting, or processing information through the brain, output through emotion, expression, and movement.
But we are the original off course, computers are manmade brains.
We not only need to count, or count on, but also take things into acount. Besides yes(1) and no (0) we also need maybe (?)
We're used to calling no negative, but both yes and no are certainties. Doubt is negative!
And I mean NEGATIVE! We don't like doubt!

So we want it out of the way, we make choices, and gather information to base those choices on. We go for the things we're sure we want and need, adn we avoid that which we consider dodgy! It's our motivator and defense meganism rolled into one. And it's the only logical way, living beings could possibly autonomicly function.

So; input/storage/processing/output. Certainty is positive, and doubt is negative.

The trick is to base your seven answers on certainty. Try to keep things void of doubt, and stick to honest logic.

I hope you're willing to take this little challenge on. You'd pretty much be doing God's job all over again.

And the interesting thing is; by answering those questions you're basicly writing the primal rules of your ethics code. So it's an interesting way to find out more about where you stand as well.

Good luck,

and you can mail answers to marombo@planet.nl

crocodile deathroll

What happens when we die?
All I know for absolutely certain is the body will decay and dissipate into the environment, often in a natural carbon cycle, water cycle, oxygen cycle etc. The world keeps going on.

Is there a part of us that goes on after we end?
I am only guessing here but I have a theory. But what goes on is a universal "sense of self" We exist because we exist necessarily we are not at all aware of any of the states where we do not exist, so when you die you may well emerge somewhere else someone else and the someone else may well of been living in the past and not the future. The "sense of self" is not memories, the memories of this existence of course cannot not survive this existence with the decay of the brain so each time you begin in will be subjectively like a once and only life experience. Roger Penrose penned a very similar theory

Where did it all come from?
Mom and Dad

What does the future have to offer?
The universe will expand out forever

Who are we?
Earthlings

Why are we here?
Because the laws of nature necessarily made us possible, and we are here because we can only observe the laws of nature that made us possible. For example, we cannot observe the universe from the vantage point of the surface of the moon, it is only from a vantage point on complex chemical processes which required a lot of evolutionary time. The initial fine tune of the universe also played a major part otherwise not even carbon would synthesize and as such there will be no life in such a universe to sit and wonder in awe about it.

How should we live?
I feel that is culturally relative

crocodile deathroll

99Percent

-1.What happens when we die?
It is irrelevant, since death is not "experienced".

-2.Is there a part of us that goes on after we end?
No.

-3.Where did it all come from?
It was always there. Time is relative, that is it can expand or contract.

-4.What does the future have to offer?
The future is not a willing entity. We make our future.

-5.Who are we?
Human beings, with capacity to shape our own future.

-6.Why are we here?
To live as best as we can, using life and pleasure as our goals.

-7.How should we live?
See #6.

How do you think? Because our thoughts govern our actions.

This answer is non-sequitur. Our thoughts are the interaction of the present with our memory.

crocodile deathroll

3.Where did it all come from?

Sorry I feel I may of misinterpreted question 3
I felt it was leading off from the previous 2 questions about specifically the individual human being, and Mom and Dad was a pretty fair answer.
If it is the entire universe you are referring to then I am more inclined the believe it all came from a [b] Godless Nothingness{/b]

crocodile deathroll

saint

1.I believe our existence/consciousness comes to an end. Since you compare us to computers, dying is much like shutting a computer off and never turning it back on.
2.No
3.Since you would like us to answer these questions with only definitive answers I will not offer one here.
4.I will refer you to 99percent’s answer since it is basically the same as mine
5.We are human beings, nothing more
6.Good question, we are here for the same reason that dogs and cats and all other things are here, anything more specific than that I cannot offer you.
7.Healthy, fulfilling lives

crocodile deathroll

#1 and #2 of course it does beg another major question why did we manage or bother to be born at all in the first place?

crocodile deathroll <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

Vorkosigan

Is the good Marcel going to come back and visit us? Or is he just another hit-n-run visitor who kicks sand in our face and then runs away before we can grapple with him?

[ January 15, 2002: Message edited by: turtonm ]</p>

Ms. Siv

Actually, we dont know.
But a good guess would be that our bodies just decompose and our consciousness ends.

As of now there seems no evidence to support that.

What do you mean by all ? The current evidence suggests that it all came from the Big Bang.

Again, your future is individual. Depends on your genes and environment.
If you are talking cosmically - the current evidence suggests that of an oscillating universe.

Homo sapiens.

To live ?! If you're talking ultimate purpose - I dont know if there is one and if there is one, I dont have a clue as to what it is.

As if every moment of life was precious !

- Sivakami.

Ted Hoffman

-1.What happens when we die?
Our organs cease functioning. Usually, we are either buried or cremated. When we get buried, our bodies are decomposed by microorganisms like bacteria the carbon generated by this process is released into the atmosphere. Plants also use this carbon. Plants are used as food by humans. Humans die later and the cycle continues

-2.Is there a part of us that goes on after we end?
This question presumes the existence of more than one part of "us". We only have one body. If you believe there are other parts besides our physical body, you must provide evidence, then we can consider your question.
Your question is begging the question and as such is a poorly phrased question.

-3.Where did it all come from?
What are you referring to when you say "it"? The mountains? The rain? The earth? God?
Please specify.
It is also a wrong question because it assumes that "it" came from somewhere. You need to demonstrate that for something to be here, it must have come from somewhere.
What if "this" (the universe) is the only place there is?

-4.What does the future have to offer?
The future is what we make it. The future offers nothing. The future does not know you and it doesnt care. Because it has no "offering" capacity and has no caring capacity. The future is just more time.
Only you and the rest of humanity can make your future better. And the people we live with on this earth.
-5.Who are we?
Scientists have classified us as homo sapiens. We are primates.
We are human beings. Bipedal and very creative and inventive. But also mortal(at the moment anyway)
-6.Why are we here?
Where else can we be? If you know some place else, then this question will deserve some deep thought. Otherwise, the question implies that we either dont deserve to be here or that we can be elsewhere.
Its a question of one seeking to create a meaning to his existence.
The question should be, why are YOU here?
Not WE.

-7.How should we live?
In a way that will keep us here as much as is possible. In a way that makes our life comfortable and in a way that will enable each of us to achieve their full potential.


Michael says U hit and run. He had better be wrong.

Laurentius

Marcel Rombouts is a hit-and-run visitor all right. But what an articulate one...

I'm thinking of drawing up a response as sound as his question is. Hasn't anyone noticed that he is not interested in answers to the questions he lists, but in our providing a seven-question set for the other number 8 qustion he mentions, the one with the thinking? If we address that one, he may just show up again, I guess.
Well, it's just a wild feeling.
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