Elvithriel

Like Isaac Asimov said:

"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome."

wade-w

Many years ago, when I was 17, I was involved in what should have been a serious auto accident. I won't go into the details, but I was completely powerless to affect the outcome. Time seemed to slow down, and what actually took only a few seconds seemd to take minutes. I was very calm, and had just one thought:

"Well, this is it. Looks like its time to find out who is right."

Obviously, I survived. But to this day, I am not afraid of dying. And I see no reason to think that my conciousness will survive my death. Not only that, I want it that way. I find the idea of oblivion far more comforting immortality.

Jackalope

Actually, it makes a lot of sense if you eat meat at all. "Today I eat you. Tomorrow, someone else will eat me." Unfortunately, the white vultures of africa have been affected by a virus that's killing them off in droves. Since the vultures also keep the animal carcasses from piling up everywhere, this is a very serious problem.

Pity such a thing couldn't be done here. I'm rather fond of the turkey vultures and ravens around here. I wouldn't mind feeding them (I can't donate organs, so why not?).

SecularFuture

mecca777
If everything is going to come to an end one day, why should anything worry you? If your efforts or accomplishments don’t cause a drastic improvement or change to our world, you will be forgotten like the majority of us. Just another person who was born, lived, and died. And if we don’t (as a collective) do something to push forward our technology and medicine, the entire human race will be wiped from existence by disease, or a flying asteroid, or an imploding sun.

However – Through enough research and development, we may be able to find ways to avoid what we deem as “the inevitable.”

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Rational BAC
Bull#$&@!!! Only a person who doesn’t love living would believe that. A person with a true passion for life is not that willing to give it all up for an eternity in oblivion. Think about it. An eternity is not for a few years, or for a decade, or for a century. An eternity is FOREVER!

It’s called Transhumanism: A secular philosophy that inspires hope and a future.

Every new generation would bring new ideas to explore. It would never get boring.

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Selsaral
Amen!! Death is such a waste!! Really… what’s the point?! You’re born, you live your life, you meet people, you die, and then you’re forgotten. It makes perfect logical sense for us to consider the idea of life extension, planetary travel, and other ideas that may ensure our survival in the future? We don’t want to be like the religionists and just accept our “fate”, or believe that certain things are out of our reach. We need to ban together and find a solution to the problem that is death. It is not something that we all should just accept and be happy with.

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Grad Student Humanist
Not thinking about death doesn’t make it go away. One day, you will no longer exist. Goodbye internet. Goodbye family. Goodbye friends. Goodbye life.

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Tony
Religionist thinking! If you want something bad enough, you should fight for it, and see if [IN FACT] there is no way to extend your life or live forever. And don’t base your conclusion on what you know now. Do some research if you’re truly interested. Look up the word – ‘Transhumanism’.

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Lobstrosity
A-Freakin’-Men! This is the perfect quote.

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Paperstreet
I don’t believe in conclusions. Like I said to someone earlier in this reply; every new generation will bring new ideas to explore. I, personally, would like to be there to explore those ideas, the new experiences, and so on.

Treacle Worshipper

I don't fear death (being dead). I also don't fear dying.

What I fear is losing my mental capacities before I get close to death. Alzheimer's runs in my family, and over the last 2 years I've watched my great-aunt slowly "losing her know", and being aware that she is losing it

Blech.

TW

lpetrich

Alzheimer's disease has sometimes been described as "the death of the mind before the death of the body", and for good reason.

Rhea

Interesting conclusion to the study. It presupposes that wanting to commit suicide when you are terminally ill is bad... Strange way to think, IMO.

And it makes all of the conclusions mean something different.

mecca777

I'm under no illusion that my name will echo down the halls of eternity. As far as worry goes, I have an aversion to personal discomfort, and a healthy desire to live to be 120 years old and to die on top of a heap of beautiful, satisfied women, before being laid to rest in my solid platinum mausoleum. That is my benchmark for a well-lived life.

SecularFuture