Quote (bentherdonethat @ May 13 2012 12:09am)

Tric's assertions are that the reality that we see is the reality that we have. It's a much greater leap (and thus requires a greater degree of evidence) to believe in the supernatural. So actually yes, the lack of evidence to suggest that there is no afterlife is "superior" to the lack of evidence to suggest that there is one. Or in better wording, it's more reasonable to believe that there is no afterlife than it is to believe that there is one due to the fact that you need to take a "leap of faith" in order to believe in an afterlife.

Quote (sir_lance_bb @ May 13 2012 12:19am)

lol

Not really defensive. Just stating you can't make claims about death in certainty.

And also we know what happens to hard drives when they get fried bro. We know where that waste is put, and we also know those hard drives have no conscious, as they are inanimate objects.

Quote (tric-isHUGE @ May 12 2012 08:17pm)

Ad hominem.  Make your fucking argument or cede the point.  Stop telling me I am wrong and prove to me I am wrong.

Quote (tric-isHUGE @ May 12 2012 08:22pm)

Well said.



Why not?  I think I have described the circumstances well enough that your brain is the only organ that makes you a self aware entity.  Once it breaks you are "dead". 

Why is this so complicated, or so controversial?  It is pretty basic stuff, and I don't think you can come up with a rational alternative. 

Saying "nuh uh" is not an argument.

Quote (tric-isHUGE @ May 12 2012 08:22pm)

Well said.



Why not?  I think I have described the circumstances well enough that your brain is the only organ that makes you a self aware entity.  Once it breaks you are "dead". 

Why is this so complicated, or so controversial?  It is pretty basic stuff, and I don't think you can come up with a rational alternative. 

Saying "nuh uh" is not an argument.

Quote (Voyaging @ May 12 2012 08:11pm)

No, maybe your bias leads you to that conclusion, but last I checked lack of evidence is lack of evidence.

You need to take an equal leap of faith to believe in the absence of one because there is no evidence, my friend.

Quote (bentherdonethat @ May 12 2012 08:31pm)

Let's simplify this a bit. One of the following statements is true regarding my height.

I am 5'8" tall.

I am 7'4" tall.

You don't have any evidence about how tall I am. All you know is that from what you can see around you, no people anywhere are 7'4. And from the Guinness Book of World Records, you can see that the tallest human ever was about 8'11.

What you're essentially arguing is that it is perfectly reasonable to believe that I am 7'4, and that there is absolutely no reason for you to suggest it is more likely that I am 5'8".

Quote (sir_lance_bb @ May 12 2012 08:30pm)

Think of it this way, to everyone else, when someone else dies, they just don't exist in the reality we live in. Now sure since the brain houses consciousness, and if the brain isn't there anymore, you could conclude you don't have consciousness. However, you can't predict that nothing else happens after that because nothing in our reality experiences anything else.

Quote (Voyaging @ May 12 2012 08:33pm)

I never said it was reasonable to believe anything. I'm saying it is unreasonable to claim to know the truth of the matter.

Quote (Voyaging @ May 13 2012 12:29am)

Oh the irony, oh the hypocrisy!

My argument is an argument can't be made about something that is not known! There is neither a logical axiom nor empirical evidence that proves there is no life after death. But it's ok to have faith, no need to be embarrassed pal.


Neither is saying "yuh huh".

Quote (sir_lance_bb @ May 13 2012 12:30am)

Think of it this way, to everyone else, when someone else dies, they just don't exist in the reality we live in. Now sure since the brain houses consciousness, and if the brain isn't there anymore, you could conclude you don't have consciousness. However, you can't predict that nothing else happens after that because nothing in[B] our reality experiences anything else[/B].

Quote (RITZ @ May 12 2012 07:14pm)

Stop bullying tric.  He's just founding his conclusions on reality.

Quote

"According to the idea of model-dependent realism ..., our brains interpret the input from our sensory organs by making a model of the outside world. We form mental concepts of our home, trees, other people, the electricity that flows from wall sockets, atoms, molecules, and other universes. These mental concepts are the only reality we can know. There is no model-independent test of reality. It follows that a well-constructed model creates a reality of its own."

Quote (tric-isHUGE @ May 12 2012 08:39pm)

@ the bold.  It's not a matter of faith.  We obviously cannot come back from the dead and tell everyone about what happened, but that does not mean that we can not make rational judgements about what is happening. 

~~

How about this, why don't you tell me what you think happens after we die.  Where in human understanding is there room for humanity to by and large 'survive their own deaths'.

Quote (taekvideo @ May 12 2012 08:42pm)

My eyes seek reality
My fingers feel for faith

Stephen Hawking (something related): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model-dependent_realism



ps. M-theory suggests that "reality" isn't anything like what it seems to be (11 spatial dimensions... what we perceive as time is #4)
I'm seriously considering getting a degree in physics someday... interesting stuff