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dmytryl's avatar

This quote somehow reminded me of the quantum and big world immortality rationalizations... nobody seem to even observe a need for chain of approximate logic that leads to immortality but not to the e.g. immunity to concussions, they aren't even rationalizing it very well.  Perhaps, like Ivan Ilyich they expect to feel mortal, but don't, and like an anosognosia sufferer, confabulate explanations. (That being said, belief in multiverse does bring some comfort if you care that someone else does something that you don't do because of death; but then it robs of that comfort because someone does everything anyway)

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Stephen Diamond's avatar

What are we supposed to feel emotions about, if not the actual consequences of reality. If bad things are happening, we should feel bad about them.

Most people are confused regarding how their impending death is bad (for them). Impending death is cause for sadness, just as is aging: both involve a loss of futurity.

But people are terrified of death because they imagine death is a loss of life. On this point, Epicurus provides the correct perspective; dwelling on it is worthwhile:

Death does not concern us, because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist. 

As simple as it is, most people--like Ivan--don't grasp it. (For the resulting human cowardice, I blame religion--including its latter-day transhumanist version.) 

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