Objectively the purpose of all life is to reproduce. We see this as the driving force for anything we classify as being alive. Subjectively as thinking beings we can have purposes that are each unique to the individual, that could be anything.
Putting aside all seriousness. Your purpose to live is pretty boring. I'd get pretty fat and lazy if all I had to do in life was to get a kid
Also, I find it a bit contradictory to say your a Buddhist Atheist, then what exactly compels you to believe that you are to continuously be reborn until you break free from your cycle of pain/greif/terror -- which, in the minds of so many others, is quite a fun life filled with partying.
I rekon we all return to the universe. We get the biggest epiphany where we understand everything and are connected to everything because everything is connected. We become part of the great oneness of the universe again, filling that hole within that cannot be sated in life.
as for me i will be going to go with the "green" funereal, i will be laid in a pine wood box and shipped to sea where i will decompose and sink to the bottom of the ocean. this will only run my family 50 bucks and give them an excuse to go out on the boat i bought them
The most logical and science based answer would be that we're going into the ground and nothing will happen. We will simply be gone.
However, as a whole humanity is too optimistic and hopeful to truthfully believe that. It is also very hard to imagine being gone, as the closest we ever come to death in normal life is sleep (but even that's a far stretch.) If we could imagine having no conscience thought I think we would be a bit closer to accepting the fact that there may not be an afterlife.
In your own head, I find it hard to think that at some point I won't think. Just doesn't work.
Hence the phrase "artifact of our consciousness", which I've paraphrased from the start of this thread.
Speaking from personal experience, given my background, I just find it easier (and more consistent) for me to think that a person dying is the endpoint. It worked fine for me when I had to identify my father at the morgue. It works fine for me when I see a patient die on the table, or in bed. And it doesn't have to detract from the impact death has on people. Thinking about the metaphysics of an afterlife just never quite worked out for me.
It is also very hard to imagine being gone, as the closest we ever come to death in normal life is sleep (but even that's a far stretch.)
I agree it is hard to imagine. I suppose the closest example wound be a coma. Another way to look at it is how things were before you were even conceived.
I can see why there's a stereotype about atheists always being depressed going around now. Anyone that would look at Atheism that isn't one themselves would probably like to look towards flat death -- scary picture
It is also very hard to imagine being gone, as the closest we ever come to death in normal life is sleep (but even that's a far stretch.)
[quote=Freakenstein]You want to know what concept death is? No senses and no mind. If you die, you won't know that you're dead. You can't do anything about it. You are basically a sack of muscles, bone, and flesh, with no mind or thoughts left to speak of. All remaining memories of what you cherished, hated, and believed in are forfeit and is entirely worthless in the end.[/quote]
And yes, that is morbid and depressing, as ArmedBlade said. But at least it's the truth :P
I'm an atheist and don't believe in any divine being. There could have been a wave of some sort of energy causing life to be able to grow on this big blue planet we call home. As to what happens after death... Well mabye we go into a forever sleep until our concious is fully gone. The only reason religon was created was because humans needed a purpose for being here.
