What do atheists think of death?

I was using "I" as an example, I could simply have used it collectively stating any living organism.

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There is no better love between 2 people than mutual respect for each other

t4c-I said; To many, killing an animal for sport is ok. I have no problem with it. I just don't see the point. Are you saying I'm a Christian, because I've never said I was. I don't hold that sign over my head. If you're talking about distinguishing right from wrong as a child-like mentality, then yes it does stay with us through out our lives. If it didn't why do we, the USA has more (2 mil +) incarcerated people than any other country? No, I don't think morals come from belief in a god or god. All history shows is mans lack of morality.I said: A believer in what? What does Christ symbolize to you? The believer part I don't understand what you're trying to convey. Could you expand just a bit/peace

If all life is related then why would it be ok to kill one form over another form? If all life is related or connected because of the same organism you can't see the connection? You have a cousin, he's related to you is it ok to kill him like you would a bug? My point is what makes human life more valuable than other life forms.peace

I don't think that being my cousin has anything to do with whether or not it's okay to kill him.- Well, I think that most people would agree that there is nothing special about being human per se. I suspect that most people feel that humans happen to have a special quality that makes killing them wrong, as opposed to killing other species. Some people might thing that quality is being created in God's image. Others might, as you suggest, feel that being of the same species as they are makes it wrong to kill them. I suspect that most people haven't really thought about it.

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There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don't know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president. -- Kurt Vonnegut

My point is what makes human life more valuable than other life forms. What would this "special quality" be that makes killing humans wrong? Also where did we get this quality from?peace

Different people seem to answer the question differently. Some people claim that people are created in God's image. Others would say that what makes people "special" (at least in the sense that they think killing them is wrong) is that they belong to the same species. Other people might very well have different ideas. In fact, some people have traditionally felt that humanness isn't all that important -- it was perfectly acceptable for them to kill others of different tribes or ethnicities, only taking into account the possibility of retaliation.- Well, in the case of being made in "God's image", I don't believe that there is a god, nor that this god created anything, so the "quality" is a fictitious one. Unless it is being used metaphorically, in which case it would depend on what "God's image" means.In the case of being in the same species, the quality "comes from" an accident of birth, like the quality of you and your cousin being in the same family.Personally, I don't think it matters much where the quality "comes from". What matters is the reasoning why that person makes the distinctions that she does. Maybe her reasoning does consider "where the qualities come from," but in most cases I suspect it doesn't.

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There is a tragic flaw in our precious Constitution, and I don't know what can be done to fix it. This is it: Only nut cases want to be president. -- Kurt Vonnegut

Sorry, fgarb, but there are only the two possibilities. If we have exactly the same experiences throughout life, when A gets hit by a truck then B is in the same place at the same time in his reality and gets hit by the doppleganger of the truck.If there are any differences in experience, even to the smallest degree, then A and B are separate indiviuals living separate lives and the death of one has no effect upon the other, thus the dead one in no way can be said to still be living "through" the other.In either case, I will be just as dead. The doppleganger, whether exact or not, has no saving grace between me and death and does not exist from my perspective.

Say it how you will. Whatever entity you are referring to, my point is that an electromagnetic clone of the entity is the entity ... by any reasonable non-supernatural definition you can come up with. It is no more a lifeless mix of chemicals than was the original entity. Maybe we're just arguing semantics here.

I am using a non-supernatural definition of "experiences" here. That is, the sum of Joe's life experiences are just what he thinks they are according to his body's electrochemical properties, which will exist in an identical form elsewhere in the universe if the assumptions I have stated previously are true. There is no need for two people to exist in the same place or time to have the same "experiences". There is also no need for their surroundings to be the same.According to my arguments, there may very well be a Joe B existing elsewhere in the universe who is not about to be squished. If you disagree with the science of the arguments then please tell me what you think is wrong with them. Or if you don't understand them then please speak up and I will try again to explain.Edited by fgarb, : switching electromagnetic to electrochemical for correctness

It's something to be avoided at all cost, and I don't care if I have to start eating people...

Why is survival so important to you? If I were in the "Donner" party or in any other extreme survival situation, I say now that I would never eat anyone. I consider our survival equally important. If we were in a rowboat, however, and I concluded that I was in better survival shape than they were, I may throw them overboard.

It looks to me like the special quality you are alluding to is the theory of mind. We recognise it in our self and others and conlude that this is important enough to preclude killing.

I'm not so sure you can say that with 100% certainty. People do desperate things when their life is on the line.

There's really nothing wrong with cannibalism as long as you don't kill other people for it. Sure, it's disgusting, but trust me on this when I say in desperate situation you will do what it takes to survive.By the way, when I mentioned eating other people, I wasn't talking about desperate situation. I was referring to the movie 'Ravenous'.

As with most questions different people answer differently. In Creationism I can understand why people would think human life more valuable. Some say killing a human is wrong because they are human also that makes no sense, to me at least. Some people feel being human doesn't matter and it's ok to kill other humans only if there's no possibility of retaliation.One only has to look at the Palestinians and Israel's war to see retaliation isn't a factor. OK, you don't believe in god so I have to assume you're an Atheist and I suppose an Evolutionist. So because of your beliefs that there is no god leads you to believe being a human is not a virtue. Unless the image of god is being used as a metaphor, in which case your basis for belief depends on your perception of what "God's image" means........scratching head......Our "special quality" comes from an accident of birth? You don't think this "special quality" matters where it comes from, only the reasoning of a person. Then there, at least from your point of view, isn't a moral standard.peace