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    Carmelics

    A reasoning platform. Break down any belief into clear reasons, explore both sides, and weigh the evidence honestly.

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    LoyalLoyalJusticeJustice
    Made withinDC&Austin
    Statements
    321,452
    Perspectives
    108,905
    Topics
    42
    Home/Original/inverse
    See Original
    Inverse View

    It is not the case that Beliefs about death and the possibility of an afterlife are of enduring significance.

    ?Set your confidence on the premises below to see your aggregate.

    Reasons For

    2 perspectives
    Reason for 1 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Epicurus argued that death is the cessation of experience, making post-mortem states conceptually incoherent as objects of rational concern.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If 'I' cannot exist without the specific neural substrate that constitutes my consciousness, then afterlife beliefs concern a numerically distinct entity, not oneself.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.Caring about a post-mortem successor no more makes afterlife beliefs significant than caring about a clone makes cloning beliefs personally urgent.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reason for 2 of 2
    ?
    • 1.Feuerbach and Marx contend that afterlife beliefs derive their significance not from metaphysical truth but from socioeconomic conditions that make present life unbearable.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.If the enduring significance of afterlife beliefs is explained entirely by psychological projection and material deprivation, their philosophical standing is undermined.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.A belief whose persistence is fully explained by non-epistemic causes lacks the kind of enduring significance that warrants serious philosophical investigation.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.We care for persons here and now, and thus are concerned for their future and our own.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 2.Just as it is reasonable to hope that those we love have a fulfilling future in this life, it is natural to consider whether this life is the only life there is.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    • 3.If there is reason to believe that there is an afterlife, it would be reasonable to hope that this might involve a new, valuable environment or at least one that is not Hellish in nature.
      ?

      Think about whether this reason is strong or weak

    Next step

    Based on where you are in your exploration

    Strongest counterpoint
    Explore the most compelling reason on the other side.