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    Epicurus's symmetry argument entails that our rational in... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→We should not be indifferent about the extent of our pasts.

    Epicurus's symmetry argument entails that our rational indifference to prenatal non-existence should extend to any preference about the magnitude of past experience.

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    1 reason for
    1 reason against

    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.If prenatal non-existence is not bad because we cannot experience its badness, symmetry requires past experiences' absence also cannot be bad for us.
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    • 2.Both prenatal and postnatal non-existence are equally inaccessible to our current conscious perspective, making them relevantly similar.
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    • 3.Rational indifference should apply uniformly to all temporal directions when the underlying justification (experiential access) is identical.
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    Reasons Against

    1 perspective
    Reason against
    ?
    • 1.Past experiences can constitute our identity and narrative; their absence directly diminishes who we are in ways prenatal non-existence cannot.
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    • 2.We can rationally prefer richer past lives because such preferences track real asymmetries in personal flourishing, not mere experiential access.
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    • 3.The symmetry argument conflates 'not experiencing X' with 'X having no rational significance,' which are distinct propositions.
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    Afterlife & Death1 linked

    Related

    Both prenatal and postnatal non-existence are equally inaccessible to our curren...If prenatal non-existence is not bad because we cannot experience its badness, s...Past experiences can constitute our identity and narrative; their absence direct...Rational indifference should apply uniformly to all temporal directions when the...
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    The symmetry argument conflates 'not experiencing X' with 'X having no rational ...We can rationally prefer richer past lives because such preferences track real a...We should not be indifferent about the extent of our pasts.

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