tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975474.post111716604641296484..comments2024-03-27T00:15:41.321-07:00Comments on Kill The Afterlife: Do I Detect Sarcasm?Aaron Kinneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12059982934663353474noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975474.post-1117623914694542672005-06-01T04:05:00.000-07:002005-06-01T04:05:00.000-07:00I don't think there is anything wrong with conform...I don't think there is anything wrong with conforming to these ideas (afterlife, Santa, etc.) when dealing with a small child in these situations. How many parents have said, "I'll never be like my parents!" and then, in the moment, reach down into that grab-bag of experience and find exactly what was placed there? Alternatives are often more difficult and confusing. Heaven persists as an idea because it is a simple paradigm for wish-fulfillment; "She's can't be dead, but she's not here." Academically, I would like to know what kind of society would result if imaginary beings were not a part of it. Santa and the Tooth Fairy, etc. are in a way a primer for believing in the Big Boojum (god).breakerslionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14327290369084118043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975474.post-1117421092560746692005-05-29T19:44:00.000-07:002005-05-29T19:44:00.000-07:00Thanks for your comments.I see no real harm in it ...Thanks for your comments.<BR/><BR/>I see no real harm in it for now since the child also believes in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. Perhaps she'll question religion when she finds out that those three beings were a lie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975474.post-1117234961147981922005-05-27T16:02:00.000-07:002005-05-27T16:02:00.000-07:00Interesting. Care to explain "memes"? And if consc...Interesting. Care to explain "memes"? <BR/><BR/>And if consciousness is an illusion, is it still a materially dependent illusion?Aaron Kinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12059982934663353474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975474.post-1117209524134927072005-05-27T08:58:00.000-07:002005-05-27T08:58:00.000-07:00I recently attended a conference arranged by the S...I recently attended a conference arranged by the Skeptics Society at Caltech. Much evidence was presented to suggest that consciousness is actually an illusion created by the brain and memes that it becomes infested with.Shinsyottahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06057586779392291557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975474.post-1117177589001751232005-05-27T00:06:00.000-07:002005-05-27T00:06:00.000-07:00Thats a touchy subject. Shes very young, and she i...Thats a touchy subject. Shes very young, and she is raised in a culture where the norm is to believe in stories like these. To have her previous beliefs dashed at a time such as this may not be very nice, and may upset her. But in future instances (when shes a bit older), and in a context that doesnt involve her father, she can be told things like "there is no evidence for an afterlife" and "this existence is what counts," and other such statements. <BR/><BR/>Now, if the child grew up being told, and believing, that there is no afterlife, then it obviously isnt a big deal to let her know the truth. What is important in a situation involving a 6 year old girl's father's death, is to give the temporary worldview/emotional stability, which is, let her cope how she needs to cope, and that inlcudes allowing her already-held beliefs about heaven remain intact for the time being.Aaron Kinneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12059982934663353474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11975474.post-1117169178986998852005-05-26T21:46:00.000-07:002005-05-26T21:46:00.000-07:00There is a subject I'd like to see you blog on but...There is a subject I'd like to see you blog on but I find no email address here.<BR/><BR/>I want to know what you think of allowing a young child to believe in Heaven and the afterlife to ease her grief and make death easier to accept. Her father was killed in a car accident almost a year ago. Her grandmother is now in the CCU and not expected to live more than another few days. She has been told that daddy went to Heaven. She has been told that grandma is going to Heaven. A bunch of atheists - myself included - are the ones guilty of telling her this. The reality just seems to cruel at her age. She is six. She was five when her father was killed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com