Why most people is afraid of death?

Write4U said:
Consciousness without "thought" is impossible.
"Cogito, ergo sum"
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That is circular logic. You imply you need a brain to have consciousness.

that is not necessarily true. People have 17 different elements in our bodies; turtles have 23.

All of which are between iron and hydrogen.

but you wouldn’t call the universe a brain or call the summation of elements a “brain” would you?

and yet it could all be…
 
Beaconator said:
That is circular logic. You imply you need a brain to have consciousness.

that is not necessarily true. People have 17 different elements in our bodies; turtles have 23.

All of which are between iron and hydrogen.

but you wouldn’t call the universe a brain or call the summation of elements a “brain” would you?

and yet it could all be…
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I doubt that .
According to Tegmark emergent consciousness is not so much the result of constitutional parts as it is the pattern they are arranged in.

All elements can transport information of a kind, but does that automatically mean it is conscious? I don't think so.
IMO consciousness is cognition. Cognition requires informational "feed-back" and that again requires a very specific pattern arrangement offering data storage (memory) against which sensory experiences can be compared.

So its true, in a sense consciousness is a result of circular information processing...
thinking.png
 
Write4U said:
According to Tegmark emergent consciousness is not so much the result of constitutional parts as it is the pattern they are arranged in.

All elements can transport information of a kind, but does that automatically mean it is conscious? I don't think so.
IMO consciousness is cognition. Cognition requires informational "feed-back" and

So its true, in a sense consciousness is a result of circular information processing...
thinking.png
Click to expand...
Write4U said:
I doubt that .
According to Tegmark emergent consciousness is not so much the result of constitutional parts as it is the pattern they are arranged in.

All elements can transport information of a kind, but does that automatically mean it is conscious? I don't think so.
IMO consciousness is cognition. Cognition requires informational "feed-back" and that again requires a very specific pattern arrangement offering data storage (memory) against which sensory experiences can be compared.

So its true, in a sense consciousness is a result of circular information processing...
thinking.png
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Consciousness is a result of circular information…

consciousness is a result of the ability for the brain to regulate a constant temperature.

finally a contender. You might be worthy
 
Beaconator said:
Consciousness is a result of circular information…
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There is even a condition where the feedback is uncontrolled and results in an exaggerated emotional response to certain external influences. Apparently this is caused by a continual circulation of the feedback and keeps building emotional response rather than dissipating.
This condition is called Pseudobulbar affect PBA).
Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) is a condition that's characterized by episodes of sudden uncontrollable and inappropriate laughing or crying. Pseudobulbar affect typically occurs in people with certain neurological conditions or injuries, which might affect the way the brain controls emotion. May 16, 2018
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While further research is needed, the cause of PBA is believed to involve injury to the neurological pathways that regulate the external expression of emotion (affect).
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https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pseudobulbar-affect/symptoms-causes/syc-20353737#

I suspect that fear of death is a naturally evolved form of PBA that began with the fight-or-flight survival instinct.
 
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Beaconator said:
finally a contender. You might be worthy
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Anil Seth explains this process succinctly in this short video. "we predict our reality from the inside out as much as from the outside in".

And since this feedback system has been programmed in the new AI series GPT3, the similarity to conscious data processing has become the new standard in AI. The AI is taught to predict the next word in an incomplete sentence.
The result is an uncanny resemblance to cognitive thought processes.

This data feedback from memory allows for predictive responses and cognition. The interesting part is that if something is unknown to the brain, it is unable to generate a predictive cognition other than some general pattern; "I don't know what it is but it kinda looks like........"

The really interesting part is that some form of cognitive processing already exists in single-celled organisms via a purely chemical reactive prediction.
Example: The neuronless single-celled multi-nucleic slime mold can be trained to recognize regular time intervals.

This was proven by exposing the mold to intervals of exposure to cold air that caused its system to slow down. It was found that after a series of regularly timed exposures, the slime mold would anticipate the introduction of the cold air and slow its system down even when the introduction of cold air was not applied. The slime mold was anticipating the cold air from cellular memory inside the cell. Does that count as a rudimentary form of consciousness?

This remarkable ability of cellular memory is what intrigued Roger Penrose in relation to the evolutionary emergence of consciousness in humans.
 
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It's been a year but fear of death is not limited to any specific belief system, as even atheists can feel afraid. It's a natural response rooted in our human nature. Death represents the unknown, the end of our existence, and the loss of everything we know. That's scares me a lot.
 
bondlillian said:
It's been a year but fear of death is not limited to any specific belief system, as even atheists can feel afraid. It's a natural response rooted in our human nature. Death represents the unknown, the end of our existence, and the loss of everything we know. That's scares me a lot.
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"Death represents the unknown"... do you expect ther to be somptin to know when you'r dead.???
 
bondlillian said:
It's been a year but fear of death is not limited to any specific belief system, as even atheists can feel afraid. It's a natural response rooted in our human nature. Death represents the unknown, the end of our existence, and the loss of everything we know. That's scares me a lot.
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When you are dead, you do not experience loss. There is nothing to be afraid of. Nothing at all!
 
bondlillian said:
It's been a year but fear of death is not limited to any specific belief system, as even atheists can feel afraid. It's a natural response rooted in our human nature. Death represents the unknown, the end of our existence, and the loss of everything we know. That's scares me a lot.
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It's the fear of the uncertain and the fear of leaving loved ones behind. One day you're alive and happy, and tomorrow your relatives are choosing one of Headstones Oregon for you. It's also about uncertainty people don't like.
 
Because death is something we will never experience directly is this what troubles us ?(I am not considering the painful process of dying and the weakening of the vital bonds)

As we approach death do we approach a better understanding of what it is we may be dealing with -or does that still remain an area that is out of bounds to contemplate in any direct sense?

Is our understanding (and apprehension) limited to the contexts we see in the time leading up to death in ourselves or its effect on others?
 
bondlillian said:
It's the fear of the uncertain and the fear of leaving loved ones behind. One day you're alive and happy, and tomorrow your relatives are choosing one of Headstones Oregon for you. It's also about uncertainty people don't like.
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You simply return to the "absence of everything" that a non-conscious world normally is to itself. All the faculties become blank. There are no manifestations of loved ones, memories of family, thoughts and worries about them, No display or feeling of Earth, cosmos, etc. No uncertainties or beliefs -- no problems, no suffering. One might say enjoy the peace -- but there's no capacity for cognitive discernment of peace and enjoying it, either.
_
 
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geordief said:
Because death is something we will never experience directly is this what troubles us ?(I am not considering the painful process of dying and the weakening of the vital bonds)

As we approach death do we approach a better understanding of what it is we may be dealing with -or does that still remain an area that is out of bounds to contemplate in any direct sense?

Is our understanding (and apprehension) limited to the contexts we see in the time leading up to death in ourselves or its effect on others?
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We'll never know.
 
gmilam said:
Anesthetised is not dead.
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We are not talking about life, we are talking about conscious awareness . Where does that start and end?
What is the difference between a live beetle and a dead beetle? Physically there isn't any! It is a matter of how the particles of each state of being are arranged and express themselves.
Tegmark makes a persuasive argument.
 
Write4U said:
We are not talking about life, we are talking about conscious awareness . Where does that start and end?
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No. This thread is titled "Why most people is afraid of death?"

The topic is about why people are afraid of death.

It is not about Max Tegmark or Anil Seth. It is not about chat GPT. It is not about theories of consciousness. It is not about microtubules.

You tried to hijack this thread last year, and here you are trying to hijack it again.

Just stop trying to inject your obsessions into every single thread. How many times will you need to be told this, before you start to get the message?

And before you complain, bear in mind that an official warning here would have meant a 2 week temporary ban for you. This message is a kindness to you.
 
The fear of death is a complex topic that transcends beliefs. It's rooted in our nature as living beings. While atheists may not believe in an afterlife, the fear often stems from the unknown and the idea of leaving this world behind. Facing mortality can evoke a mix of emotions, irrespective of one's spiritual beliefs.
 
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