Philosophical comment

[tigertoy]

I wrote a comment in another journal that I want to preserve for myself where I'll see it later.  Out of respect for the original entry being locked (and this being a public post) that's all I'm saying here.  (The person I'm replying to is free to reveal zirself if zie wishes.)

I'm with you in finding the notion that consciousness would continue forever terrifying.  Just ceasing to be doesn't frighten me.  I'm not through enjoying being conscious, so ceasing to be isn't attractive and I do try to avoid it for now, but the scary parts are the unpleasant stuff that so often comes between fully functional and not there any more, and being unable to completely shake off that supposedly comforting notion that my soul might truly be immortal.

Of course, that's on an intellectual level.  I still have the awful instinctive fear of death when the car starts to slip on that patch of ice.  Our instinctive fear of death is one of those dirty deals we get, inevitably, because of being evolved creatures.  The quality that makes us people is being able to consciously transcend instinct.  We don't have quite enough of it.

Comments

Zi zo zindeed zhooze zo zeveal zyself zere

[peteralway.livejournal.com]

That was friends-protected in a "low security" kind of "i don't weant it to be the first thing that comes up when you googles me" way, not in an "OMG I don't want anyone to know my secret thoughts" way. You can feel free to give any context here for your comment that you want.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I'm not through enjoying being conscious, so ceasing to be isn't attractive and I do try to avoid it for now,

Yeah. The "I don't WANT to go to bed; I just KNOW I'll miss something good if I go to bed NOW" syndrome. I am not (intellectually) afraid of death, particularly, but I don't want to miss out on all the good stuff in the living world.