Discussion What is the "nothing" that comes after death?

[dogemn]

What exactly is this "nothingness" that supposedly comes after you die? When people say that death is like "nothing" or "nonexistence" what does that actually mean? Is it a mistake to think of that nothingness as relief, peace, comfort, or freedom from suffering? Aren't those still experiences or states that would require someone to exist in order to feel them?

I'm curious how people who believe death is simply nonexistence understand this idea, and whether describing it as peaceful is accurate.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I would think- the same as it was before we were born. I think we just say stuff like: 'They're at peace now' because it's comforting to think of them now free from pain and worry.

I doubt it's something we'll get to actually perceive and enjoy though. More like going under anaesthetic. Awake one moment, unconscious the next. I'd still take being under anaesthetic than experiencing something painful though.

So- concerning the argument- what's so great/ peaceful about death? It's because- hopefully- it's the end of a life most probably full of pain and suffering- if someone is unhappy enough to want to suicide.

 

[CarbonBased]

I think that "nothingness" isn't something that comes, it's what we call that which remains after everything has been taken away. And, of course, once everything is taken away, you are left with nothing, and what you are left with is "nothing".

 

[BradGuy123]

I believe in heaven, but there is a chance that after we die we simply cease to exist. If that's the case then there is nothing to worry about. I've had several surgeries in my life. When I was under anesthesia I wasn't thinking "Holy shit. I am not conscious right now. I am not aware of what's going on. I don't exist, and it's very disturbing to me." That's how it will be like if there is nothingness except I won't ever wake up.

 

[JoeFailure]

I believe in heaven, but there is a chance that after we die we simply cease to exist. If that's the case then there is nothing to worry about. I've had several surgeries in my life. When I was under anesthesia I wasn't thinking "Holy shit. I am not conscious right now. I am not aware of what's going on. I don't exist, and it's very disturbing to me." That's how it will be like if there is nothingness except I won't ever wake up.

Yeah, I hope there's a heaven but if not, it would just be like being asleep without dreaming. It sucks that we wouldn't actually get to feel that relief or peace, but we also wouldn't feel this pain anymore.

 

[Chris6666]

You ever got a surgery with anesthesia?
I think, its pretty much the same... You black out, and that's it... No dreams or "afterlife"...
Just to be realistic...
What are we? Nothing else than crawling little ants on this world, who thinks, its THEIR building...
We are nothing special. Afterlife? God? Maybe Ants got sth like that too...

 

[daemos]

You said it yourself, it is literally nothing. Your conscious mind ceases to exist, you're just not here anymore.

 

[Forveleth]

Not only do you not exist, you do not know that you do not exist. It is like being in a dreamless sleep except you never wake up.

As far as it being peaceful, I suppose technically it is not as you are not aware anymore. However, it is also the absence of pain and strife, which can be thought of as peaceful.

 

[FuneralCry]

It isn't anything, one simply ceases to exist and all is gone and forgotten for them, they are simply unconscious with no more pain and no more suffering and for me this is all that's positive. I'd never wish for this torturous, dreadful existence that I just always saw as a mistake, to suffer in this existence will just always be an abomination to me with no limit as to how much one can be tortured.

I'll just always see it as the most dreadful burden to suffer in this cruel existence and all I want is to erase this existence so it's like I never suffered at all, it's just so terrible how this existence was imposed causing all this cruelty and suffering as a result, non-existence is peace to me as after all only in non-existence will I be free from this horrific world where there is all this endless torture and cruelty. All I want is to permanently unconscious, I'll always find it so deeply undesirable to exist in every way, I find it so horrible how a human can be tortured in this existence for so long just to face the terrible extreme agony of old age.

 

[never mind me]

Probably just the same as before we are born. Or the same experience as a dreamless sleep or anasthesia, just without waking up. And although one doesn't feel the relieve of not suffering anymore, the absence of suffering can be enough on its own, to make death a better option than contiunue with life. Just think about a situation when you were really sick/in a lot of pain from an injury: Being a sleep was most likely a relief as it offered a break from suffering, even if one does not conciously feel better during sleep.