Why continue living?

I want to preface this by saying that I am not in a state of depression or anything along those lines, but rather I am simply wondering about this fro

I want to preface this by saying that I am not in a state of depression or anything along those lines, but rather I am simply wondering about this from an intellectual standpoint.

So here's what I'm thinking. Once you're dead, nothing you experienced during your life matters to you. Of course, chances are your death will affect others who are still alive - this is generally the go to response to my first point. However, they will eventually die too, and as such the effect your death had on them will lose all meaning. So we have already reached a point where your death itself is irrelevant. Since everyone will die eventually, anything that happens in their lives is irrelevant in the long run. The reason I bring up this point is because a response to the rest of what I've said so far may be something along the lines of "you can do good when you're alive".

Do I agree with slavery? No. However, what impact would be experienced if no-one who helped end it in the west was born? If they were not born, eventually everyone would be dead. Since they were born...eventually everyone will be dead. You see my point? It is of course very Nihilistic, but I cannot see a legitimate argument against it.

Maybe you're religious. Let's take Christianity for example. Why on earth would you want to stay alive if you were a Christian? Once you're dead you get to go to heaven. The only reasoning I could understand is being evangelical. However, there are many Christians who believe everyone will go to heaven whether they were a Christian during life or not.

So while religion can provide some with a very small reason to live, it also provides all believers with a much better reason to die. From my viewpoint, I see no reason to think there will be any experience past this life, so I have neither.

As you might've picked up, I have no reason to die either. So I guess really my question is more like "why care if you live or die?". The reason I didn't ask it like that is that the focus in general life is on reasons to live, and not exactly on reasons to die.

I am genuinely interested to hear what other people have to say about this matter.

or:I want to preface this by saying that I am not in a state of depression or anything along those lines, but rather I am simply wondering about this from an intellectual standpoint.So here's what I'm thinking. Once you're dead, nothing you experienced during your life matters to you. Of course, chances are your death will affect others who are still alive - this is generally the go to response to my first point. However, they will eventually die too, and as such the effect your death had on them will lose all meaning. So we have already reached a point where your death itself is irrelevant. Since everyone will die eventually, anything that happens in their lives is irrelevant in the long run. The reason I bring up this point is because a response to the rest of what I've said so far may be something along the lines of \"you can do good when you're alive\".Do I agree with slavery? No. However, what impact would be experienced if no-one who helped end it in the west was born? If they were not born, eventually everyone would be dead. Since they were born...eventually everyone will be dead. You see my point? It is of course very Nihilistic, but I cannot see a legitimate argument against it.Maybe you're religious. Let's take Christianity for example. Why on earth would you want to stay alive if you were a Christian? Once you're dead you get to go to heaven. The only reasoning I could understand is being evangelical. However, there are many Christians who believe everyone will go to heaven whether they were a Christian during life or not.So while religion can provide some with a very small reason to live, it also provides all believers with a much better reason to die. From my viewpoint, I see no reason to think there will be any experience past this life, so I have neither.As you might've picked up, I have no reason to die either. So I guess really my question is more like \"why care if you live or die?\". The reason I didn't ask it like that is that the focus in general life is on reasons to live, and not exactly on reasons to die.I am genuinely interested to hear what other people have to say about this matter.

or:Hi Sabakahi,The premise \"Once you're dead, nothing you experienced during your life matters to you\" is jumping the gun. Just because we can't know the experiences of a dead person other than the decomposition of their bodily matter, doesn't automatically mean that what we did or learnt during this life will not in some way be retained and brought back into play in a way we do not yet understand. For example, the discovery of DNA indicates that a potential recomposition of deceased humans may one day also be a reality.From the Islamic perspective, we are created in order to worship the One who created us. All our deeds in this life will be made apparent to us when it is over, and we will be judged according to them. The One who created us will reward those who worshipped him and did good, while punishing those who ignored him and did bad. A nihilistic perspective of the world generally leads people towards the latter of those states.And in direct answer to \"why would a religious person want to stay alive\

or:Life and death is not in our hands therefore we should not ask the question - why continue living? Just like we don't control our birth, we don't control our death. We should not cause unnatural death. We cannot program ourselves to believe that after death nothing matters. Of course it matters, everything matters. Our actions of today become our destiny of tomorrow. It is not about affecting others; we will be rewarded or punished based on our own actions. Therefore we should not only live but we should live an ethical, moral and a good life helping others, serving others even as we evolve on the path to realize God. This is our ultimate goal - to realize we are the Soul.

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