Comment by zenkat on Third Alternatives for Afterlife-ism · 2007-05-08T14:21:12.000Z · LW · GW

I believe "afterlife-ism" is more a side effect of the way our psyches are wired than a Noble Lie providing False Hope.

Our experience of the world (and therefore, from our mind's perspective, the world itself) has always been permeated with our sense of self. On a perceptual level, no self implies no world. And since self is always present in our perceptions, we naturally assume it will always be present. Thus the pervasive belief in the afterlife.

Even atheists have a hard time truly grokking non-existence.

My legacy - What will it be? Flowers in spring, The cuckoo in summer, And the crimson maples Of autumn ...

• Ryokan (1758-1831)