Technically reincarnation is for realsies. Your bits and pieces will be used by nature again.
To be even more technical. You are being reincarnated constantly.
We shed skin and cells and those become something else while our own body rebuilds itself constantly from other life.
The only cells in the body that dont change out are neurons and sensory receptors.
A lot of proteins stay forever though. Like bones, teeth, and probably a lot of proteins in muscles. A lot of others I’m not listing.
But the cells themselves are always dying and being remade (except neurons and receptors).
Flesh of Theseus.
Theseus of Theseus
I’ve been vegan for over a decade, so with constant cell regrowth I’m photosynthesis with extra steps.
Every animal is photosynthesis with extra steps, some just have more steps.
Well yes, that is technically true. It’s just not as funny to say.
thats like the concept of buddhist reincarnation, there is no “soul”, ego is illusion in buddhism
like a stream of consciousness constantly travelling through cycles
I think about it in a slightly different way.
Once I’m dead, people will keep being born. When I think real hard about it, it’s pretty much the same as reincarnation except there’s no need for some kind of immortal soul.
There’s no functional difference between my experience of being born and someone else’s after I’m dead. In both cases, a new person wakes up inside a meat suit and thinks “this is me.” This is already reincarnation without a hard drive and a rating algorithm.
even moreso. ever meet people that are a type. where several are really similar. I have even seen and met my own type. not only will people continue being born but ones a lot like you.
You’re actually right on the money. Reincarnation based on certain systems is exactly that, when look at it from it’s proper philosophical framework. But you can just pull it out from it’s framework, cram it to a completely different framework (like one that believes in individual souls) and then claim it doesn’t work.
From the perspective of nonduality, everyone is a reincarnation of everyone, always. It’s internally coherent. Also a great reason to practice compassion. Of course people don’t super love the idea of being the reincarnation on people they don’t like, dead or alive. But that’s one of the many reasons nonduality isn’t for the faint of heart.
Is that like how we are all a single consciousness simultaneously inhabiting each person across space and time? That idea appeals to me. Don’t know that I’d say I believe it, but it appeals to me.
Not quite. We have the appearance of (what we call) individuals within one single consciousness. It appears to reflect upon itself from what we take to be individual vantage points (people). That is an imperfect characterization though, try as I might. I’m pointing to consciousness before any thoughts - before you think there’s a you, separate from anyone or anything. Pure experience, before thinking ABOUT it.
I don’t want to live forever through my work. I want to do it through not dying.
- Woody Allen
Good point. What even is reincarnation if you can’t remember a thing?
Some dinosaurs have been waiting for a loooong time.
If the universe/multiverse is actually infinite, then just regular reincarnation is real as well, from a continuity of consciousness point of view.
Which means we’re all the same being, a.k.a Nature, among many other names.
Maybe it does and the queue is so long we just forget about our old life by the time our number comes up
The existence of a queue sparks the follow-up question: What happens if something is born while the queue is empty?
Donald J. Trump.
Miscarriage?
Mushrooms.
They came before the queue got started and will be here long after it finishes.Pillars of Eternity happens.
I read a short story once that there’s only one person constantly reincarnated simultaneously, and everyone you (I) meet is actually me (you) and only realizes it after death before being born into the next person’s body,
That’s interesting. I’ve had that same thought before, it might be cool to see someone else’s take on it. Do you remember the name of the story or author?
The Egg, by Andy Weir.
It’s also on YouTube in various forms. Kurzgesagt, for example, has a version in their animation style.
Oh my god. That was Andy Weir?!
I don’t actually believe this, but it’s the perspective I try to have in life. Always treat others how you want to be treated because maybe one day it will be you.
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In my story, Maizy’s Tails, I made it so that souls had to be aged for 1000 years before they could be reincarnated. Otherwise the lingering attachment (which makes souls weightless) won’t allow them to enter into a new body.
The 1000 years is just a nice, round figure the gods use as a safe baseline. Some souls might only need 200 years while others might need 950 or so. Best to just place them all into balloons and let them age in batches 👍
Life sucks?
Have you tried turning it off and on again?
Shit I’m a dung beetle now…yes that’s why you don’t do that for reincarnation. Though be better than working for my boss right?rimshot but seriously live out your life it’s the only one you’ll ever know even if you get reincarnated. Maybe it’ll surprise you one day.
Would it count as suicide anymore?
strategic respwan?
Rerolling. As a Civilization player, I get it. I’d be aiming for that legendary start too.
I mean I don’t see any difference between death and reincarnating without past memories.
In that case, people with retrograde amnesia are already dead and we should just consider them a new legal person…
Yes. That’s actually how that works.
If no one can identify you and you have the physical symptoms of amnesia (which can be detected… Sorry fakers!) then you get a new, legal identity.
Well some people who believe in reincarnation seem to also think that at least some memories do get preserved, perhaps subconsciously.
Then there is the whole dualist aspect: if reincarnation is real, something must carry over past death. Call it a soul, or an essence or personality or whatever. While I find dualism highly dubious, I can see its appeal.
That said, one could imagine, at least in principle, that through “some mechanism” your reincarnated body develops the same brain structure that you had when you died, perhaps with some differences needed to account for the different memories. If one entertains this fiction, I would argue there is significant similarity between the person who died and the person who they reincarnated as.
cylons can resurrect/reincarnate everytime they die(the show never actually showed how they did it). plus since they had no fear of death thier reincarnation, they can callously keep throwing bodies against thier enemies, and provide useful intel as well.
This is a cease and desist on positive anymore usage. Thanks.
Frankly I think there’s already a gap on this with religious belief. If SO many people truly believe in god and an afterlife, there should be more suicides. Okay, it’s a sin. Fine. But then why aren’t people happier when a relative passes? It’s almost like no one actually really believes this shit at the end of the day.
I’ve always said that if I were to believe that there was an eternal afterlife that entry depended on how you lived your relatively short life on Earth, then why would I waste any time in life doing anything other than securing my chances at the good afterlife. Like if you actually believed that, then wouldn’t you live your life as a model person according to how the Bible says you should? It’s shortsighted to do anything else with your life.
There are many religions and it seems likely they all are just different interpretations of the same source idea - that our lives have a higher purpose.
But I dont think you can be sure that its the Bible that is correct. What if the Koran is correct?
You cant really optimize your life by following a book we dont even know how much its been manipulated since creation. So most people are just trying to do the best they can.
Let’s say this life is all you get: wouldn’t you also do a million things to stay healthy and live longer, which most people do not do?
We invented the afterlife because it’s hard to deal with the fact that life is sometimes nasty, brutish, and short. Death is pretty hard to face too. So we lie to ourselves and each other about it. Simple as that.
The problem is that there’s a loophole where you just have to say sorry and all is forgiven.
That’s why suicide is a mortal sin, because you can’t say sorry after.
Although when my step nephew killed himself (didn’t really know him) all they could talk about was that he’s in heaven now.
I’ve always had the same thought. You’d think funerals would be celebrations for the religious.
In more secular societies, over the last couple of years, people are celebrating more at funerals. Which, IMO, is a better way to remember a dead loved one.
I’d rather they have fun once more on my account when I die than just sit around being sad.
Yeah, I’ve seen the “celebration of life” becoming more popular.
Right? We’d celebrate death anniversaries, not birthdays.
I can’t speak for all religions, but in Christianity suicide is a grave sin, so doing that guarantees eternal damnation.
The other bit, people not being happy about a loved one passing, is not really an issue too - it’s just the “logic of faith” vs “emotions of loss”. Even if we knew for a fact that once you die you get reincarnated into a Happy Bunny, people would still grieve, because that’s how our brain chemistry works.
Things explainable with doctrine are explained with doctrine. Things that defy doctrinal explanation are biological or “just because.”
Don’t worry, Chief, I don’t even expect logic from religion, so don’t try.
I have no clue what you mean. Other than stating that suicide is a grave sin, I never touched doctrine or “religion logic”. What are you talking about?
You touched doctrinal explanation when you explained how religious people still grieve for a lost one when their entire religion is about how the afterlife is real.
It does not make sense if you think in the logic of the religion. But we are used to religions not being logical.
Maybe you need to read what I wrote again…?
My doctrinal explanation was about suicide being a sin, which is the reason for people of faith not offing themselves left and right. This has nothing to do with how a person handles grief because it’s a different topic.
In terms of grief, I explained that however people may understand the logic of the doctrine, their physical bodies still react to the chemical signals received, and therefore grief is still present.
I’m baffled at your take that this is somehow a “doctrinal explanation”, mate. It’s literally the opposite, I’m talking about biology here.
They would increase if any afterlife was proven. Even terrible ones ppl will convince themselves are actually good.
“Whoa, they have grilling???”
“Yes, they grill your soul over a pit of pulsing, miasmic ichor. It slowly strips you of even the concept of sanity through sheer agony.”
“I can only imagine the BTUs in grilling heaven, wow!”
The grill is heated by GPUs. Proper soul cooking requires a short bit of searing and then each side gets a good, long cook.
You know they did a good job when the heat sink fins leave those nice, crisp brown lines.
All to keep the data centers that render reality humming along!
So many people romanticise hell for some reason
Probably caused at least in part by the constant shitty behavior of people who are loudly convinced that they are going to heaven, who then turn around and tell everyone else that they are going to hell.
Yeah, a lot of satanic folk, or just those that like the aesthetic, dont actually believe in a hell or satan. Its often a middle finger to the religious that want to control their lives.
My wife grew up in a Jewish household that celebrates Christmas. They never took any religion seriously. She giggles when she has to go to a catholic mass for a wedding or something. She didn’t grow up with it and its as silly to her as Satan worship or witchcraft is to other people.
What you consider normal is mostly a function of exposure.
Choose Heaven for the climate, but choose Hell for the company.
There’s a Jason Segel movie about this called The Discovery. It’s a decent watch.
Hard disagree, the idea of soending eternity in close confinement with “the creator” seems like it would quickly lead to theocide.
Queue companies finding a way to track your respawn and apply debt from your last life.
I’d come back as a butterfly.
Nobody ever suspects the butterflies!
I’ve seen a giant butterfly be blamed for burning down a school ;)
I’ve seen them blamed for literal hurricanes.
Yet they can cause hurricanes
There would be reincarnation preachers, coaches, and scammers, promising you an ideal reincarnated life.
Well those already exist.
Ya but this time the koolaid would be on the poster
I legitimately don’t follow the analogy?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonestown
Basically any reference to drinking koolaid is referencing a suicide cult.
Because reincarnation was proven they would advertize the suicide part instead of brainwashing them
Gotcha. I guess I agree those already exist (see your link). But I agree that’d be way more popular maybe. Except doesn’t suicide guarantee a shittier re-roll?
The whole thing is a hypothetical so who knows?
They’d also probably make it so that debt carries over into your next life.
And it would work.
there’s a sucker born every dayYou mean there’s a sucker reborn every day!
Birth me once, shame on you; birth me twice, shame on me
Cory Doctorow has a story set in a society where cloning complete with mind restoration exists and is pretty quick and cheap. People make regular backups of themselves and then engage in dangerous activities like mountain skiing and whatnot. I forget which story it is: might be ‘Rapture of the Nerds’.
Wasn’t that Down And Out In The Magic Kingdom?
Yeah, could be that, judging by the summary on Wikipedia. I was so weirded out by the Disney World aspect of it, that I frankly forgot to follow the plot.
Can confirm, it is Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom. Don’t forget deadheading! - everybody being able to basically switch off their brains to a kind of suspend state every time they get bored.
did they cure pain???
Don’t remember that, alas: Doctorow’s shorter stories and even some novels are pretty weird, and I was often too baffled by some aspects and details to remember the particulars. Need to give them a reread one of these days, and in text rather than in audio.
Pandora’s Star, by Peter F Hamilton has a similar premise. It’s a space opera mystery, at least 2 books. Highly recommended.
I’m pretty sure in Buddha, where the concept of reincarnation comes from, suicide would negatively affect the karma, which would affect how one would reincarnate. CMIIW tho
As if religious teachings ever stopped people from doing certain things…
Lmao, who cares about “religion bad” in this thread? I thought we’re talking hypothetical here. We’re talking if it is real, and I am assuming it would be as the scriptures describe.
One step forward, two steps back.
I guess it depends. If you’re eager to get the fuck outta this mortal coil, would having to go through childhood again really be something you’d be eager to do?
Who cares, you won’t remember anything.
But that’s already the case if you die. What would reincarnation change for the better?
I’m not saying that changes anything for me. Just pointing out that going through childhood again if you truly reincarnated would be a new experience. I was only responding to your comment about childhood.
It depends.
If governments don’t restrict this information and you get born in a bad family, then you use knowledge of reincarnation and can just kys and keep doing it till you get a good family and childhood…
Then kys by 18 if you dont got rich parents so you can skip the “wage slavery” phase…
Oh I bet governments will start restricting this information…
Like how they bury history books…
Childhood kinda feels nostalgic ngl…
I mean it felt very fun and intense from memory…
I just didn’y know how to appreciate it back then…
I mean me right now could consciousness transfer to 8 year old me and redo all that and I could make it perfect…
If birth rates decline, you’re gonna be stuck in purgatory for a long time
I mean 1000 years would just be a blink of eye since you wouldn’t be conscious to be aware of it…
Alternatively, maybe I get born into an advanced post-scarcity alien civilization?
See that’s exactly where my mind went. Who says you would come back human… or even on Earth with a vast universe with infinite planets?
It would depend on how reincarnation works. Do I know I’ll be reborn in a better life? They say the grass is always greener, everyone has problems and perceives others as better off. My old guidance counselor’s husband said that if everyone sat in a circle, wrote down their problems, put them in a hat, and randomly drew other people’s problems, everyone would want their own problems back
It would be a lot like speed runners in games. You just keep resetting until you get a good spawn.
This assumes you don’t get stuck as something that can’t kill itself to re-roll.
There’d still be a five or so yeah buffer on it, and who’s to say that won’t be worse. Fun fact I read a pre fall of the eldar fanfic with this basis, it just kept getting worse until Slaanesh was murder fucked into existence.
But you’d have to suffer through infancy and childhood until you’re old enough to have the capability to kill yourself
No wonder toddlers are always doing the most dangerous shit
I read a short story back in college about a woman who helped people remember their past lives. Somehow she gets transported to a universe where reincarnation is completely real and everyone remembers all their previous past lives. Suicide was rampant and the world generally sucked. She somehow transitions to helping people forget their past lives to make the world a better place. I really wish I could remember the title of the story.
For some reason this makes me think of something I read in a junior high English class. A group of surfers is driving to the beach when they drive through a tunnel and emerge into gridlock traffic. They inch forward for hours and it gets really hot. The driver finally flags down a passing cop and asks what the deal is. “Oh, you guys died in the tunnel back there and now you’re in hell.”
The story was called The Jam.
This sounds really interesting actually.
Are you kidding me I’m not gonna repeat all the time I’ve already served.
Yes you will.
If it were proven, and you could identify your previous identity, would you be able to claim your wealth and possessions from previous life?
Sounds like the premise for a cool novel
The Reincarnationist Papers. D. Eric Maikranz
that would go for debts too, or alleged debts.
Past life crimes bureau.
