Where Is The Proof?

An exploration of that which we believe without proof.

As you may have noticed, I tend to write more than a little about existential threat type topics such as nuclear weapons. Not just here on TannyTalk, but sort of everywhere I go to some degree or another. I’m concerned about the collapse of modern civilization, and what letting that happen would say about us. Sometimes I wonder if should brand myself as a writer as “The Geezer Boomer Doomer”.

My worrying about the collapse of civilization is of course based on the commonly accepted belief that death is bad, something to be avoided. It is perhaps this belief that unites all living things, making it a universal truism.

We assume without questioning that life is better than death. It’s just so clear and obvious that it doesn’t need to be discussed. Death is sad, it’s grim, it’s tragic, we mourn it’s reality with every life that passes. We spend trillions world wide in a determined effort to extend life as long as possible. Even those who believe in heaven still go to the hospital when they are sick.

We assume without questioning that life is better than death. And we believe it so strongly that we forget one little thing….

There’s no proof that life is better than death.

Of course there are many competing theories about what death is. There’s heaven and hell, reincarnation, and the “when you die you’re just gone” school of thought. Each of the various death theories has it’s advocates and detractors, and the debates between them can sometimes become quite passionate. Lots of people are sure they know what death is. But no matter what their theory might be…

There’s no proof of it at all.

This is the kind of thing that intrigues me about philosophy. A single, simple, completely unproven assumption can have the most profound affect upon our behavior.

Just yesterday I was reading a great article about Nick Bostrom, a famous visionary philosopher. Apparently Professor Bostrom, a highly educated expert in the use of critical thinking, is very interested in living as long as possible. According to the story on the New Yorker, his quest for immortality infuses much of his work.

I find it very interesting that such a learned person, a philosopher too, would come to such a huge conclusion, based on exactly no proof that life is better than death. But I’m hardly in a position to declare Bostrom wrong, given that whatever my views on death might be, I too have no proof of anything.

I would like to claim that nobody has such proof. But in order to make that claim I would have to have proof of something myself, so as to be in a position to declare someone else right or wrong.

Where’s The Evidence??

We could almost go so far as to say that we don’t even have any real evidence regarding the nature of death, given that we have no method of traveling to that domain to gather data. Well, we will all travel to whatever death is someday, but we won’t be coming back with any data.

Near death experiences are fascinating indeed, but they seem fairly labeled as “near” death, and not a return trip to the final destination, whatever that might be.

Here’s The Answer!

No, sorry, I’m just kidding. Of course I don’t have the answer to the question of what death is, because as far as I know, I’ve never had the privilege of being dead myself. But, I can’t prove that either.

Like most people, I’ve been arranging the conceptual furniture in my mind in to various arrangements that make sense to me. But I do so in the knowledge that it’s my mental furniture in the living room of my mind, and none of my conceptual furniture arranging is likely to have anything to do with the reality of death. But I can’t prove that either.

Anyway, as you go through the world observing how you and your contacts go about your lives, you might marvel at the many life decisions we all make, based on…

No proof of anything.