Life without the possibility of suffering and death would be meaningless

(The date and time are dummy values to be updated when the meeting is scheduled.)

In a prior meeting, we considered that the idea of the afterlife dichotomy is irrational due to boundary breakdown: the irrationality of partitioning a virtue-vice continuum into two discrete categories, namely, virtue vs. vice, heaven vs. hell.

But how about the idea of living happily ever after in heaven?

If we think about how we obtain meaning in life, we realize that, in order to obtain meaning, we must be able to exert effort such that the greater the effort we exert, the greater the meaning we can potentially obtain. This fact is illustrated in the New Testament story of the widow’s mite:

• Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.
• Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
• [Mark 12.41-44, New Living Translation]

In this light, life in the absence of effort would be meaningless. It would also be utterly boring.

However, life that is subject to the exertion of effort is necessarily part of a system of energy transformation, which, in turn, implies the possibility of starvation, injury, malfunction, and wear. Furthermore, I have been able to show that, in order to be able to exert effort, we must have a biological body, which, in turn, makes us subject to the possibility of suffering and death.

These observations imply that the idea of living happily ever after would be meaningless because meaningful life requires a biological body which, in turn, implies the possibility of suffering and death.

In the meeting, I will present these ideas for discussion.

Reference: Philip Bitar, Why Human Life Makes Sense, Edition 5 (2023), chapter 9, 10

Meeting times and locations

Time is PST or PDT, depending on time of year, X = TBD:

X:00 pm in-person — Marysville Library, 2nd meeting-room door on LHS of entrance hallway

X:15 pm online — link to be posted here before meeting

If you plan to attend in person, when you register, please add a comment "Plan to attend in person" to help me in preparing room accommodations.