You live. Then you die. But that's ok, because what you really identify with is something bigger than your individual life, and that bigger thing continues on.
That bigger thing dies. But that's ok, because your god will provide whatever you need, or whatever your soul needs.
Your god turns out to be evil. But that's ok, because the universe, of which the god is only a part, is benign. The essential needs of your soul will be met. We're talking bare essentials, here. But that's ok.
The universe ceases to exist. < sigh > But that's ok, because what happened (the love and the beauty) still did happen.
The love and the beauty: It happened one moment. Prior moments anticipated it. Later moments remembered it. But if it were not anticipated, even so it still happened. And if it were not remembered, even so it still happened.
Even if it's not anticipated nor remembered, it still has its own value. Once it has happened, no-one and nothing can ever take that away.
So when, or if, the universe ceases to exist, the valuable moment that happened still has its value. Memory has a value but it's not the only value. Memory is not required, for a thing to be valuable. Anticipation has a value but it's not the only value. Anticipation is not required, for a thing to be valuable. Even the continued existence of the universe is not required, for the thing to be valuable.
I got this notion from something my late father once said to me; although he may have meant something else, and might disapprove of this post. As I recall, what he said was, "If it were to all end tomorrow, it would have been worth it." After hearing that, later I have imagined this: "If the universe were to cease to exist, the time of love and beauty that happened still retains its value and was worthwhile."
-by jrl, 2012/January/21st, 10:30pm
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Hi JL, my dog died recently and I had the comforting thought that she had lived a good life - before thinking what comfort is that, once a life has past. I was left with the thought - well it did happen, but feeling what does that mean. The fact her life happened seems far from meaningless to me yet it is hard to understand why it has any value. I went down the route of thinking that it only has value if a living conscious being assigns it a value but eventually wondered (as you have) what value it would have if the universe ceased to exist. I thought none – but as you say, was left with the thought – it still happened. I can only think that a past event has some sort of intrinsic value if it had an effect on a conscious being. If this is not the case it is difficult to understand why any event has value as the present moment is always immediately consigned to the past. The word value is also of interest as it can only apply to a conscious mind. A universe without consciousness would value nothing. Events such as Auschwitz would have no meaning.
ReplyDeleteEternalism and the Block Universe ideas are interesting (+ have you checked Wiki for the Rietdijk-Putnam argument that seems to suggest that all moments in time exist), but if these ideas prove to be the true nature of time it cannot be said that the universe itself will last for an infinite amount of time.
It’s odd how a simple comforting thought can cause such discomfort when analyzed to such a degree! Thanks for posting such similar thoughts on your blog – I will read through
the rest of it over time.
Cheers,
Chris