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How do you deal with a existential crisis? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 year ago by joucker29@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

129 comments fedilink hide all child comments

How to you come to terms with the fact that you will eventually not exist?

Rant: This has been keeping me up at night for way too long and every time I think about it I feel like am literally choking on my own thoughts. I have other shit to do but everything seems so inconsequential next to this. I just can't comprehend why or how the universe even exists or how a bunch of atoms can think or that quantum mechanics literally revealed that the world is not loaded when you are not looking like how tf do you know that I am observing something.

Btw I am not looking for a purpose in life although this may be interpreted as me asking for that.

If anyone has the same problem as me good luck my friend just know that you are not alone.

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[–] tweeks@feddit.nl 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I thought that once, and then I came to the conclusion that if the universe is infinite and time is as well, our atom arrangement will almost certainly happen again in the future. Essentially creating a new self, that is not aware of its previous self, but has the same kind of consciousness.. As far as we can tell in an endless cycle.

[–] ChrisLicht@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Can you explain how that is responsive to the relief that this subjectivity gets to exit the stage?

[–] tweeks@feddit.nl 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'll try. For example, our nightly state that forms a sort of split in our stream of consciousness is similar.

It's a bit like saying you are happy life is over when you go to bed, but in reality there's a pretty good chance you'll start a dream state which you might not remember afterwards.

Still, even if you might not remember a nightmare, you don't want a form of yourself to experience it. As you know in that 'now' it will be suffering for that version of yourself.

[–] ChrisLicht@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think I might be self-specific psychopath, as I can’t gin up much beyond mild sympathy for some other instance of the self whose outcomes I can’t influence.

[–] tweeks@feddit.nl 1 points 1 year ago

Could be, or maybe I'm the over-anxious one being too emphatic. But I can just imagine there will be a moment that I'm going to be that instance of self, which will experience the world similar to me.

Like it's as much me as the me in one hour is going to be me. As long as our chemical setup is the same, with (roughly) the same organization of atoms and thus having the same brain, I can relate as I know exactly how it feels.

[–] rip_art_bell@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Boltzmann brain is a trippy concept

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boltzmann_brain

[–] tweeks@feddit.nl 2 points 1 year ago

Thanks for the link, interesting!

[–] trailing9@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Welcome back, Mr Nietzsche. How long are you going to stay?