XPost: alt.animals.ethics.vegetarian, alt.zen, alt.buddha.short.fat.guy   
   XPost: alt.philosophy.zen   
   From: whoduh@murderispositiveaction.com   
      
   On Fri, 28 May 2010 10:13:57 -0700, "Fred C. Dobbs"   
    wrote:   
      
   >It can't be.  To talk about "better than" or "worse than" is necessarily   
   >to be comparing two states of welfare, but there is only one state of   
   >welfare in this putative comparison.  It is abject nonsense to suggest a   
   >person might rationally think he is "better off" for existing rather   
   >than never existing, because the flip side is that the person would be   
   >"worse off" for never existing - but there wouldn't be a person to   
   >experience the "worse off" condition if the person never existed.   
   >   
   >This is not the same as a person who exists with a miserable welfare   
   >thinking he'd prefer to die.  Even then, it makes no sense for the   
   >person to think he'd be "better off" if he ended his existence, because   
   >again, there would be no entity to experience the better welfare.  It   
   >still can make sense for the person with a miserable welfare to want to   
   >die, if his existence is intolerable to him.   
      
   what i know is as human beings attachment in negative or positive to   
   being alive can make death seem horribly cruel or a peaceful exit.   
      
   once dead i don't think it is "peaceful", nor are we sentimental... if   
   we do not exist.  but since we exist we see it from attached POVs?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)