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Re: CHAT: facing your own mortality (as a conlanger)

From:<li_sasxsek@...>
Date:Monday, June 30, 2008, 6:12
> [mailto:CONLANG@listserv.brown.edu] On Behalf Of Mark J. Reed
> Hey, now. As a fellow atheist, I resent the implication that we don't > care what happens after we're gone. That's a very selfish attitude to > take. Just because I won't be around to observe the fate of my > family, descendants, and planet, that means I should care less about > it? Poppycock.
Well this is starting to get in to the "no cross" territory, but the whole thing about leaving a mark on the world in the form of artistic works or even children are part of the thinking that they somehow make you immortal. Yes, it's a selfish attitude but actually so are all attitudes. Someone could also say it's selfish to want to leave a mark on the world after death when those who are still alive may want something different. Even the so-called "giving" types are acting selfishly. Their rewards may emotional rather than material, but they are still acting in self-interest.

Replies

andrew <hobbit@...>
Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>