[gtest]

I hope for your recovery, and that you will be able to live a long and fulfilling life. However, I want to challenge you with one thing:

> Ethics matter.

> I don't believe there's any life after this one...

> I don't believe that faith is an out, or that you can apologize or donate your way out of past behaviors.

Why would it matter if there is no life after this one? If there is no life after this one, maybe you should just "get over it".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqNTT0E_T70

[roxolotl]

Because other people matter and building a caring and just society means we’ll all get further in the one life we have. If you require the threat of eternal punishment to do the right thing and be a good person I’d question if you truly are.

[ranger_danger]

Of course not everyone can or will do the right thing without being threatened with punishment... but I think it's possible to make the world a better place in general if we can at least tone down the amount of bad things happening, even if it requires "threatening" the people that need it to behave.

Otherwise I think laws wouldn't exist.

[gtest]

But if there is no afterlife, why does building caring and just society matter? If you (and everyone else, and the universe) is going to die, you might as well train your conscious and trample on the lives of others if it leads to success in life.

[elemdos]

Even without believing in a life after this one, a lot of people seem to find immense value in living ethically/morally for its benefits in this life: a clear conscience, building trust, strengthening relationships, etc.

Even though life can be cruel, there seems to be an overarching goodness built into the universe that benefits those who float in its current.

[venturecruelty]

Some people don't need a deity to treat others the way they would like to be treated.

[strogonoff]

Faith, ethics, etc., can be considered survival mechanics of a higher-level organism relative to individual human. These matters will by definition not make sense if you view them only from the perspective of a standalone individual—and it is fine, because humans really do not exist as standalone individuals.

[endgame]

> Why would it matter if there is no life after this one? If there is no life after this one, maybe you should just "get over it".

Because for as long as we are capable of caring, we should care that other people have to live with the consequences of our actions.

[gtest]

> we should care...

But that's my question: if there is no afterlife, why?