[quote] [img]http://mit.zenfs.com/102/2011/05/AP0606190791.jpg[/img]
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking recently explained his belief that there is no God and that humans should therefore seek to live the most valuable lives they can while on Earth.
Guardian writer Ian Sample asked Hawking if he feared death in a story published yesterday. This was his response:
I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first. I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.
Hawking's 1988 book "A Brief History of Time" sold 9 million copies, and in it Hawking referenced God metaphorically as the force that could fully explain the creation of the universe.
But in 2010, Hawking told Diane Sawyer that "science will win" in a battle with religion "because it works."
"What could define God [is a conception of divinity] as the embodiment of the laws of nature. However, this is not what most people would think of that God," Hawking told Sawyer. "They made a human-like being with whom one can have a personal relationship. When you look at the vast size of the universe and how insignificant an accidental human life is in it, that seems most impossible."
Hawking's latest book, "The Grand Design," challenged Isaac Newton's theory that the solar system could not have been created without God. "Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to ... set the Universe going," he writes.
Hawking was diagnosed with the degenerative Lou Gehrig's disease at the age of 21. He lost his power of speech and for decades has talked through an electronic speech synthesizer. The device has allowed him to continue his research and attain a top Cambridge research post, which was previously held by Newton. His most famous theory explains how black holes emit radiation, according to The Guardian.
So if everyone is destined to power-down like computers at the end of their lives, what should humans do to lend meaning to their experience?
"We should seek the greatest value of our action," Hawking told the paper.
(Hawking in China in 2006: Elizabeth Dalziel/AP)[/quote]
[url]http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110516/us_yblog_thelookout/stephen-hawking-says-afterlife-is-a-fairy-story[/url]
source?
Spoken like a true atheist.
[QUOTE=critein_protein;29870516]Spoken like a true atheist.[/QUOTE]
did you say that because it makes sense?
He says this all the time, doesn't he?
nobody knows if there is an afterlife or not
[QUOTE=skynrdfan3;29870637]nobody knows if there is an afterlife or not[/QUOTE]
No but the default position when you've got no evidence of something is that it doesn't exist until you find some evidence.
Don't get me wrong we should enjoy our time on earth but until I die i'm going to keep beleiving that there may be something else after death.
[editline]16th May 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;29870715]No but the default position when you've got no evidence of something is that it doesn't exist until you find some evidence.[/QUOTE]
From a scientific perspective yes.
[QUOTE=Spacewolf;29870634]He says this all the time, doesn't he?[/QUOTE]
And he's right in a way. People shouldn't be concerned with their deaths. They should be concerned with every living moment they have because, they've no idea if there is an afterlife at all.
-snip- I'm dumb
He looks so sad in that picture. It makes me sad too.
[QUOTE=The mouse;29870774]:irony: Coming from him.[/QUOTE]
How is that the least bit ironic? his life sucks but he does the most he can with what he has
[QUOTE=nono345;29870600]did you say that because it makes sense?[/QUOTE]
I don't know.
Here's how I see religion. Religion is a part of human nature that has a chance of occurring. It gives us hope and morals, but is inevitably false. The next step in human evolution is to denounce religion, and my friends, this next step is already taking place, we just all haven't experienced it yet. Religion WAS vital, but now we are beginning to grow out of it. Imagine it as a mothers breast milk, feeding all of humanity, giving us a certain necessity to progress, but it is inevitable that we will all grow out of it.
It's quite exciting, seeing the atheist revolution grow and grow, taking over the ancient and now obsolete idea of religion. Can't wait until everyone has evolved past the idea of God. Just imagine what we can accomplish. No more hatred towards gays, stem cell research internationally accepted, rape victims able to get abortions. And most of all, no more holy wars. I'm honored to be a part of the generation that is witnessing this transformation of humanity!
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;29870740]And he's right in a way. People shouldn't be concerned with their deaths. They should be concerned with every living moment they have because, they've no idea if there is an afterlife at all.[/QUOTE]
I'm not gonna start a huge religion bashing thread, but I'm really sick of people claiming to not care about their lives or what they do to affect future generations in terms of the environment because they go to heaven after they die. It'd be a lot better if we all cared about our lives and the future so we could make heaven a place on earth. Ooh heaven etc.
[QUOTE=MachiniOs;29870722]
From a scientific perspective yes.[/QUOTE]
You can't disprove or prove the existence of god or an afterlife, not with the information we have, so scientifically agnosticism is correct not atheism.
What else is new? I don't know why people are surprised he said that.
[QUOTE=critein_protein;29870810]I don't know.
Here's how I see religion. Religion is a part of human nature that has a chance of occurring. It gives us hope and morals, but is inevitably false. The next step in human evolution is to denounce religion, and my friends, this next step is already taking place, we just all haven't experienced it yet. Religion WAS vital, but now we are beginning to grow out of it. Imagine it as a mothers breast milk, feeding all of humanity, giving us a certain necessity to progress, but it is inevitable that we will all grow out of it.
It's quite exciting, seeing the atheist revolution grow and grow, taking over the ancient and now obsolete idea of religion. Can't wait until everyone has evolved past the idea of God. Just imagine what we can accomplish. No more hatred towards gays, stem cell research internationally accepted, rape victims able to get abortions. And most of all, no more holy wars. I'm honored to be a part of the generation that is witnessing this transformation of humanity![/QUOTE]
Nope that'll all still be there. People will still hate others for stupid reasons.
[QUOTE=Gaza Pen Pal;29870857]You can't disprove or prove the existence of god or an afterlife, not with the information we have, so scientifically agnosticism is correct not atheism.[/QUOTE]
wowza thats actually pretty acurate
[QUOTE=Gaza Pen Pal;29870857]You can't disprove or prove the existence of god or an afterlife, not with the information we have, so scientifically agnosticism is correct not atheism.[/QUOTE]
Well neither is really "correct", they're just the belief of one or the other. Although I'm sure there are people who are 100% sure there is or isn't a god, the words mean you believe in one, which obviously doesn't mean you can be right or wrong.
[QUOTE=The mouse;29870774]:irony: Coming from him.[/QUOTE]
umm i'd say stephen hawking's life was pretty valuable
[QUOTE=ThatHippyMan;29870883]What else is new? I don't know why people are surprised he said that.[/QUOTE]
I doubt anyone is surprised.
Religion is mostly just there to feel the gap for people who are afraid of the unknown, or their lives are that empty they need magical fairy gods to help them do good or get through the day.
In concept, religion is a good thing, since every human being deserves to have his own faith and belief, but the way people are exploiting this like, say, the WBC or any other group like that is just disgusting and is frankly evidence that humanity is a mature adult right about now and should stop relying on magical retard mambo jumbo to fill their lack of knowledge or will to learn.
[QUOTE=Spacewolf;29870919]Well neither is really "correct", they're just the belief of one or the other. Although I'm sure there are people who are 100% sure there is or isn't a god, the words mean you believe in one, which obviously doesn't mean you can be right or wrong.[/QUOTE]
Atheism is the belief that there is no god, it is currently impossible to prove that there is no god just in the same way that there isn't definitive proof that god exists.
Ironically atheists are just as ignorant as the religious that they mock.
Yahoo?
Ok, it's time to go look through the comments. I now have the rest of the day's activity planned out. See ya.
Heaven and Hell just seem a bit too.. far-fetched. I base my life on facts, with what I can see, hear, touch, smell etc.
I've never liked religion or anything like that because it's just too...weird and demanding.
[QUOTE=Gaza Pen Pal;29871008]Atheism is the belief that there is no god, it is currently impossible to prove that there is no god just in the same way that there isn't definitive proof that god exists.
Ironically atheists are just as ignorant as the religious that they mock.[/QUOTE]
I don't see how it's ignorance to not believe either. I find the idea of a god unbelievable, so I don't believe in it. I don't claim to know for certain that there isn't one.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;29870791]How is that the least bit ironic? his life sucks but he does the most he can with what he has[/QUOTE]
.....he's one of the smartest men and an important figurehead for science, he's done more than the ironic-meter jackass.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;29870891]Nope that'll all still be there. People will still hate others for stupid reasons.[/QUOTE]
How ignorant of you to assume that. Are you from the future? Do you have a time machine?
For all we know, after religion is abolished once and for all, it would trigger a chain reaction that would quell most violence. Let's face it. Religion has been the source of most violence thougout human history. Gassing of the Jews in WW2, Jihadist's, Inquisitions and Crusades.
Sure, there will always be SOME degree of violence that will be present after the death of religion, mostly brought on by poverty and insanity, but that will change as the human race becomes more evolved and advanced with time.
And that's my God damned 2 fuckin' cents. :smugissar:
[QUOTE=Gaza Pen Pal;29871008]Atheism is the belief that there is no god, it is currently impossible to prove that there is no god just in the same way that there isn't definitive proof that god exists.
Ironically atheists are just as ignorant as the religious that they mock.[/QUOTE]
Except not...
As an atheist I disagree with the idea of god, and dont' believe in him. Am I saying "LALLAALALAL GOD DOESN'T EXIST LALALALALALAL" No, i'm not. They're different things, they're different positions to hold entirely.
We'll never know, making such statement are stupid cause they'll just lead to a flame war, both irl and on the internets.
gg stephen.
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