[ExI] "Death gives meaning to life?"

[Lee Corbin]

Hi Giulio,

Yes, I know that it's pretty frustrating to ever have to
talk to these types of people, or to read what they write.

But one's case is always weakened by overstatement.
I'm actually surprised at this from you, of all people.

> This "wicked phrase" is an evident nonsense, and the fact that more
> than enough people say it only shows that more than enough people and
> more than enough stupid, or clueless victims of religious propaganda.

First, those people are not stupid.

Second, they could make an equally vacuous argument saying
that *we* were the ones who were victims of Darwinian brainwashing
and were underestimating the wisdom of tradition.

Third, quite a number of people who are *not* religious
believe that "death gives meaning to life". I've read articles
by them in the magazine "Free Inquiry". 

> "Death gives meaning to life" is an evident nonsense because dead
> people cannot experience meaning.

That is not what they *meant* at all!  They (generally) do
not claim that dead people have experiences---almost all
of them are talking about the way that the possibility or
certainty of death gives life more meaning *while* we
are alive. So, yes, it's nonsense, but certainly not for the
"reasons" you put forth.

I can't understand why several people here have suddenly
started sounding a good deal less than rational all of a sudden.
I wonder if it's an aspect of mob psychology. We all want
to refute that utterly wrongheaded statement, but some of
us wish to do so without name-calling and instead by resort
to careful argument.

Best regards,
Lee