Philosophical Question

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
some people believe in an afterlife where they do have recollection of the life they lived.

[/ QUOTE ]

True. I'd guess that most posters on this board don't share that view. I could be wrong though.

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
some people believe in an afterlife where they do have recollection of the life they lived.

[/ QUOTE ]I thought that was the point of afterlife.

[thirddan]

but saying yes to your poll is basically giving up a year of my life...i would rather have some happy + some unhappy times during a year that i can remember than just waste a year...

[The Dude]

There is another concept to consider. Many people I know in the waning years of their lives take great joy in the memory of their past. If I were, say, 25 when i had the opportunity to take this year of bliss, would the joy during that time outweigh the cumulitive joy that year of experience and memory would bring me over the course of the rest of my life?

I want to note that this is not the reason I voted "no," but it is something I think many have not considered.

[Sooga]

Why wouldn't you do it? You're going to have to live that one year regardless, so why not make it a great year? Yea, I know, if I don't live the blissful life, then I would do things and have things happen to me that I could learn from, but really, that could happen in any other year as well.

I guess I'd much rather go for a sure-thing great experience (whether I remember it later or not), than to have a year where bad things might happen to me.

[Alobar]

I think it's an easy yes. Not being able to remember it means basically that in the future it might just as well never have happened, cuz who cares, you cant remember it. But as long as like it didnt set me back a year for any of my life goals, then why wouldnt I want to be in bliss for a year? Even if I dont remember it later on, it sure as hell beats not being in bliss.

Again, this is only if it doesnt set me back. If it did, then I would change my vote to a no

[dr. klopek]

I wouldn't want to wake up tomorrow and look at the calendar and see that it was jan 30th 2006. That's essentially what would happen, you'd simply lose a year of your life. It would just bring the end of your life closer. Wait...change my vote to yes.

[private joker]

[ QUOTE ]
The natural follow-up to this question is, what's the point of life in general then? One's life, taken in its entirety, is almost certainly the equivalent of that "one forgotten year".

The natural conclusion is that doing anything with your life that doesn't leave a long-term mark for the benefit of others is the equivalent of voting "yes" to the original poll question. Right?

Just thinking aloud, I always thought this was a fun question to discuss.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is why the film "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" is so great. It poses the question of how important memories are to your life -- and then asks if it's better to have loved and lost and encountered romantic pain (and remembered it) than to have never remembered pain (or joy) at all.

[pshreck]

Did no one read my post?

Imagine the things you would learn/experience/accomplish if you were in a state of perfect happiness.

If this thing we are talking about is similar to amnesia, then the things you did in that year would still affect you the rest of your life, even if you couldn't recall the event.

I imagine I would help tons of people, make tons and tons of friends and learn a language or something. These things would come back and bless me, even if I didn't remember them happening.

[thirddan]

i assumed from the OP that the year would leave no lasting effect on your life, no memories no nothing...just a lost year...