Another poll about: how certain are you?

[Stereolab]

Let's say you are offered one million dollars in cash, immediately, no questions asked.

The catch is that, if there is any sort of afterlife at all, your soul burns in hell for eternity.

Do you take the money?

[Yahweh]

My answer would be:

Thanks for the cash, I'll donate some JREF, a little into the Yahweh Sportscar Financial Support Fund, then some into evolutionary biology research, some cash into a college educashun, and other things I might be able to think of...

Maybe I'll buy a clown...

[TruthSeeker]

Originally posted by Yahweh
My answer would be:

Thanks for the cash, I'll donate some JREF, a little into the Yahweh Sportscar Financial Support Fund, then some into evolutionary biology research, some cash into a college educashun, and other things I might be able to think of...

Maybe I'll buy a clown...


Rent the clown. That way you can return him once you get bored. Yes, you'll get bored.

[toddjh]

Originally posted by Stereolab
Let's say you are offered one million dollars in cash, immediately, no questions asked.

The catch is that, if there is any sort of afterlife at all, your soul burns in hell for eternity.

Do you take the money?

A simple risk analysis is enough for this one. The payoff is finite (one million dollars), but the potential loss is infinite. Thus, unless there is zero possibility of an afterlife, or you're 100% certain you'd wind up in hell anyway, you're better off skipping it in the average case. That kind of certainty isn't rational. I'd pass.

Jeremy

[Lord Muck oGentry]

I take evidence.Believers can't afford me.

Regards.

Muck.

[Chanileslie]

Originally posted by Stereolab
Let's say you are offered one million dollars in cash, immediately, no questions asked.

The catch is that, if there is any sort of afterlife at all, your soul burns in hell for eternity.

Do you take the money?

I answered, 'take the money and hope that I am right,' although that isn't my true answer. My true answer is: 'take the money.'

[c4ts]

I'd take that money and spend it on indulgences, then lie back and see what happens.

[BroodingSkill]

Cash Please!

[T'ai Chi]

I'd take the money as lack of evidence supports saying there is probably no soul, afterlife, hell, etc.

However, I'd also do a lot of good things with that much money regardless.

[Ratman_tf]

Sounds like Pascal's Wager to me.

I'd shoot everyone involved with offering me the million without warning. I hate Pascal's Wager.

[fishbob]

I also answered, 'take the money and hope that I am right,' because it was closer to my real answer. Are you nuts, pass up a million bucks why? An unverifiable rumor? Mythology?

By the way, make it $10 million while yer at it.

[Craig]

Well, damn, I see that I'm wearing more than two types of cloth. That's Hell for me, I'm afraid...might as well get paid for it...

[Dancing David]

Take the money, no hope.

I already made the decision to burn in hell rather than bend my knee to that god they wind up on sunday.

If I am judged on my works it won't matter!

The money is probably fake, just like the afterlife.

[espritch]

Weren't indulgences the diametric opposite of this: give the Catholic Church generous donations and if there is an afterlife, you get to go to heaven?

P.S. I voted "take the money". Whether there's an after life or not, it's a safe bet that the person offering the deal will have absolutely no influence over whether or not I go to heaven or hell.

[billydkid]

Originally posted by toddjh


A simple risk analysis is enough for this one. The payoff is finite (one million dollars), but the potential loss is infinite. Thus, unless there is zero possibility of an afterlife, or you're 100% certain you'd wind up in hell anyway, you're better off skipping it in the average case. That kind of certainty isn't rational. I'd pass.

Jeremy

The Pascal's wager thing. Look, it would all depend on the definition of terms. Who's hell are we refering to? The Christian/Jewish hell? Muslim hell? Some other hypothetical hell? Is this a particular hell or just a general notion that you suffer in some kind of hell or other if there happens to be one?

[jimmygun]

I'd do it for free fries at MacDonalds!

[sorgoth]

I would take the money.

I would accept for anything over 10$.

[Schizobunny]

Originally posted by Stereolab
Let's say you are offered one million dollars in cash, immediately, no questions asked.

The catch is that, if there is any sort of afterlife at all, your soul burns in hell for eternity.

Do you take the money?

The question is if there is a hell and you still have money left when you die can you take the money with you?

[Matabiri]

Originally posted by Stereolab
Let's say you are offered one million dollars in cash, immediately, no questions asked.

The catch is that, if there is any sort of afterlife at all, your soul burns in hell for eternity.

Do you take the money?

Seeing as by doubting the existence of an afterlife, I'm already damned to Hell anyway, I might as well live it up while I'm at it.

Isn't there a Simpsons episode where Homer sells his soul to the devil (Ned) for a doughnut, but gets out of it because he's already given it to Marge? How's that for a safe bet?

[Mr Clingford]

Why would taking 1 Million dollars cash mean that you would burn eternally in hell?

[Lothian]

I would take the money. Even if it was a sure bet £1,000,000 now and you soul roasting in hell or nothing now and your soul residing in Heaven, I would take the money.

The things I enjoy in life have nothing to do with my soul. To be honest I don’t even know what my soul is. Can my soul drink, play sport, see things, physically feel? What pain would it be in if it went to hell ? Would I know or be aware ? Once my soul leaves my body where is my brain ? Left behind with the body ?

For a truer interpretation of Pascal’s wager rather than receive £1,000,000 you pay £1,000,000 now but might save your soul.

P.S. Soul for sale. No reasonable offer refused.

[Samus]

Would this money be taxed?

[toddjh]

Originally posted by billydkid
The Pascal's wager thing. Look, it would all depend on the definition of terms. Who's hell are we refering to? The Christian/Jewish hell? Muslim hell? Some other hypothetical hell? Is this a particular hell or just a general notion that you suffer in some kind of hell or other if there happens to be one?

It's not the same as Pascal's Wager. Pascal's Wager just assumes there is one single afterlife to be concerned about. Its downfall is that the wager itself gives no clue which god you're supposed to worship.

This situation, on the other hand, states that if there is any afterlife, you're going to burn in some kind of hell. It covers all possible religions. If it were only talking about the Judeo-Christian afterlife, I'd be more inclined to take the money. But can you honestly say you're 100% sure there is no possibility of an afterlife of any kind? I can't. I can think of several somewhat plausible possibilities for an "afterlife" without even going into the realm of the supernatural.

Jeremy

[bjornart]

Originally posted by toddjh


It's not the same as Pascal's Wager. Pascal's Wager just assumes there is one single afterlife to be concerned about. Its downfall is that the wager itself gives no clue which god you're supposed to worship.

This situation, on the other hand, states that if there is any afterlife, you're going to burn in some kind of hell. It covers all possible religions. If it were only talking about the Judeo-Christian afterlife, I'd be more inclined to take the money. But can you honestly say you're 100% sure there is no possibility of an afterlife of any kind? I can't. I can think of several somewhat plausible possibilities for an "afterlife" without even going into the realm of the supernatural.

Jeremy

Sure, but this wager is just as silly. It assumes that there is some way receiving a million dollars will disqualify you from all possible, unverified, afterlives. It's as worthless as Pascal's wager, so the 'correct' choice is take the money. :D

[toddjh]

Originally posted by bjornart
Sure, but this wager is just as silly. It assumes that there is some way receiving a million dollars will disqualify you from all possible, unverified, afterlives.

Well, yes. But it's a hypothetical situation. You don't have to take it at face value.

It's as worthless as Pascal's wager, so the 'correct' choice is take the money. :D

If you reject the hypothetical, there is no correct answer. ;)

Jeremy

[bjornart]

Originally posted by toddjh

Well, yes. But it's a hypothetical situation. You don't have to take it at face value.


Hypothetical and stooopid. And it could easily have been made more ... realistic by posing it as something like this:
"If every known religion preaching an afterlife stated sex before marriage would damn you to hell, would you still do it?"
Which is of course a much simpler 'dilemma'.

The problem with the OQ is that it's completely illogical to know receiving the money will damn you to hell, and at the same time not having definite knowledge that there is a hell.


If you reject the hypothetical, there is no correct answer. ;)

Jeremy
Thus the single quotes around 'correct'. ;)

[toddjh]

Originally posted by bjornart
Hypothetical and stooopid. And it could easily have been made more ... realistic by posing it as something like this:
"If every known religion preaching an afterlife stated sex before marriage would damn you to hell, would you still do it?"
Which is of course a much simpler 'dilemma'.

Well, I imagine that's the whole point. Hypothetical situations like this are meant to take a scenario to absurd extremes so that you can't use semantics to take the easy way out. Doesn't always work, apparently. :)

Jeremy

[aerosolben]

Originally posted by toddjh
Well, I imagine that's the whole point. Hypothetical situations like this are meant to take a scenario to absurd extremes so that you can't use semantics to take the easy way out. Doesn't always work, apparently. :)

True.

But, I'm standing with you on this one. I don't take the money.

According to the hypothetical, it is a certainty that if there were an afterlife, you would burn in hell. However, since there's an infinite possible number of afterlives, how would this money offerer (assuming he's the one with the knowledge too) be able to affermatively put forth this true (by the constraints of the problem) statement?

Answer: There is a real afterlife, and he knows what it is. Hence the knowledge for the conditions of the hypothetical, and hence the chance of me actually burning in hell is quite high. I suppose the guy could be guessing and correct by accident, but in the weird world where I can have instant mysterious knowledge about conditional propositions involving the afterlife, I'm not inclined to gamble.

However, in real life, where the burning in helll bit was just told to me without the mystical knowledge, I'd take the money.

EDIT TO ADD that Todd is also correct about this hypothetical not suffering the problems of Pascal's wager. However, unlike Pascal's wager (were it problem-free), this hypothetical is irrelevant in the real world.

[roger]

Given that I'm already doing plenty of things that will get me damned to hell according to one religion or another, I don't see the problem in adding one more thing to that list. Gimme money.

[BillyJoe]

Yeah, gimme the money.

First of all there is no afterlife hundred percent certain.
Second of all there is no soul but you can burn it in hell for eternity if you can find it.

BillyJoe

[ImageOfReality]

What’s the alternative to hell. If living with some of the people that they say are going to heaven is the only option I’d rather be in hell, with or without the money. Anyway it’s supposed to be warm down there. That sounds kind of good. I live in cooold Montana.

You didn’t say what version of hell you would get to go to. My version is I get to go to a nice warm place where I can sit around and roast marshmallows with my friends and relatives. Maybe put a few true believers on the rotisserie. Mmmm, Yum, Yum. :)