It makes a considerable difference to our outlook on life,
whether we believe in any form of survival or not. Those who entirely reject
the idea of survival inevitably concentrate all their ambitions and hopes, for
themselves and others, on this single life on earth. This life, they feel, is
all they have and for them the only reasonable goal can be the achievement of
some kind of mundane satisfaction or contentment in this world—all else being
meaningless. The precise implications of such an attitude will depend greatly
on a person’s character. The idealist may devote himself to all kinds of plans
for bettering the human condition. It is claimed, and not without some justice,
that this view of things has led to a great many social improvements.
Nevertheless, if we look at the whole picture, it may be doubted whether all
the social consequences of a purely “this-worldly” view have been beneficial.
And even the idealist must admit that his hopes are strictly limited, not only
for himself but for the race itself which will inevitably die out one day,
possibly hastened to its end by man’s own wicked folly or even his incompetent
attempts to “control nature.” Furthermore, those who are less idealistically
inclined may tend to regard this “one-life-only” theory as an excuse for
enjoying themselves as selfishly as they like while they have the chance, with
no fear of any post- mortem retribution.
In addition, there are very many people who are more or less
(in some cases greatly) tormented by the fear of utter extinction at death. To
point out that this is illogical is useless. For many such, fear of cancer or
other fatal diseases, or war and other disasters, is not made any easier to
bear because they see no future for themselves beyond the grave. Those who
preach the “we have only one life” gospel too enthusiastically may forget in
their zeal for good causes the serious psychological harm such talk can do.
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