Timeline for What do you call someone who doesn't believe in an afterlife but is open to supernatural existence?
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22 events
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| Aug 29 at 15:52 | comment | added | jsw29 | @Tucker, actually my comment should probably be directed more at those who coined the term apeirophobia than at you personally. They seem to have thought of apeiros as just an equivalent of infinite, while in Greek it carries not only that meaning (lacking external boundaries) but also the meaning of lacking internal boundaries, i.e. being unstructured. Nevertheless, you are right that the term has some (limited, but not negligible) use in psychology, and may want to incorporate that into your answer (it is not quite what the OP is looking for, but is still related to it). | |
| Aug 27 at 4:50 | comment | added | Tucker | @jsw29 Wow. You responded to a pretty old thread, but I appreciate your input. I understand that this is a phycological term for an actual condition that is derivative of a type of OCD. In my defense, when the term came about, it was not as precise as it is used today and I don't remember where I read it. What is amazing is that I actually read the term and remembered this topic and responded to it. | |
| Aug 22 at 17:21 | comment | added | jsw29 | @Tucker, apeiros carries a great deal of philosophical baggage, which may not be fully captured by a short definition. One should thus be cautious about coining new terms out of it and using its derivatives. | |
| Feb 26, 2018 at 8:48 | comment | added | Tucker | @201044 Two years on, but I think I have that synonym you wanted now: The word is: Apeirophobia and it is from the Greek ápeiros, "infinite, boundless". It is defined as the fear of infinity or eternity. Although nullitatiphobia more exactly defines this concept because of its near-literal transcription, Apeirophobia is quite commonly used. | |
| Feb 1, 2016 at 23:17 | comment | added | Tucker | @201044 No idea. I made up a word that perfectly defines the prerequisites by cobbling together the Latin roots. Perhaps there are more common words in the French of German languages that are accepted in English. | |
| Jan 29, 2016 at 3:40 | comment | added | 201044 | What are those synonyms? | |
| Jan 26, 2016 at 18:49 | comment | added | Tucker | @201044 Wow, I forgot this. No, it isn't a 'legitimate' word in English. It's a neologistic word. It's not recognized by others probably because there's no reason for it to exist. In this case the requirement was very niche, there are probably a lot of synonyms that convey the same idea that are more common and accepted. | |
| Jan 25, 2016 at 14:53 | comment | added | 201044 | Is nullitatiphobia a 'legitimate' word ; note I'm not trying to criticize ,I've just never heard of it. Is it in the Webster's dictionary. The thing is if there is a legitimte word for the fear of non-existence ( and never being able to exist again) and it is recognized not just in some dictionary of difficult or unused expressions then why don't any academics or philosophers use it. | |
| Sep 15, 2014 at 5:57 | comment | added | user128932 | THANK you for the info. ; I've never heard of this term. | |
| Sep 14, 2014 at 19:47 | comment | added | Tucker | @user128932 'Nullitatiphobia' = fear of non-existence. 'Nullitatis' = non-existence. | |
| Sep 3, 2014 at 4:54 | comment | added | user128932 | Is there a word for fear of non-existence? Is thanatophobic only a fear of death (end of existence) and not 'fear of non-existence' ? Is Thanatos a Greek word for death? Is there a Greek word or phrase meaning non-existence ? | |
| Apr 28, 2014 at 19:16 | comment | added | Tucker | @DanFox That's actually pretty interesting. A mathematical concept that can be adopted as a spiritual sense. Grounds for a good question if you ask me. What word can mean a mathematical form of enlightenment... | |
| Apr 28, 2014 at 15:02 | comment | added | Dan Fox | @user128932: It seems worth mentioning that "finitism" has already a well-established technical meaning among mathematicians. It refers to a philosophy of mathematics that accepts only those mathematical objects that can be constructed from the natural numbers in a finite number of steps. | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 11:28 | comment | added | Tucker | @user128932 The answer to the first question is an agnostic. The answer to the second question is a tricky one because it implies some sort of fear of it, in which case thanatophobic is probably the closest word. | |
| Apr 26, 2014 at 5:48 | comment | added | user128932 | Is there a word for someone who is aware of the reality of death but is vague about whether there is an after-life or if the supernaturel exists? Someone who puts off such questions or represses them? | |
| Apr 19, 2014 at 6:23 | comment | added | Tucker | @user128932 There is also the term ignosticism which is the idea that every theological position assumes too much about the concept of God and other theological concepts; including (but not limited to) concepts of faith, spirituality, heaven, hell, afterlife, damnation, salvation, sin and the soul. Perhaps this is more of what you're looking for? There is also a difference between fear of death (end of existence) and fear of no afterlife (fear of nonexistence). | |
| Apr 19, 2014 at 6:20 | comment | added | Tucker | @user128932 Thanatism is a pagan belief system. Life before death, which is considered blasphemous in Christianity because it completely casts out the idea of an afterlife. "There is no heaven." Agnosticism, which is the truth values of certain claims—especially claims about the existence or non-existence of any deity, as well as other religious and metaphysical claims—are unknown or unknowable. The fear of non-existence is different from being vague about the supernatural. | |
| Apr 19, 2014 at 5:21 | comment | added | user128932 | I'm a born-again Christian myself and I believe in what the Bible indicates to be true but I also believe Dinosaurs existed and the Earth is millions of years old. I read some Catholic Bishop declared the Earth was 6000 years old starting from Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden BUT he should have counted the expance of time before they left Eden..What I was asking about was a term for someone who does not believe in an afterlife but is vague about the supernatural. Thanatism might work. I coined a word for this 'Finitism'. Is there a word for fear of non-existence? | |
| Apr 17, 2014 at 11:29 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | And I've edited far too many posts today :) | |
| Apr 17, 2014 at 11:27 | history | edited | Tucker | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Fixing typo
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| Apr 17, 2014 at 11:26 | comment | added | Tucker | @Mari-LouA It's been a long day. | |
| Apr 17, 2014 at 11:16 | history | answered | Tucker | CC BY-SA 3.0 |