I disagree. You will always have evil and good irrespective of the existence of an afterlife. I'm not a serial murderer not because I fear that I'll burn in some hell for eternity after I die but because like Para_Bellum mentioned, I believe in treating others how you would want to be treated. It's really that simple in my eyes.

I hope that my consciousness/existence continues past the point when my body dies but, thus far I believe that there is nothing waiting for us but the end...

"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." - Immanuel Kant.

I think using rationality rather than an afterlife as a bedrock for morality works well. Just prioritize something - self-preservation is a very good start - and everything trickles from it. You should not be a murderer because if you can murder, so can other people, and you invite the risk of murder upon yourself.

Adolf Hitler certainly did not live to a "ripe old age." In his rule he brought conflict to the people of the world, so the people of the world brought conflict to him, and he died hiding in a hole at 56. Making war was his fallacy because war as 'universal law' (as Kant calls it) is self-destructive. His self-preservation was dependent upon Germany's power which was transient.

Mother Teresa, on the other hand, lived to be almost 90 years old and was celebrated around the world.

My sig says it all about my current belief. But TBH I made some mistakes in some of the theorems I made in Mathematics, in some of the counter-examples I made and of course in some of the hypotheses I made about history (why *blah did that, what would have happened if *blah did this etc.). I can also recall mistakes in my assumptions about life, my assumptions about some of the women in my life etc.

So, while I'm adamant that there is nothing beyond, I'm still trying to prepare myself just in case I'm wrong. Which boils down to one thing, "Are you prepared to accept the consequences if your assumptions are wrong?"

TBH my current answer to this is "No." but I think I'm closer to getting myself to answer "Yes" in the near future. I don't know, but what I see in life right now is making choices and having the maturity to live with its consequences.

That includes consequences about our assumptions beyond life/death.

I'm afraid there will be nothing. My biggest regret is that I won't be there to see the future. Really wonder if 1000 years from now we can travel to the stars or if we reverted back to a medieval(ish) society. And 10,000 years from now? A 100,000?

To quote Penn and Teller,,,"#%&*$#"

Sure they can. As Osram asked in the post right above yours, do people who believe in the afterlife do good only to receive a reward or avoid punishment? Or, if you believe in the idea of a Hell in the afterlife how is it possible to do evil, knowing what awaits? Can't an atheist or agnostic do good simply because it's the right way to live?

I've said it before - I'm not religious (not sure if I'm agnostic or atheist, it changes now & then) and I try to be as good a person as I can even though I don't think I'll ever be held accountable in an afterlife for things I do today.

Humanity would have left Earth and moved on and colonized a slew of new planets while basing it all on a feudal-type society where each planet is run by a House (family). There would be an Emperor who would mainly serve as a figurehead while a spacing guild of sorts would have a monopoly over interstellar travel.

Don't forget the spice.

I've been told that same thing so many times it's not funny, by people who said they were concerned for my immortal soul. Well, I guess I just can't bring myself to "believe" as a sort of insurance policy, and I'm sure that if there is a god worth believing in he'd be smart enough to know I was just covering all the bases. No, I think it's something you have to give 100% to or it means nothing. If there is a god worth believing in, he's looking at what kind of person you were while alive and not just whether or not you believe in him.