Life After Death Crib Sheet Why is the thought of life after death so desirable? •

Scary prospect

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Gives meaning to life

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Brings justice where life may fail at this

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Potential realised

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Life = valuable. Why end it?

John Hick: ‘If the human potential is to be fulfilled in the lives of individuals, these lives must be prolonged far beyond the limits of our present bodily existence.’

Against life after death 

For some death is a biological function part of the natural process.

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Empirical evidence contradicts belief in an afterlife. Therefore the notion of life after death is meaningless. Russell: ‘I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive’

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Dawkins asks why it is necessary to have religious faith in order to find life important and significant.

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It is enough for us to value life as intrinsically special, and there is no need to ask for more beyond this life. Dawkins: ‘We are so grotesquely lucky to be here.’

Tricky Language: 

Talk of a ‘soul’ is meaningless, since no observations can be made which would verify its existence

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Even the phrase ‘life after death’ is a contradiction since life and death are two mutually exclusive states.

The relationship between the body and the mind/soul Monistic: The body and mind are linked to form one entity Dualistic: The body and mind are distinct and separate entities that can influence the other. There are 3 dualist views: 1. The mind depends totally on the body to function 2. The mind and body influence each other equally, but they need each other to be conscious and aware of the world 3. The body and mind are distinct entities that are mysteriously locked together in this world, but the soul will escape and live on after the death of the body The Monistic View 

Humans are psycho-physical unities made up of the physical body and the mind.

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There is no soul/mind that is distinct from the body which survives death.

The Dualist View 

The physical body and the spiritual soul are distinct entities.

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Humans have composite natures – partly material (body) and partly non-material (soul/mind)

Gilbert Ryle: Gilbert Ryle spoke of the ‘ghost in a machine’ ‘ghost’ = soul/mind

‘machine’ = body

For Ryle the body and soul/mind are one and the same. He supports the notion of philosophical behaviourism, i.e. mental events are really physical events interpreted in a mental way. To speak of body and soul is therefore a category error.

The relationship between the body and the mind/soul Rene Descartes 

The body was spatial, but not conscious. The mind is non-spatial and conscious.

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The body and mind are separate, but interact with one another through the workings of the brain.

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When the physical body dies the soul lives on.

Difficulties: The Monistic and Dualist views present difficulties: 1. Are the body and soul linked or not? 2. If they are linked and only the soul survives death then an important aspect of human character is lost 3. If both body and soul are needed for eternal life then how do we explain empirical evidence of physical death? Bertrand Russell suggested nothing survived death

Others disagree… They believe life after death is not only a possibility, but also a desirable prospect, which will require our personal identities, either… to survive the death process or… to be given a new mode of being with which to continue our existence

Plato’s understanding of the soul (Dualist) •

BODY: Learn through physical sense experience

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SOUL: Ability to know truth & the realm of the forms

The body was inferior to that of the mind The body is always changing and therefore cannot be certain of truth. The soul however is capable of knowing such truth and therefore unchanging. I deduced that the soul is immortal and lives on, not only after death, but it existed before birth!

The ‘psyche’ or soul, was the real part of the person. Unchanging and eternal. It was attached the body but would survive death. The soul was a guiding force for the mind and body, making sure all were pulling in the same direction.

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Reason: Understanding the Forms. Gaining knowledge of truth

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Emotion: Allows us to love and be courageous. However if left unchecked can lead us to be reckless & conceited.

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Appetite: Needed so we can look after the wants of our body, but again if left unchecked can lead to lives of hedonism.

These 3 elements are like a charioteer and his horses. The reason part is keeping the emotion and appetite in control to keep the person balanced and spiritually healthy.

Criticisms of Plato •

Plato does not appreciate how human’s beings see themselves as united wholes.

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We have to accept Plato’s idea of the realm of the Forms.

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There are plenty of things which are not brought about by their opposite. For example, hunger does not bring about satisfaction.

Aristotle and the Soul [Monistic] 

Body & soul were inseparable.

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The soul is the ‘real thing’ or the ‘essence’ of a person.

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To Aristotle, the soul has the same structure as the body. Therefore there are different types of soul, depending of the physical being.

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The soul could not survive after death.

A plant will have a nutritive soul, meaning they have the ability to gain sustenance from the soil.

Animals have perceptive souls as they can perceive and experience the world around them.

Humans have a higher degree of soul because we can tell right from wrong

Near Death Experiences •

Said to occur when someone dies for a short period of time and is resuscitated before the state of death becomes irreversible.

Moody: He discovered that there are many similarities in the testimonies of those who claimed to have had a NDE. However the person could be: 1. Dreaming 2. Remembering some lost subconscious memory 3. Having an hallucination caused by lack of oxygen to the brain

Ring: NDE’s are individually unique, but appear to have a common pattern of ‘core experiences’: • • •

Out of body experience A feeling of peace Entering darkness and seeing light

Fenwick: Identified several features which represent the ‘full syndrome’ of NDE, including: 1. Entering a tunnel 2. Experiencing a barrier that marks the point of no return 3. Visiting another country 4. Meeting relatives 5. A life review You will not have to 6. The decision to return list them all! 7. A rapid return to the physical body 8. The subsequent removal of the fear of death

Causes for the features of NDE Feelings of Peace    

Morphine Endorphins Hormone ACTH Foretaste of heaven.

Out-of-body Experiences  Psychedelic drugs.  Psychologically  People can often relate things seen and heard which would be inexplicable from the perspective of lying in a hospital bed. Are memories therefore processed from a bird’s eye view? If so, why? The Being of Light  Religious interpretation  Often related to the individuals

The Tunnel and the Light  A transition to another realm  Represent the birth process  Montefiore: Disinhibition and excitation of brain cells, especially in the visual cortex? The Barrier •

Montefiore: ‘Perhaps … the barrier is an indication that our life is regulated by providence

own religious culture, but not

(Gods activity in the world), and

always.

providence has decreed that it is not yet our time to die.’

Another Country  Symbolic representation of heaven/paradise?  Consoling themselves with a wellloved place in their memory?

Relatives and Friends

 Could this be a retreat from the fear of death to the comfort of known and loved ones?

Life Review •

Such an experience can take place in other circumstances, e.g. air pilots as they approach the speed of sound. This can be explained by anoxia, which is when the temporal lobe, through lack of oxygen, undergoes random firing and excitation. If this is so – why are the memories so orderly and clear?

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Others believe it is a foretaste of the life review after death (judgement). The Decision to Return •

The anoxia explanation would claim it is due to the sudden re-supply of oxygen to the brain.

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Others suggest divine providence has decreed the spiritual journey must come to an end.

Blackmore: 1. The explanation must be coherent and specific – accounting for particular features, not just generalities 2. A theory should not posit extra, or supernatural realms without good reason. 3. The theory should provide testable predictions Conclusion: The problem with the NDE is the reliability and verifiability of the testimonies – there is simply the person’s word for it, and that person might be actually recalling a lost memory of something they had read or heard at some time before.

Parapsychology • • •

Spiritualists believe there is a spirit world where people go after death. They believe the dead can be communicated with at a séance led by mediums. The Spiritualist Movement has suffered lasting damage to its credibility due to the activities of hoaxers, who have used spiritualism to gain money by deception.

Religion & Parapsychology: 1. Forbidden in the scriptures 2. It can be spiritually, psychologically and emotionally dangerous. •

Some say it can have some value in helping the bereaved, but that it serves no better function than bereavement counselling may do.

Examples: 1. Predictive cards featuring unicorns and angels 2. Readings with mediums and psychics 3. A vast range of therapies, like reiki and craniosacral therapy

Reincarnation •

The rebirth in another body (after physical death) of some critical part of a person’s personality or spirit.

Karma = the principle of cause and effect in Hinduism and Buddhism. It asserts that all acts or deeds leave their current influence on a future transmigration of the actor. i.e. The current situation of a human being is the consequence of the person’s actions and thoughts in current and past lives.

Hinduism •

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Life and death are considered as part of a cycle of existence. A person lives and then on death their soul is reborn again into another body. This cycle goes on through many lives until the soul achieve ultimate reality (nirvana) and is united with Brahman. The unity with Brahman is what all souls seek. The soul’s journey from life to life is governed by karma, where a person’s reincarnation is determined by how good or bad their karma was in the previous life. The soul is not just reincarnated on earth but could go to other realms of existence which can be joyful or painful. This is where the soul has to face the good or bad deeds ( karma) done on earth. However, it is only in the physical body from on earth that the soul has freedom and responsibility, so it is only from earth that the soul can go on to nirvana.

Hindu scholars: Argue that the empirical evidence for reincarnation lies in that it explains many odd phenomena in human life. E.g. Out fear of death may come from our knowledge gained from our previous lives. Reincarnation could also explain why a child may be ‘born genius’ such as Mozart. Problems with reincarnation: •

If we accept that the human personality is made up of a combination of the physical body, memory and psychological pattern (personal identity) then:

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On reincarnation, bodily continuity is lost.

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If we cannot remember our previous lives, then memory is lost too.

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This leaves on the psychological pattern of personal character remaining.

Evidence Dr Ian Stevenson: •

Spoke to people who have memories of a previous life and then some of those who knew the person in that life and corroborate these memories.

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The person sometimes has birthmarks, which seem to substantiate the claims, and generally recognises people and possessions from their previous life. HOWEVER….. The cases he uses are almost all from societies where reincarnation is accepted – cultural phenomenon?

Problems with this research In some cases there was a long time gap between the person’s first claim to have memories and Stevenson’s investigation. This makes the problems of possible secondary elaboration more difficult to eliminate. Because of language difficulties, Stevenson had to rely on interpreters who could have had biases of their own He observed that there are general similarities in people, like being selfish or unselfish, but these similarities “would never by themselves lead or entitle us to identify two as the same person”.

Buddhism and Rebirth We have 1 physical body and 4 mental elements: • Feeling • Perception • Moral will • Consciousness (nama-rupa) When the physical body dies numa-rapa is released and reborn into a new person. Rebirth may not be back to earth, but to another spiritual realm or world. Everything that changes is impermanent and this includes the physical body. The real self is eternal and unchanging If it is to be eternal the soul must rid itself of all change and achieve nirvana, which is the end of rebirth.

This is done through gradual realisation and may take many lifetimes. This means the individual may remember aspects of their previous lives. Although this may feel real, it ultimately is not, because there is no soul, no self.

Karma and rebirth •

In Buddhism karma refers to

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“volitional action” or “intentional

determine whether an action is

action”, that is, one that is

good or bad:

deliberately willed. •

Intention behind an action.

Buddhists, therefore, distinguish between action which are motivated to achieve a particular goals, and

Type of result it produces. •

those which have no clear intention. •

There are two factors that

Actions which are intended are the only ones that carry moral consequence. Other actions are morally neutral.

in Buddhism, as the result depends on the intention. Good actions produce happiness and they arise from kindness, generosity etc. Bad actions produce suffering and are motivated by aggression, craving

In determining a karmic result, the intention is more important than the action itself.

The first is the most important

etc.

Buddhists claim karmic results effect us mentally, physically or both and they colour the way we experience the world as well as the way we relate to Karmic effect

ourselves.

1. The fully ripened, or maximum, effect of an action – e.g. An action motivated by hatred will cause rebirth in the hells. 2. The effect is similar to the cause – e.g. If we are often criticised, belittled or lied to by others, this is the result of lying in the past. 3. The conditioning effect; it acts on our environment – e.g. Stealing may cause rebirth in areas stricken by famine. 4. The proliferation effect – this refers to the way in which an action done before will tend to be repeated again and a again. It will become a habit.

Resurrection of the body •

An important concept in monotheistic religions and is a central doctrine of Christianity.

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It is based on the idea of God restoring the dead to eternal life in bodily form at some future date (sometimes called Judgement Day).

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It is not the resurrection of corpses, but the re-creation by God of the human individual as a spiritual being.

Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believe in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” •

The resurrected person will not be the same as the one who died – they will have spiritual body (soma pneumatikon), rather than a flesh and blood one, which will contain all their memories and characteristics and which will endure forever.

Thomas Aquinas •

Believed eternal life required a body and a soul.

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He believed that the soul animated the body and gave it life. He called the soul the anima.

Problems surrounding bodily resurrection

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Is a resurrected body really ‘us’, or just a copy of us? If we have truly died then, by definition, we cannot come back to life. So is resurrection concerned with copies and clones?

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Is the body resurrected in perfect condition? Do the sick and handicapped remain so for eternity?

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The only ‘evidence’ we have is of Jesus. His disciples did not recognise him at first. He also had the ability to go through locked doors and appear at will. He still bore the scars of crucifixion but the wounds had healed.

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Bertrand Russell suggested that perhaps “the continuity of a human body is a matter of appearance and behaviour, not substance.”

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If bodily resurrection does not take place until the end of time, how can life after death be verified now?

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Hick’s solution was the principle of ‘eschatological verification’ – that we may not be able to verify post-mortem existence in our earthly lives, but at the end of time, if there is life after death, we will know.

John Hick •

Replica Theory: An all-powerful God would be able to create a replica of a dead person, complete with all the individual’s memories and characteristics and to place him or her in a world inhabited by resurrected persons.

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He said life after death could be: “...as a resurrection replica in a different world altogether, a resurrection world inhabited only by a resurrected persons”.

Problems with Hick’s Theory…. •

If God can make one replica, then he could make multiple replicas, which surely undermines personal identity.

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The concept of a replica is questionable, since we are aware that a replica is not as valuable as the original.

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Hick’s scenario of Person A being transported from one place to another without crossing time or space is counter-intuitive.

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Another scenario of suggesting that Person A is resurrected in a place inhabited by resurrected bodies. This is more conceivable, since it takes place in another world beyond our experience, in which, presumably, anything would happen.

Immortality of the soul Plato:   

[See earlier notes] Soul is eternal and unchanging Trying to get back to the Realm of the Forms.

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He put forward two famous arguments for dualism:

1. ‘The Doctrine of Recollection’: The slave boy knowing geometry without being taught it 2. The mind and body are made up of different things are therefore are different in themselves. The body decays while the soul is everlasting.

Many Plato’s ideas have been discredited through developments in the field of psychology.

René Descartes

Kant

Sceptical of physical world- our

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the summum bonum or complete good.

senses deceive us. The soul is the only meaningful

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The purpose of existence is to achieve

source in understanding the afterlife.

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There is not always justice in this lifetime so there has to be an afterlife for life to be fair.

Where does the soul go when the physical body dies? Christian view:

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Dawkins: “...a Hadean (an era 4.7 billion years ago)

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Heaven

waiting room where dead souls go if their sins aren’t

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Hell

bad enough to send them to Hell.”

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Purgatory

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John Hick: the notion of Hell is “...horrible and disturbing beyond words; and the thought such torment being deliberately inflicted by a divine decree is totally incompatible with the idea of God as infinite love”.

Heaven – what is it? •

Monotheistic religions usually describe it as a place of paradise, without pain or sorrow, where those who love God will be with him forever.

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Aquinas regarded heaven as a beatific vision which is a state of highest joy: “...we must not, therefore, imagine God in the beatific vision as some outside object to look at, but as dwelling within the very essence of our soul...”

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Migual de Unamuno refined this view suggesting humans live forever not in physical form, but in the memory of God.

H. H. Price How would the soul, without a physical body, relate to its surroundings and other

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souls? Price argued that any experience the soul has in a post-mortem experience

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would be ‘mind-dependent’. Meaning, what the soul perceived would be formed from the mental images it acquired in life. 

It would perceive things in a physical way because that is what it is used to.

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This new world would require souls to communicate with other souls by a form of telepathy.

Which is the most convincing argument? • • •

Depends on religious and cultural background from which a person comes. No view on life after death is any more independently convincing than another.

Anti-realists don’t believe that life after death can be known in terms of a future reality that we can experience, but still believe that the statement “I believe in life after death” is in some sense true.

A non-realist approach You could see life after death as a myth or symbol. Talk of heaven is really about the happiness of someone in this life who lives unselfishly and generously. • Talk of hell is really about the misery of a selfish egoist in this life. • ‘Last Judgement’ symbolises our deepest motivation for what we do • Some Liberal Jews and Christians have adopted this symbolic way of thinking about life after death because either: - belief in a realist, literal life after death in our modern world is no longer possible for many people, or; - realist approaches life after death confuse and disguise the true religious message  what matters most is the sort of person you are and the sort of person you are becoming. • •