Stop the press, guys. We have something really original in
our hands!... Actually, we don't. Eternal post-mortem oblivion, the idea that
the afterlife does not exist, has been a common belief since ancient times. The
theory goes that a person's essence, in terms of their mind or soul, is a product
of the brain. Probably as early as prehistoric ages people worked out that the
brain is connected to thought, feeling and wakefulness. If somebody receives a
head injury or illness it can cause them to black out, become confused or
experience long-term mental impairment. According to an article somebody shared
on social media, there is no way the afterlife can exist because there is no
known mechanism in the laws of physics for it to do so. Even if somehow our
consciousness existed in the quantum realm, it could not interact with the neurons
in our brains while we are alive. It cites none other than that smiling Simeon of the small screen, Prof. Brian Cox himself. Source:
https://www.higgypop.com/news/scientists-say-there-is-no-life-after-death/.
However, another scientist, Sir Roger Penrose, proposes that the brain can do
that because it has quantum computing abilities, see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43vuOpJY46s.
Even if that turns out not to be true and the plausibility problem remains, the
evidence gathered by many psychical researchers over a long period of time
needs explaining, as I detail in the background portal link below. Many
materialists argue that the concept of the afterlife is a cultural and psychological
safety net generated by mortality salience, the knowledge of our own inevitable
impending demise. They argue that afterlife delusions will arise inevitably in any
human society, and indeed with any species that is intelligent enough to
experience mortality salience; in fact there is evidence that elephants share it
with us. They say that the afterlife is nothing more than wishful thinking.
However, I have explained many times that the wishful thinking argument cuts
both ways, for example:
https://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.com/2011/04/could-you-be-awarded-mba.html.
It is impossible to prove that the afterlife exists; except waiting until it is
our turn, of course. Despite this, the case for eternal post-mortem oblivion is
also unproven. Its reality is dependent upon certain assumptions about brain function
being true. This is an uncertainty we all have to live with and die with;
although, as I detail in the portal below, I think we have good cause to be
hopeful.
See here for
background: http://hpanwo.blogspot.com/2023/06/afterlife-portal.html.
