My current view on death. Comments and criticism?

Question

Hi guys, this is my current view on death, I came to this conclusion with logic and science and research, still it might be wrong. No one can tell for sure what happens when you die, we can only try. So at the moment this is the best explanation I can come up with and I need to note that English is not my first language so excuse any mistakes.

Consciousness is one of the most puzzling mysteries in this existence. My personal view is that consciousness is a phenomena produced by the human brain when neurones in the brain are connected. Each neurone in itself is not conscious, but when they connect they produce a phenomena called consciousness. Just like a single water molecule is not “wet” in itself, but when a number of water molecules are connected they produce a phenomena known as “wetness”. So when your physical body dies, and your heart stops bumping blood, your brain stops all it’s activity. Therefore the phenomena known as consciousness vanishes since pars of your brain are not connected. Your physical body parts go through natural process of decomposition and with time the body returns to Earth.

I most likely than not am mistaken for holding brain’s neurones responsible for the phenomena of consciousness, and I need to to learn more about neuroscience, cognitive science and brain science. (I’m majoring in cognitive science in school right now, I’ve always wanted to understand this mystery) Probably a lot of regions in the brain play a role in that. However, whatever are the regions; it still all brain activity, and it all stops when you’re dead. I do not believe in a soul or an metaphysical aspect to consciousness.

When you’re in a coma it’s like a really really heavy sleep, but you don’t have no sense of self, or time, or place. Your brain doesn’t respond to external stimuli, and you don’t dream. This is all caused by little brain activity in the higher level parts of the brain, like the frontal lobe, and prefrontal lobe. You don’t enter a REM or NREM sleep that’s why you never dream. Also some studies suggest that sometimes during a coma the brain goes into a state of “brain death” where you are essentially dead for split seconds at a time.

So think of death as a permeant, irreversible more severe coma to consciousness. There is nothing. You are not aware. All brain activity stops, you are gone. Your sense of self, time, place is gone forever. Just nothingness. And just like wetness vanishes as a phenomena, consciousness vanishes as a phenomena.

As for near-death experiences, I also believe them to be a bizarre brain activity. There is no metaphysical aspect to that. Just think of people on drugs or anything that alters consciousness. The brain can do really tricky things. It's all in your brain.

As I said this is the best understanding that I’ve reached so far through logic and science. And I trust science and logic. It could be wrong since I cannot prove it. All this could be a dream, or maybe I’m the only one that exists in the world, or maybe there is indeed a creator, or maybe when you die there is reincarnation, or maybe there is Heaven and Hell! However, all these possibilities are unlikely. And I try to reach the truth logically and scientifically.

We don’t know why we exist, or why the universe exists. However, that doesn’t mean that we should say, “It must be God”. If we can’t explain something, we shouldn’t attribute it to a reason until we have evidence that that reason is correct. If science can’t explain something God doesn’t win by “default”.

And even if someone said “It must be God”, then why does “God” exist? you’d say because it’s God! God must exist. And that’s a logical fallacy and just plain absurd. If you have a faith, or believe in a metaphysical God or a creature, that’s up to you. But don’t try to logicalize something that is not logical.

I'd love to hear what you guys have to say and your personal views on death.

Answer 1

My personal view is that consciousness is a phenomena produced by the human brain when neurones in the brain are connected.



~~~ And there my reading ends.

You are descriming the theory of 'materialism', which has been obsolete for wuite some time now.

Qhantum physics has hammered the final nails into the coffin!

Catch up to date if you want to play science and 'logic'!



"Consciousness is the ground of all being!" - Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics

One Consciousness!



Neither is Consciousness nor thought 'manufactured' in that lump of brain meat!



"It is not the eye that perceives light and color, nor the ear that perceives sound, nor the brain that perceives thought!" - Book of Fudd



Re; Death;



Life? Death?



"Here! Now! is Consciousness!

'We' appear/are born...

Here! Now! is Consciousness!

'We' live...

Here! Now! is Consciousness!

'We' leave/die...

Here! Now! is Consciousness!

We Trees grow...

Here! Now! is Consciousness!

We Rocks melt, solidify, and are worn down to dust...

Here! Now! is Consciousness!

We Galaxies form and crash...

Here! Now! is Consciousness!"



'Life' and 'death' exist in the imagination, as 'thought' only.

'Thought' is pride/vanity/sin, the 'Original Apple'!

And with 'thought/sin' comes 'death' (and 'life')!

But they do, thus, exist!

Everything exists!

Answer 2

We haven't yet found the truth regarding the genesis of consciousness and are continuing to dabble in the pool of ignorance on this subject. My logical mind accepts the possibility that it might well be simply an aspect of the physical brain itself so that death closes the chapter completely, but is unable to rule out the other possibility of it being a non-physical phenomenon aided and influenced by the capabilities of the physical brain, but not born of or limited to that..... this other possibility in fact gels better with our innermost feeling about our true self which we believe to be the boss rather than the outcome of our physical body (including the most important physical brain of course).

Answer 3

You might appreciate



Brainwashed, Satel and Lilienfeld,

Zen and the Brain, Austin,

The Mindful Universe, Stapp, and

The Self-Aware Universe, Goswami, for additional views.



Imo, there are two distinct logical "sections" re "post-passing."



One is the broader or general God-based section: Is there a Creator behind Energy? (Kant's "first question of philosophy.")

The second is the personal: Is there personal post-passing awareness, progression, learning, etc.? (Kant's "third question of philosophy;" the second question being of course "is there free will?")



Thus there are 4 possibles: God Is, and Soul Is; God Is, and that's it; God is not, and some type of post-passing existence, for some duration, is; and fourthly, God is not, and post-passing existence is not. The latter (4th possibility) is in both sections a claiming to having proven a universal negative. This, of course, is illogical.



The problem with proving any of these four possibilities is likewise two-fold: per the definitions of the Abrahamic-Brahamanic God, God is less provable via "mere materialism," the latter (atoms qua reductionism) being of God, but not particularly Presence. And, secondly, the more clear way re personalism is often that of Soul's awareness of Itself as an individed portion of the One. In both arguments, hence, God (Presence) and Soul (realized individed Oneness) are Self-evident, requiring the inquirer to at least in good faith practice "protocols of awareness" (e.g., Interior Castle methodism of Saint Teresa of Avila, The Path of the Higher Self, Mark Prophet, meditation practices http://www.freemeditations.com http://www.jackkornfield.com and so on).



We know (in a Popperian sense), per physics, that our Universe is "Energy" and its geometrizations.

We also know that no thing creates itself prior to its existence.

Thus, it is logical to claim that Energy has either always existed, and "merely" recycles, subsists in "empty space," or/and Energy is of God, indeed is God.



That's the "God-based" section. As to human consciousness surviving post-passing in a personalist mode, in a fashion similar to sleep-dream-lucid dream nightly patterns ( http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Lucid_Dreaming/Induction_Techniques ), there are some evidential indications to that effect. Again, "evidence" in the "post-passing" realm is not particularly atomistic (although a few experiments have provided some evidence re e.g. OBE:

http://www.nderf.org

http://www.oberf.org )

Answer 4

Near Death Experience explains it all. The foolish not that what one witness is due to brain activity is impossible, because the brain is clinically dead past the amount of it cannot survive without oxygen. Death of the brain equals no brain activity. Also, what would account for the reports of doctor, surgeons, nurses, EMTs, and others who claim that the deceased patient can recall the conversations and actions happening as they left the body? Do more research on NDEs and listen to the stories of those who when through it first hand. Who would know better than them?

Answer 5

I have pasted the following texts from my file, therefore you may find some repetition of lines.



A human being is always living with a group of spirits which have joined one by one since birth. Between creatures (including human beings) and God there are millions of invisible elements. There are divisions too. We are just robots made of different materials (flesh, bones, nerves etc.,) created by scientist God or eternal beings to entertain God. Each of us have memories like computers have RAM. The fed things (data= knowledge=several spirits or invisible elements) are in contact with the mind since childhood. A brain is a media to connect spirits to a human mind. In fact, all stuff related to a human being lives with a human being in the form spirits. Even thoughts are not your own. When you want to take a decision on a subject, one after another the spirits think and you just listen, choose or reject the ideas which they transmit to your mind through your brain in the form of thoughts. If current (electricity) stopped the memory loses all data. This is with computer. The same thing occurs to all of us. Computers are functioning by electric power but human beings are functioning by natural power. We call this as soul. This soul is nothing but simply a power like electricity or a state of functionality. If this is stopped our memories lose all data (all spirits or invisible elements). These spirits leave the body and go to different places. No one lives in the form of spirit or anything after death. We are simply our bodies, the toys made for spirits for their games.



After death no one is going to be anything. Can you remember what all happened to you when you were a baby? You forget everything very soon. Even at the age of six, you don't know what happened to you when you were a baby. We are still new born babies. What you see in you, may be changes of intelligence or changes of behaviour, manners etc., whatever may be, are spirits - real spirits. That's why certain people during their deadly accidents lose everything and remains like a baby. During these accidents, the extremity of shock drives the spirits away from the body or contact. Their behaviour changes or go back to a level according to the number of spirits they have lost. After death all becomes nothing.



Near-death experience is nothing but a dream caused by spirits. Spirits compose and cause dreams for many reasons.



We are created beings. (The word 'created' is self-explanatory.) That doesn't comes under natural way of life. We are not natural but unnatural beings. I mean we are just robots made of different materials (flesh, bones, tissues etc.,). There are ever existing eternal beings which knew neither death nor birth and God is the chief of these eternal beings. In fact this is the real ever existing phenomena. Some people asks "Who created God?". This is because they think from the state what they are. That's why they are unable to understand the truth.



There is no hell or heaven for human beings. They are only for spirits. Spirits are separate elements. We are like other creatures except that we have an additional sense (sixth sense). This sense had changed only the living conditions of the human beings but not the fate. The fate is almost same to all creatures including human beings.

Answer 6

I think, For My Understanding Your Logic and the Science of Your Thoughts are Fully Acceptable. But, I am Not the Scientist .

Answer 7

Not only hindus, but every one is right and you see, hinduism talks its existence before Adam and Eve, Birth of Adam and Eve is around 30th century BC, exactly when Krishna died, that is Krishna said, "kalyug is coming and i am going now". So what ever each religion says, all are very correct.

Brother, I know you are not going to do this

but just read once "SrimadBhagwatGeeta", Believe me, whoever says to you that its a spiritual book, just piss on him,believe me, i have read it whole and it just talks clearly about your question.

i know after reading it whole, you will never have a single query in your life.

Answer 8

There is another component to Consciousness you have not included here, which is far more pertinent.

This is The Mind (Consciousness) in the Infinite Source of All, that merges with the immortal soul of man. "Soul is in Body, Mind in Soul..." "For Mind is the in-worker of the souls of men, for Good" ("Thrice Greatest Hermes, "About the Common Mind").

There are two (Higher Spiritual and Lower Material) egos within each human being. From birth they will battle until one is victorious. They are opposing forces, one negative and the other positive.

(Something like when you were little and perhaps your mom told you; the devil sits on your left shoulder and tells you to do things you shouldn't, while the other; the angel tries to convince you not to do things that will get you into trouble.)

There is perpetual energy of both forces (scientifically called Neutrinos) that filter around and through everything on this planet. This energy feeds and manifests from all life forms-hosts. They influence the mind and it's actions within all living creatures. They are eternal and will leave the host at the onset of it's demise and seek out another living being. .

Scientists may have theories as to Near-death experiences, but until one has had this experience, he cannot even possibly know it's cause. I have had this experience some twenty years ago, during my last suicide attempt. I do remember most of what I experienced during this time. I do not need to detail this experience but, I know beyond doubt, there is most definitely One Infinite Source, regardless what we choose to refer in name.

There is many more than one universe and many more dimensions that man will never have knowledge of in this life. There is so much that has yet to be discovered and much more that is so far beyond our comprehension

In conclusion; We are composed of two (egos) within one body, two means of Mind and heart - one physical and one Spiritual.

Therein is the immortal Soul inherently within each and every living form. Within each Soul is the Spiritual Mind, (Spiritually fed via the heart) and heart, (Spiritually fed through the Spirit of The One Infinite Source) and, the memory of every monumental lesson learned - or not, during the course of life in the body it inhabited.

All this emerges in the form of Light energy at the time of the death of the current body and continues on within the next body it will be coextensive with.

Everything in this life on earth and in our universe rotates in cycles, in endless motion, and energy. Not even the body truly dies, only physically to the human senses.

"All things, accordingly, that are on earth are not the Truth; they are copies only of the True. "...they consist of falsity and error." (Thrice Greatest Hermes")

Nobody does or has ever known Truth in it's reality, and never will. For Truth is not in the world. So how can these things be, as you have said above.

Death is not final by any means. "Where one door closes, another one opens." Death is nothing to fear, for it is the most awesome experience each and every one of us will ever have. Personally, I can hardly wait to go back Home! Although I know, I must wait until my time has come.

Even that which I know to be Truth is only Truth for me alone. Every life of the individual has a different journey and a different Truth. The only sameness within each and every one of us is "Purpose". This primary purpose is to love unconditionally, help and give when and where ever needed, to every other living creature and being on Earth. In turn, we are nurtured from within and all around us to sustain life here. "What goes around, comes back around. :D



Peace and Blessings

Answer 9

I love your comments and want to add this quotation by Mark Twain here:



"I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it." --Mark Twain

Answer 10

I like it. Now get on with your life, have a nice happy one.