What Happens When We Die?

[Ethan Wallace]

What Happens When We Die?

 October 26, 2024   Author: Ethan Wallace

The question of what happens after we die is one of the oldest and most profound inquiries in human history. From religious doctrines and philosophical theories to scientific research and anecdotal experiences, humanity has long sought answers to what occurs in the moments, days, and possibly even eternities after death. This article will explore these perspectives, combining insights from science, spirituality, and cultural beliefs to give a holistic view of what might happen when we die.

 

The Physical Process of Dying

 

From a scientific perspective, death begins with the gradual shutdown of bodily functions. The process of dying can vary depending on the cause, but it generally involves the following steps:

 

1. Clinical Death: This is the point when the heart stops beating, and blood flow ceases. Without circulation, oxygen and nutrients stop reaching organs and tissues, leading to the shutdown of cellular function.

2. Biological Death: As the body loses its oxygen supply, cells begin to die. The brain, which requires a constant supply of oxygen, is particularly vulnerable. In most cases, brain cells start to die within four to six minutes after the heart stops. Once brain death occurs, it is considered irreversible, marking the end of biological life.

3. Decay and Decomposition: Following biological death, the body undergoes decomposition. This process, managed by bacteria and enzymes, breaks down tissues, ultimately returning the body’s nutrients to the earth.

 

However, these physical processes only provide part of the picture. For many, death also raises questions about consciousness, the soul, and the possibility of an afterlife.

 

Consciousness and the Near-Death Experience

 

One of the most intriguing aspects of death is the concept of consciousness and what happens to it. Near-death experiences (NDEs) have offered tantalizing glimpses into the potential survival of consciousness after the heart stops.

 

The Near-Death Experience (NDE)

 

Near-death experiences are reported by individuals who have come close to death or were briefly declared clinically dead. Commonly reported features of NDEs include:

 

• Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs): Some people describe a sensation of floating above their body, observing medical teams working on them.

• Light and Tunnel Phenomena: Many report moving through a tunnel toward a bright light.

• Feelings of Peace: Despite their circumstances, individuals often report feeling calm, peaceful, and even blissful.

• Reunions with Deceased Relatives: Some describe encounters with deceased loved ones or religious figures.

 

Scientists remain divided on whether NDEs are evidence of an afterlife. Some argue that NDEs are biological in origin, suggesting that they could be triggered by chemical changes in the brain, lack of oxygen, or other neurological responses during trauma. Others believe that NDEs may provide evidence that consciousness can exist independently of the body, hinting at life beyond death.

 

Religious and Spiritual Beliefs About the Afterlife

 

Most of the world’s major religions offer specific beliefs about what happens after death, often involving the soul’s journey or reincarnation.

 

Christianity

 

In Christianity, beliefs about the afterlife vary among denominations. Many Christians believe in an eternal life, where the soul is judged and enters either Heaven or Hell based on one’s faith and deeds.

 

Islam

 

In Islam, the soul is believed to enter an intermediate stage called Barzakh, where it awaits judgment. On the Day of Judgment, each soul is judged based on its actions, with righteous individuals entering Paradise and others facing punishment.

 

Hinduism and Buddhism

 

In Hinduism and Buddhism, death is part of a continuous cycle of reincarnation, governed by karma. The soul, or atman, reincarnates in a new form, with the ultimate goal of achieving liberation (Moksha) from the cycle of rebirth.

 

Secular and Humanist Perspectives

 

Secular perspectives often view death as the end of individual consciousness. Many humanists believe that the legacy one leaves, in terms of impact on others and the world, is a way of achieving “immortality” rather than a literal afterlife.

 

Scientific Theories on Consciousness and Death

 

The scientific community has yet to reach a consensus on what happens to consciousness after death. However, several theories offer different possibilities:

 

• Annihilation of Consciousness: Some neuroscientists propose that consciousness ceases when brain function ends. This perspective views consciousness as a byproduct of the brain’s complex functions, thus disappearing when the brain dies.

• Quantum Consciousness Theory: This theory, popularized by physicist Roger Penrose, suggests that consciousness could be linked to quantum processes in the brain. If true, it raises the possibility that consciousness might continue in some form, independent of the brain.

• Emergent Theory of Consciousness: Another theory posits that consciousness arises from complex systems and may not be limited to biological entities. According to this view, consciousness could manifest in different ways and possibly continue beyond human existence.

 

Final Thoughts: What Do We Really Know?

 

While scientific, religious, and philosophical explorations offer fascinating perspectives, the question of what happens when we die remains largely unanswered. Death is, in many ways, the last great mystery. Whether it signifies an end, a transformation, or a new beginning is something that humanity may never fully comprehend. The mystery of death may ultimately be as profound and unknowable as the mystery of life itself.

 

For now, the question of what happens when we die remains open to interpretation, shaped by personal beliefs, scientific advances, and cultural influences. Perhaps one day we will have clearer answers; until then, death continues to inspire curiosity, fear, and wonder in equal measure.

Edited October 26 by Ethan Wallace

[+and-then]

Welcome to UM, Ethan Wallace! 

You'll find lots of skeptics here and a few people of faith and these kinds of threads tend to be popular.  As for what happens at death, as a struggling Christian, my belief is that our physical body is merely a shell our spirit inhabits in this world and when it ceases to function - for whatever reason - we immediately transition to consciousness in a new location that isn't bound by the physical.  I don't think we cease to exist and I think it's fair to say that most of the skeptics here firmly believe that those like me are deluded at best, ignorant, clueless people who believe fairytales.  As I've often said - if they are right, I'll never know it.  If they are wrong, they are in for a surprise   Either way, I wish them the best in their journey.

[XenoFish]

Rot, decay, everything we once were goes away. 

[+Desertrat56]

23 minutes ago, and-then said:

Welcome to UM, Ethan Wallace! 

You'll find lots of skeptics here and a few people of faith and these kinds of threads tend to be popular.  As for what happens at death, as a struggling Christian, my belief is that our physical body is merely a shell our spirit inhabits in this world and when it ceases to function - for whatever reason - we immediately transition to consciousness in a new location that isn't bound by the physical.  I don't think we cease to exist and I think it's fair to say that most of the skeptics here firmly believe that those like me are deluded at best, ignorant, clueless people who believe fairytales.  As I've often said - if they are right, I'll never know it.  If they are wrong, they are in for a surprise   Either way, I wish them the best in their journey.

I agree with your description of us being souls inhabiting bodies, the shell or mechanism in which we experience being human.  It is temporary and we are more than the sum of our physical parts.  But it has nothing to do with any religion.   I fall into your category of skeptics for most things but being skeptical is healthy, it means you are open to new ideas and new information that may change the way you think about something.   No one actually knows what will happen to our consciousness after it leaves the body, it could be nothing, it could be a new perspective, returning to oneness, or hanging around trying to get back to being in a physical body, or all of the above.  Being a christian you hope there is an afterlife like most people do for what ever reason.   Those that don't hope  have different reasons.

Edited October 26 by Desertrat56

[Piney]

1 hour ago, XenoFish said:

Rot, decay, everything we once were goes away. 

Your only immortal if your remembered.

[Piney]

1 hour ago, and-then said:

Welcome to UM, Ethan Wallace! 

You'll find lots of skeptics here and a few people of faith and these kinds of threads tend to be popular.  As for what happens at death, as a struggling Christian, my belief is that our physical body is merely a shell our spirit inhabits in this world and when it ceases to function - for whatever reason - we immediately transition to consciousness in a new location that isn't bound by the physical.  I don't think we cease to exist and I think it's fair to say that most of the skeptics here firmly believe that those like me are deluded at best, ignorant, clueless people who believe fairytales.  As I've often said - if they are right, I'll never know it.  If they are wrong, they are in for a surprise   Either way, I wish them the best in their journey.

Read Calvin's Institutes,  George Fox's writings and William Penn's No Cross, No Crown You would enjoy them and they will give you some different perspectives about Christianity and remember one thing. They were the only two Protestant Church founders (Fox and Calvin) who weren't antisemitic. 

[XenoFish]

36 minutes ago, Piney said:

Your only immortal if your remembered.

The value of the temporary afterlife is the quality of memories we leave behind. A shadow of us, yet can be something meaningful too another. 

[Piney]

5 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

The value of the temporary afterlife is the quality of memories we leave behind. A shadow of us, yet can be something meaningful too another. 

I sat on a hill I'd thought I'd never sit on again last night looking at the courthouse clock which is the only part of the city I can see. Then down at the park in front of our lake and thought to myself maybe one day a statue or plaque dedicated to Matthew as the first Quaker U.S. Army medic since the Vetnam War. Then I thought if that happens. I just made that child a immortal. 

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

What happens when we die? 
same as when we’re born, thr government comes looking for payment. 

[Ell]

Ultimately everything wastes away, is subject to corruption. What remains is recycled in the many and various cycles of the universe. Maybe that is true for the mind as well: to be disassembled into its tiniest parts for those to be recycled into new minds again.

 

The sixth book of the Aneid mentions a marvelous new insight (likely arrived at by the deep tyhoughts of an unknown Greek philosopher): that all corruptible matter is pervaded by an incorruptible energy.

[Guyver]

Nicely put.  Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s a question that can be answered until we experience it.  We may die and there is nothing else.  Blackness, absence of understanding, nothing but worms and soil, that we will never know….or, the soul could live on.  One day we will all know for sure.  Until then, we all have our own opinions and beliefs.  

[Guyver]

On 10/26/2024 at 1:38 PM, Piney said:

Your only immortal if your remembered.

That means if the gods or spirits remember us....we live on!

[Abramelin]

On 10/27/2024 at 4:53 AM, Guyver said:

We may die and there is nothing else.  Blackness, absence of understanding, nothing but worms and soil, that we will never know…

The point is that we are simply unable to imagine non-existence.

[Freez1]

The only true way to explain what happens after we die is a secret kept with the dead. Religious beliefs on the idea are 100% based on speculation not facts. Any scientific theory is based on speculation not facts. I’m a Christian and I have my beliefs and we use this other word called FAITH that reminds us that we don’t need a scientific explanation of what’s on the other side we already know. How? Because the Bible tells us what’s there waiting for us. It’s one of two things Heaven or Hell. Research all religions take the time and focus on the evidence if any we have found that points to each religion being anything more than a fairy tale. Out of them all which ones have we found evidence in them being more than just a story? This is where our faith resides in knowing there is more after death.

[openozy]

On 10/27/2024 at 6:02 AM, XenoFish said:

Rot, decay, everything we once were goes away. 

Good thing is we replenish the soil, it's all good Xeno.

[openozy]

4 hours ago, Freez1 said:

It’s one of two things Heaven or Hell.

If you believe that, it's only Hell for all of us because nobody is pure.

Edited November 1 by openozy

[Abramelin]

1 hour ago, openozy said:

If you believe that, it's only Hell for all of us because nobody is pure.

 

 

[XenoFish]

1 hour ago, openozy said:

Good thing is we replenish the soil, it's all good Xeno.

Recycling.

[psyche101]

18 hours ago, Abramelin said:

The point is that we are simply unable to imagine non-existence.

I think that is what these threads are though. Asking what happens when we die is really saying who wants to talk about never dying. It's collaborative consensual imagination of a comforting concept. If people agree, it doesn't seem silly at all. 

[larryp]

On 10/26/2024 at 12:23 PM, Desertrat56 said:

I agree with your description of us being souls inhabiting bodies, the shell or mechanism in which we experience being human.  It is temporary and we are more than the sum of our physical parts.  But it has nothing to do with any religion.   I fall into your category of skeptics for most things but being skeptical is healthy, it means you are open to new ideas and new information that may change the way you think about something.   No one actually knows what will happen to our consciousness after it leaves the body, it could be nothing, it could be a new perspective, returning to oneness, or hanging around trying to get back to being in a physical body, or all of the above.  Being a christian you hope there is an afterlife like most people do for what ever reason.   Those that don't hope  have different reasons.

YHWH

I beg to differ; here is what the God of the Bible says, "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all, nor do they have any more reward because all memory of them is forgotten. Also, their love, hate, and jealousy have already perished, and they no longer have any share in what is done under the sun."   Ecclesiastes. 9:5

[larryp]

^^^ That definition isn't ambiguous.

[jmccr8]

16 hours ago, larryp said:

^^^ That definition isn't ambiguous.

HI Larry

Doesn't mean it relevant either as no one KNOWS if there is a god, heaven, or afterlife so for me it's just a placebo for those who fear the uncertainty of death. 

[XenoFish]

20 hours ago, larryp said:

YHWH

I beg to differ; here is what the God of the Bible says, "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing at all, nor do they have any more reward because all memory of them is forgotten. Also, their love, hate, and jealousy have already perished, and they no longer have any share in what is done under the sun."   Ecclesiastes. 9:5

Which means everything in life is equally meaningless. Since in the end it doesn't matter, great or small, devoted believer or atheist. Ashes, dust.

[Crazy Horse]

14 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Which means everything in life is equally meaningless. Since in the end it doesn't matter, great or small, devoted believer or atheist. Ashes, dust.

Err, no.

All that means is that each of us shall die.

What happens afterwards..

Well..

We all have our theories.

Personally, I KNOW the Law of Cause and Effect.

[larryp]

On 11/14/2024 at 2:58 PM, XenoFish said:

Which means everything in life is equally meaningless. Since in the end it doesn't matter, great or small, devoted believer or atheist. Ashes, dust.

YHWH

The scriptures say many people will survive the looming catastrophe and be led into a new government, a new system of things that will bring peace and security to all on earth.  Psalms 37:29

So you see, it isn't meaningless.

Edited November 17 by larryp
the details