Is there nothing after death?

[GentleJerk]

"...There is nothing after death. Once we die, nothing happens, there will be nothing to perceive because we cease to exist."

It always amuses me when people claim to know what happens after death with such certainty.

Likewise, we could argue that there was 'nothing' before our conception and birth, maybe even the same sort of 'nothing' that is after death.... And yet here we are. So in our case, after non-existence came existence, after 'nothing' came something.

Also, if you believe in science and that there is such a thing as consciousness... then the nothing-after-death theory should provoke skepticism as it conflicts with the laws of thermodynamics and the basic scientific principal: "Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another" - Albert Einstein.

 

[FuneralCry]

Yes, I believe that there is nothing after this. Death is an end to all suffering and it is true peace. There is no evidence of there being anything else. Life is completely meaningless and when we die that is it for us, we are gone.

 

[GentleJerk]

there is nothing after this. There is no evidence of there being anything else. Life is completely meaningless and when we die that is it for us, we are gone.

I don't buy it.

 

[Mashedout]

While I agree with you, the Einstein quote isn't anything definitive. An Einstein of ants is still an ant. Our knowledge about the full picture of reality and how it all works is very far from complete. Really we don't know anything important. All options are still on the table.

 

[Depressed Cat]

I don't buy it.

Here's the thing. No one, and I mean absolutely no one knows for sure what happens after death. No one has the faintest idea. Therefore no one can prove or disprove any theory or belief or idea about what happens after death.

So, what do we do? We just come up with theories and beliefs to explain what we don't know and keep believing in it till we die. This is what has been happening ever since humans evolved into existence.

Some religions believe in a heaven, hell and things like that after death. Some religions believe in reincarnation. Some believe we become spirits again as that's where we came from. Some believe we become a part of the infinite cosmic energy from which we were created. And it goes on and on.

People believe in whatever they want to, to explain the unknown and the unknowable. Everything said about death is just a blind belief or a theory with no proof or just imagination gone wild.

That there is absolutely nothing after death as we simply cease to exist as a living being is also a mere theory without proof or just a belief.

If religious people can believe in whatever they want to about what happens after death because that's what their religious books and/or priests told them as it gives them comfort, then what's wrong in believing that there is just nothingness after death because it gives people like us comfort???

I certainly would love for there to be complete nothingness after death. I just want eternal peace after I leave this body. There is absolutely nothing I desire in this life as much as to attain everlasting nothingness!

 

[GentleJerk]

the Einstein quote isn't anything definitive

I know our knowledge about the full pic is far from complete, another reason why I find it amusing that people claim to know what happens when we die with such certainty.

Indeed, those with limited knowledge often claim to know much, while those with much knowledge admit to knowing little.

It's not just a quote, it's about the universal law of thermodynamics which has been tested and proven.

That there is absolutely nothing after death as we simply cease to exist as a living being is also a mere theory without proof or a belief.

Exactly.

 

[jimmy7754]

We can't perceive nothingness without consciousness. Time won't exist without someone to experience it. So when we die.. the machine dies.. we can't understand nothingness or eternity when we die. I just posted something about this idea.. I always think of the snake eating it's own tail.

 

[GentleJerk]

.

then what's wrong in believing that there is just nothingness after death because it gives people like us comfort???

There is nothing wrong with that. It just amuses me to hear this boldly proclaimed as the ultimate truth. There's a difference between believing and claiming to know something.

We can't perceive nothingness without consciousness. Time won't exist without someone to experience it. So when we die.. the machine dies.. we can't understand nothingness or eternity when we die.

That's a big call.

 

[jimmy7754]

.

There is nothing wrong with that. It just amuses me to hear this boldly proclaimed as the ultimate truth.


That's a big call.

Just an idea still nothing I'm sure of.

 

[KlMeNw]

"...There is nothing after death. Once we die, nothing happens, there will be nothing to perceive because we cease to exist."

It always amuses me when people claim to know what happens after death with such certainty.

Likewise, we could argue that there was 'nothing' before our conception and birth, maybe even the same sort of 'nothing' that is after death.... And yet here we are. So in our case, after non-existence came existence, after 'nothing' came something.

Also, if you believe in science and that there is such a thing as consciousness... then the nothing-after-death theory should provoke skepticism as it conflicts with the laws of thermodynamics and the basic scientific principal: "Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another" - Albert Einstein.

Not to be disparaging as I do not claim to know whats after death either, however when ppl use the old energy constant argument I say this, our brains energy is electrical, and when we die the electrical energy in our brains turns to heat that slowly radiates into the surrounding area slowly spreading outwards until the temperature of our brain is in equilibrium with the environment around us. So, yes our energy doesn't disappear, but we do know where it goes.

- Side note: I am not using this reasoning to refute the existence of an afterlife or that of a creator, just simply pointing out the flaws in trying to use this as a way to prove the existence of the former.

 

[fatefulstillness]

I too believe there's nothing after death. I find it calming.

If there is something, it's really none of my business. It's coming to me either way, yes?

 

[Chiisai]

No one really has a definitive answer to that question. Why worry of something that is unknown? So to put everyone at ease and at peace, you have a choice to believe in other's definition of what happens after death or you choose to believe your own. Whichever brings you peace, so be it.

 

[ClownMe]

If we go by occam's razor then there's nothing after death, which is also my personal belief. I think it will be nothing, like literally, nothing, you won't even know your dead, nothing. We will never know for sure though until the time comes.

 

[Somber]

To sum a long discussion up into a two words: nobody knows.

Will into being whatever you want. If there ever was nothing, this is clearly a working strategy.

 

[Death is beautiful]

Eternal nothingness is just the most logical of all options, or do you have something more logical than the cessation of existence?

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

"...There is nothing after death. Once we die, nothing happens, there will be nothing to perceive because we cease to exist."

It always amuses me when people claim to know what happens after death with such certainty.

Likewise, we could argue that there was 'nothing' before our conception and birth, maybe even the same sort of 'nothing' that is after death.... And yet here we are. So in our case, after non-existence came existence, after 'nothing' came something.

Also, if you believe in science and that there is such a thing as consciousness... then the nothing-after-death theory should provoke skepticism as it conflicts with the laws of thermodynamics and the basic scientific principal: "Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another" - Albert Einstein.

Yes there is nothing after Death.

To me that is the most wonderful thing that Death = nonexistence forever because then all my problems will be solved by my Death, no more pain , no more suffering , no more problems ever.

It doesn't matter to me what others believe. Just boggles my mind to think that people don't realize a human is just another animal like a rat or monkey . 92% same exact genes as a rat or mouse, 98% the exact same genes as a Chimpanzee.

i hate so many things about life and this world like getting old, strokes, dementia, scams, cancer , extreme pain, threat of me becoming homeless , taking out the trash in the cold , suffering which can be unlimited, grief, washing cleaning fixing every damn thing, working, ( for what purpose ? ) , being a constantly hungry animal , 5000 other things,

So i'm gobsmacked that people want there to be an afterlife or reincarnation. It's like i haven't had enough suffering and pain in 80 years give me another trillion to the septillion power years . That seems like the worst nightmare knowing that at least after 100 years finally the pain will be over but no you have trillion trillion ..... x 100 trillion trillion years of lives ( suffering pain problems) . you'd think most would go insane with just boredum or plum insane after the first just 1 billion years. people have no concept of how large these numbers are. i get bored and sick of life after a few hours. i've suffered pain so bad ( as in suffocation drowning) i couldn't take 1 second of that pain , think a trillion trillion to the septilion years.

Thre are litereally hundreds of books in each of the sciences for the brain, consciousness, evolution and others. Every bit of brain science, Evolution, cell biology , books about DNA, the genome, the genetic code, and related research and experiments shows that humans are just animals descended from single celled organisms which are basically machines. There is not one peice of evidence to show there is an afterlife or reincarnation or anything that disproves Darwin's theory of evolution detailed in his book in 1859.

 

[Al Cappella]

What ppl mean when they say "there's nothing after death" is actually "there's no awareness/experience of self after death".

There is plenty that happens after death, none of which violates scientific principles. You decompose, dissolve to dark goo, get eaten by woodland creatures or that weird uncle you could never quite trust while you were alive. If you're chemically preserved and lowered into a bog the same principles apply, just at a slower rate.

The sticking point seems to be whether mind is separate from body. If it's not—and there's no scientific evidence atm to say it is, then all discussions in terms of after and before are pointless. If it is separate, and holds somewhere in the ether with some sort of weird vibrational energy still capable of watching that weird uncle…well, then it gets interesting.

 

[markimobzzdeasui]

Obviously there is something after death. It is peace! Atleast for me.

 

[fruit-loops]

I don't buy it.

That's because you don't want to accept to NOT EXIST. It's normal and is a kind of survival instinct.
We are egoic creatures and we are so scared by the idea of not-being to struggle to admit the most obvious reality. That fear made the success of most of the current religions: the false promise about a "future" after death that calms down the fear of disappearance.

I'm sorry for you and all of us but, despite romanticism and false creeds, the only reality is that we are just dust in the wind...

Said that, if the idea of a "something else" after life make you feel better, go ahead. We humans are made of illusions...

 

[Squalo]

In my opinion everything doesn't end with death, but it still remains an opinion, we will never be able to answer this question, even in our world there are things we don't know.

 

[GentleJerk]

Not to be disparaging as I do not claim to know whats after death either, however when ppl use the old energy constant argument I say this, our brains energy is electrical, and when we die the electrical energy in our brains turns to heat that slowly radiates into the surrounding area slowly spreading outwards until the temperature of our brain is in equilibrium with the environment around us. So, yes our energy doesn't disappear, but we do know where it goes.

I don't buy that our consciousness and life-force is just electricity.

Eternal nothingness is just the most logical of all options, or do you have something more logical than the cessation of existence?

Since when did everything in life (and death) make sense and operate based on logic?

I find it interesting that before we were conceived and born, we were 'nothing', and we 'did not exist'... But being 'nothing' and not existing hasn't stopped any of us from becoming something and existing.

Many people believe that the 'void' after death is the same as the one we came from before we were born.

Obviously there is something after death. It is peace! Atleast for me.

I like this.

That's because you don't want to accept to NOT EXIST. I'm sorry for you and all of us but, despite romanticism and false creeds, the only reality is that we are just dust in the wind...

Is it though? Speak for yourself.

 

[OldDrummer]

Even though I subscribe to the general Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation, I tend to do so and look for empirical evidence, of which I've found lots.

However, what we perceive to be 'soul' we confuse with Ego and Id. Death is scary to us because it's the destruction of the 'self'.

We hang onto the notion of self like a drowning man clutching to a raft, but it's only fleeting and impermanent.

Again, I don't believe in spiritual absolutes. I'm always open to having my mind changed.

 

[Chiisai]

Eternal nothingness is just the most logical of all options, or do you have something more logical than the cessation of existence?

Logic applies to something that we have enough comprehension for. In matters such as Death and Afterlife, it turns into assumption.

 

[fruit-loops]

Is it though? Speak for yourself.

Again, if you prefer to live by illusions, go ahead, but if you ask (and you did) I answer with reason.

 

[Cherry Crumpet]

Human beings naturally dislike the unknown. And death is the ultimate unknown. I don't think anyone will ever be able to say 100% for sure either way, except for those that have passed on, and they cannot tell us.

I like to think there is something more after this. But that's just my own belief.

 

[Journeytoletgo]

The only thing I'm terrified of is eternal recurrence where the universe collapses in on itself and everything begins again and I'm born into this same life again to be tortured

 

[Squalo]

Again, if you prefer to live by illusions, go ahead, but if you ask (and you did) I answer with reason.

we all live under illusions, you perceive the electrical signals interpreted by the brain as real, but you cannot know if your brain is deceiving you or not; there are dreams and hallucinations that are perceived as perfectly real, but it is all an illusion created by the brain.
even life can be an illusion.

 

[Journeytoletgo]

The only peace I have is that once I'm dead I don't have to remember anything from here or my mistakes anymore EVER and that gives me so much peace that nothing can hurt me ever again and thank goodness

 

[GentleJerk]

That's because you don't want to accept to NOT EXIST.I'm sorry for you and all of us but, despite romanticism and false creeds, the only reality is that we are just dust in the wind...

Telling others what they do and do not want to accept is quite an assumption. And claiming to know "the only reality" is even more so. Speak for yourself.

Again, if you prefer to live by illusions, go ahead, but if you ask (and you did) I answer with reason.

I just said I don't buy it, when someone says that life is meaningless and they claim to know "the only reality" and what happens after death.

I'm not even offering any of my own views that you could label as illusions so this does not make sense. What are these illusions that I live by? Rhetorical question, of course.

 

[OldDrummer]

There is not one peice of evidence to show there is an afterlife or reincarnation or anything that disproves Darwin's theory of evolution detailed in his book in 1859.

With respect, there are plenty. Check out the work of Dr. Ian Stevenson.

The reason it's not more widely researched is that the investigation of the paranormal really isn't an ideal career path for tenured academics.