Thoughts about death

[curiouscvnt]

The reason I arrived at my belief can be scientifically intepreted, I think. Neuroscientific evidence has suggested that consciousness is a product of the organization of energetic activity in the brain. According to the law of conservation of energy, energy cannot be destroyed.

Hence when our body cease to function, or the state of brain dead, that energy (or consciousness) has to transfer somewhere, since it cannot cease to exist. I'm not a scientist, I could be wrong. But that's how I intepreted it.

In the event that consciousness can indeed be understood as the product of material, energetic processes, I ask whether there is some quality or identifier to such energy that people have yet to detect or understand? If there is no such quality to distinguish the energy required for consciousness, then I think death must be true cessation of existence-- the identity of the dead person ends when they die. On the other hand, if there is some conserved quality to the energy required for consciousness, then I could see the possibility for the metaphysical concept of a soul existing as some kind of distinct entity after death of a person. This is the point at which I see the biggest uncertainty about death: the unknown unknowns of consciousness.

 

[CantDoIt]

The only issue with the energy theory is that it doesn't conflict with materialism. The energy theory refers to a law of thermodynamics in physics. Energy here refers to one of the many types of energies in the universe that can be used to make 'stuff happen.' Energy can be kinetic (movement), heat-based, chemical, etc. So the thing with energy in this case is that it does transfer to other places and processes.When a train runs into something that energy is partially reflected back and partially goes into friction which dissipates as heat into the atmosphere.

When coal is burned in a steam engine that energy also transfers to kinetic energy to move the train.

If the human experience is created by energetic processes such as electrical energetic impulses in the brain, then that energy does indeed transfer but in more of an organic or physical way. This is of course provided that the brain is only physical and that the energy that makes us is not located exterior to the brain such as is the concept with the brain being a receiver of consciousness or of an unseen mystical angle to the concept of a soul.
In the case that the brain is a receiver then the consciousness is indeed an energy form that must transfer elsewhere.

 

[Gstreater]

I hope it's nothing all my hope had been beaten out of me so the nothingness of oblivion would be nice.

 

[Edu Ardanuy]

I want there to be more after death, but I don't believe that.

I believe that our consciousness is the culmination of our brains and internal chemistry working together to create us. Disrupt the machine and you disrupt consciousness.

Before we were born was nothingness; most people can't even remember their first handful of years.

Once we slip away, I think that's it. We may not even realize it's happened. Like falling asleep, it's just nothing all at once. We only realize that it was nothing if we wake up again and have that context

I couldn't agree more.