Philosophy
An Interesting Proof for the After-Life
Death is something we all inevitably have to face in life. And we tend to not think about it much during our short time here on Earth. Although it is daunting and a scary experience, it reminds us that our time is limited. And that hopefully pushes us to get the most from life.
Anyway, the idea of an after-life is something that many still believe in. There is a misconception that the world is now leaning towards a more Atheist point of view. Meaning more people are starting to use science to determine their belief system.
However, this is not the case. Followers of Christianity and Islam still make up over 50% of the world’s population today. And that is not even to count any other faiths that believe in a life after death. Even with people not being active practitioners of the faith, they still act as though God and an afterlife exist.
In mainstream religions, living a good life here on Earth means an afterlife of prosperity and happiness. And that would be wonderful. I still sometimes think about the possibility of it being all true. As a Christian, I practice my faith but still have my doubts here and there, as an academic.
Nevertheless, I have realised that to completely rule it out would be illogical. And that is not because I am a practising Christian. It is actually because of Aristotle’s understanding of metaphysics.
Despite science seemingly making the probability of an after-life unlikely, there is still a chance that there is more to life after we depart from this Earth.
What Are We
The question, what are we, has been asked for centuries, and we are still trying to figure it out. Aristotle proposed that everything we experience in this world is composed of two things. Those two things being form and matter.
Matter is a bit easier to understand. It is the components that together shape and mould the things we can experience, such as paper being made from wood and other chemicals to allow us to feel and see it. However, form is a bit more difficult.
Form is the essence or nature of the thing and is related to the function of that thing. For example, a cat has four legs, whiskers and other things. However, the reason why it is a cat is not just because of those things. It also has specific traits and behaviours related only to it that causes it to interact with nature uniquely. And that is what Aristotle called the cats’ form.
As humans, we are not just matter. We can all agree that we are more than the physical things that make up our physical bodies. My friend recently had an amputation, and he is no less the person he used to be. He is still funny, charismatic ,and slightly annoying.
And even our brains that run our mind seem to be separated from our form. Many studies have been done to try to find the relationship between our consciousness and our brain/mind. And science is still struggling to understand the concept of consciousness.
If our mind and emotions are all a result of chemical and biological processes, one could ask the question, are we free? Like robots, our brains would be controlling our every response, motivation and desire. And unfortunately, this picture does not line up with our experience of humanity today.
Although the brain plays a massive part in our actions. It can not be the only thing that is governing us. And for that reason, our form is also separate from our mind. We are still trying to understand the relationships between consciousness and our brain. But we do know they are separate things.
What Does This Mean for Life After Death
If you have not realised, the matter of things is all physical entities of it. Our bodies and brain are physical things we can experience in this world. And although these things help us differentiate between one another, we are still more than that.
The form of something seems to be not materialistic. The way we interact with nature and consciousness are two things that we can detect. But we can not physically grasp them.
We are complex beings. And to put our human experience down to pure materialism would be wrong. Aristotle knew this before they had machines to confirm consciousness is more than just our brains. But also, there is a component in all of us that is not physically visible, or can be touched.
So, when you think about it. We know what happens to our heart, brain and limbs when we die. They stop working, and we are in a state of complete deadness. However, whether we like it or not, we are unsure of what happens to our form when we die.
This extensive paper on consciousness concludes that no one theory could be adopted for what consciousness is. It is complex, and science will never be able to answer all the questions. And part of that reason is that it is made of form, not just matter.
So, we know what happens to our matter when we die. But what happens to the thing that made you tick differently from everyone else?
Closing Thoughts
I am not here to convince you of an after-life, but I do hope I have provided you with some food for thought. And just because we can not understand consciousness fully, it does not mean there is an after-life.
However, we should keep our minds open to unique and new ideas. Especially those that cause us to think and appreciate another person’s point of view.
Who knows what happens to our form after we die? It is a question we will probably never know the answer to. But what we do know is that we can not guarantee that the consciousness we experienced before we were formed, is the same we will experience after.
In other words, you may not be able to recall anything that occurred to you before you came to be. But you might be able to live in a state of form outside of this experience of life.