Philosophical View On Afterlife
The life following death as a residence for souls after passing has been a subject of talk and debate. In this increasingly materialistic age where many believe only in what they can measure, it is a question people tend to defer. However, the more we mature, the more we are inclined to think about this question. Life after death is the basic part of an individual's identity or the stream of awareness that proceeds after the passing of the physical body. Some beliefs about the afterlife are observed in Christianity and ancient mythologies. Some may believe that the afterlife is heaven or hell, which is a place where there will be a continuation of their present life either full of joy (heaven) or judgement and punishment (hell). Another belief is death is an obliteration, a welcome eternal sleep or migration to an afterlife filled by the great figures of the past. ‘Is there life after death?’ Is a philosophical question as it is addressed by philosophers using clear rationalizations, logic and recourse to the scientific method.
René Descartes was one of the philosophers of all time. Descartes is credited at starting the school of thought called rationalism which stated that there was important information that could be gained without the senses through reason alone. Given his beliefs, Descartes accepted that the soul can exist within the afterlife without the body. Descartes believed that the mind, in virtue of its powers must be a separate mental substance distinct from ordinary matter, which is physical. This implies only the body can die in, but the soul cannot. This is because the body is seen as the vessel of the soul. When the body dies, the soul proceeds on. René saw this ‘continuation’ as being heaven/hell/purgatory afterlife, given his Catholic beliefs. Overall, Descartes thinks that there are some things we cannot doubt – our own existence, god, etc.
Saint Thomas Aquinas is one of the most influential philosophers in the Catholic tradition. He believed that because humans are capable of thinking of ideas apart from material substances, those souls were also able to live apart from the body. Consequently, the soul can live on without the body because it does not need the body to exist, just like ideas do not need material bodies to be realized. Therefore, it can be interpreted that there is a superiority of the soul over the body and, given their distinctiveness the soul exists prior to death and can exist independent of the body at any given moment. Although Christian, Aquinas also believed that death isn’t the final destiny of man nor for that matter that life is absurd. He quoted ‘Death is a fact, but it cannot be the destiny of Man for this reduces Man to only material order.’
Lastly, Epicurus is also another major philosopher who is famous for his quotes and sayings. Epicurus based his beliefs on the fact that individuals should not fear that which does not inflict suffering. His motive was to prove that the possibility of a soul surviving after death and punishment in the afterlife is not possible. One of the most prominent fears that Epicurus attempted to challenge is the fear of passing. Epicurus believed that fear is regularly based upon anxiety about having an unpleasant afterlife; this anxiety, he thought, ought to be dispelled once one realizes that passing is annihilation since the mind is a group of molecules that scatter upon death. Therefore, his reason for not fearing death is the absence of suffering; if one does not endure through passing, then one might not have a reason to fear to pass. Everybody is either alive or dead, death does not cause suffering to the living since we are not yet dead and passing does not cause enduring to the dead essentially since they are dead and have no sentiments. Subsequently, fear should only be shown in the event that one experiences suffering, and since one does not encounter suffering during death, at that point passing should not be feared.
Overall, in my perspective, I believe all of the philosophers above all have valid points in the afterlife and relations between the soul and body. However, the philosopher whom I found most convincing was Descartes. His point on how the soul and mind are sperate substances, but the soul is able to be independent on its own due to it not being dependent on the body was one point which convinced me the most. Descartes continues to explain how the souls after life's continuation could be similar to a ‘heaven' or ‘hell'. All the points he makes convinced me on a possibility of there being an afterlife or at least a presence of you which is still ‘alive’.
