1. Life after death
Part 1
Mind and body

2. What is death? A definition:
‘Complete and permanent cessation of all vital functions in a living creature, the end of life’
All agree on the first part many disagree with the idea of it being the ‘end of life’

3. How could life continue?
Through our genes in our children and descendants
We live on in our life’s work
We live on in the memory of others
Immortality of the soul
Resurrection of the body
Reincarnation

4. Materialism or Dualism?
Two main theories of human nature
Materialists believe that the mind and body of a human are inseparable
Dualists believe that humans consist of a body and a soul

5. Materialism There is no soul
Most materialists believe that at death the whole person ceases to exist
Gilbert Ryle
The Concept of the Mind (1949)
Ghost in the machine
A category mistake

6. Materialism Hard Materialism Soft Materialism
All characteristics are physical ones
Not all characteristics are physical
Mind cannot be separated from body
Mind and body are related
Consciousness is just brain activity
Consciousness is more than just brain activity
When body dies so does the brain

7. Materialism There is no scientific evidence for the soul
The soul cannot be located in the body
The body is matter only
Therefore there is no soul

8. Materialist argument against an afterlife
Life depends on a functioning brain, nervous system and physical body
Death involves the destruction of the brain, the nervous system and physical body
Therefore a person’s life ends at death as without a physical form, life cannot be supported

9. Dualism Mind determines personality Body is a shell for the real self
Body is contingent and will end
The mind is immortal and considers higher realities
Truth, goodness, justice

10. Plato
A dualist
Body and soul are two separate substances that interact
Soul is immortal and contains the real identity
Plato developed idea of forms
Body belongs to the physical contingent world
Soul wants to go to the world of ideas and stay there for eternity

11. Aristotle Soul is part of the body
It is what turns the physical form into a living thing of a particular type
Soul and body are inseparable
Soul develops character but cannot survive death
But is Aristotle a materialist? He did believe that the body and the soul were different

12. René Descartes A Dualist
Mind includes feelings and sensations that cannot be located physically
Concluded ‘I think therefore I am’
Mind and body are different
Each have own special characteristics
Mind is a substance that is to ‘think’
Body is a material that is to ‘take up space’

13. René Descartes Concluded Identity comes from thinking and reasoning
Conceivable that we could survive our body and remain same person
Believed body not needed to live intellectually
We can make drastic changes to our bodies but remain the same person
Believed that after death our soul can life on with God

14. St Thomas Aquinas Agreed with Aristotle
Soul animates the body – gives it life
Soul operates independently of body
Only things that are divisible decay
Soul is not divisible
Therefore soul can survive death
But link between body and soul
So soul can retain individual identity

15. Putting it all together
Answer the following exam question in groups
‘The soul is just a part of the body’. Discuss.

16. How to answer
Start with the problem – Why are we even discussing this?
Explain Materialism and Dualism
Explain the views of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Aquinas.
What do you think and why?
Conclusion

17. Life after death
Part 2
Replication

18. Christian View Most Christians believe in the resurrection of the body
Most Christians believe in the immortality of the soul
The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being. Genesis 2.7
But disagree on whether resurrection is physical or spiritual

19. Heaven and Hell
There are different Christian views on what happens to the soul
The soul may remain close to earth, ascend to Heaven, descend into Hell or participate in a general resurrection
For many Christians Heaven and Hell provide an understanding of evil and suffering
A physical body will be needed to experience torment
Liberal Christians place little emphasis on a place

20. Personal identity
If resurrection is physical then people can be recognised
But if spiritual how will recognition take place?
What is the ‘I’ ?
Memories
Personality
Physical looks
Personal Identity is a problem for any form of afterlife
Just how can we be sure it is actually the same person?

21. John Hick Hick is a materialist
But he believes that people can live after death
This is possible through the creation of a replica
God is all-powerful
Therefore he can create a replica

22. Replica Theory John Smith lived in America
One day he vanishes in front of his friends
At precisely the same time a replica of Smith appears in India
Hick argues it is the same person
Smith dies in America and a replica appears in India
Smith dies in America and a replica appears in a parallel universe

23. Replica Theory Is it the same person?
What should we look for to identify the replica as being the same person?
Hick argues that if the replica looks like the original, has the same memories and personality, we would assume it to be the same person

24. Objections to the Replica Theory
A replica is not the same as the original
Art collectors would not pay £1000s for a replica picture because it is not the original
If God can create one replica why not many? Then which would be the real person?
Hick’s theory relies on God actually existing, but many philosophers do not accept the existence of God and therefore his theory fails

25. St Paul’s view
Hick provides a possible way in which resurrection could take place
But he does not suggest the resurrection of the original body
Rather it is the re-creation of the person who died
Hick’s view is compatible with Christian idea of resurrection
St Paul wrote to the Corinthians
The body is buried mortal, when raised, it will be immortal… …when buried it is a physical body, when raised it will be a spiritual body

26. Richard Dawkins Writer of many books Atheist An empiricist
Focuses on evolution
Belief in a soul is a failure to accept that evil and suffering have no purpose
Another replication theory

27. Richard Dawkins Humans are nothing more than their DNA
The only thing that can be said to survive a person’s death is their DNA
provided they have children
If people learnt to reason as scientists they would be better humans
Science answers questions about origin, whereas religion depends on faith

28. Richard Dawkins Dawkins explains our consciousness in terms of memes
Genes are the physical replicators
Memes are human culture replicators
Memes enable cultural survival
But also evolve

29. Richard Dawkins Writer of many books Atheist An empiricist
Focuses on evolution
Belief in a soul is a failure to accept that evil and suffering have no purpose

30. Putting it all together
Answer the following exam question in groups
‘The resurrection of the body is not possible’. Discuss.

31. How to answer
Start with an explanation of what we mean by resurrection
Explain why it is a problem
Refer to the biblical idea of resurrection
Mention St Paul
Explain the problems with personal identity
Discuss Hick’s replica theory
Explain the problems of the theory
What do you think and why?
Conclusion

32. Part 3 Reincarnation Evidence for existence of a soul
Life and death
Part 3
Reincarnation
Evidence for existence of a soul

33. Reincarnation Could be referred to as Rebirth
At death the soul moves from the dead body into a new body
The new body is totally different from the old
Usually there are no memories of the previous life
Therefore personal identity cannot be retained

34. Buddhism
There is an interconnection between each life that does not involve a soul
Connection made through karma
Karma means ‘action’
Relationship between what a person does and what happens to them
‘I’ is not the person living a single life but the union of all lived lives.

35. Hinduism Atman = soul and is eternal
Individuals develop through cycle of life, death and rebirth
Aim is to work to be reunited with Brahman
Living right (dharma) gives good karma
Usually no memories of a previous life

36. Near Death Experience
Advances in medical research mean that more people declared as clinically dead are being resuscitated
Dr Raymond Moody saw similarity in the experiences of people who were resuscitated
His investigations revealed…

37. At moment of death many have a feeling of floating above their body
They can observe what is happening around them
Movement unrestricted – can move through walls
Sense of bliss, ecstasy and peace
Rapid movement down a tunnel with bight light at the end
Dead friends and relatives are waiting at the end
At end of tunnel there is a beautiful place with a sense of the divine
Panoramic view of their entire life
Made aware of how their actions have effect their life and others
Told it is not yet their time to die and they return

38. Near Death Experience No two NDE’s identical
Longer person is dead the more in depth their experience
Not all people resuscitated have such experiences

39. Regression to Past Lives
If we have past lives some believe we should have memories
Some people do claim to have memories of a past life
Children sometimes make comments that suggest they are remembering a past life
People under hypnosis have given accounts of past lives
Research can confirm the accuracy of their claim

40. Regression to Past Lives
Reasons why their claims might be false
Could be recalling information already gained in this life
Maybe a cultural gene that passes information down
Memories could be suppressed events of this life

41. Sightings Dr Deepak Chopra
Bodies are effectively energy
Appear solid but actually are an impulse of energy
When someone dies the energy field remains
Made be seen by others
Perceived as a ghost
Unlikely to be hallucinations as often seen by more than one person

42. Sightings Alternative explanations Hoax or elaborate trick
‘stone tape’ theory. Like a magnetic tape. Event is played back in right conditions
Mistaken identity
Power of suggestion

43. Spiritualism Communication between dead and living
Messages give comfort to the bereaved
Some mediums have been shown to be frauds
Others appear genuine
Could be real communication with spirits
Could be telepathic communication with the living

44. Putting it all together
Answer the following exam question in groups
Shakespeare described death as ‘the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns.’ There are those who would argue that people have returned from ‘the undiscovered country’. Discuss the evidence put forward as proof that there is life after death, and the form that life after death might take.

45. How to answer
Consider ideas that provide evidence of life after death
NDE’s, Regression, Sightings, Spiritualism
You do not have time to write too much so you have to deal with them briefly but clearly
Give a critical analysis of the ideas
Explain the two main theories of possible forms of after life
Resurrection
Reincarnation
Give a critical analysis of both
What do you think and why?
Conclusion