• Question: What physically and mentally happens after you died and your soul/ spirit leaves your body ?

    Asked by anon-237455 to Peter, Mhairi, Madeleine, Catherine, Andrew on 19 Mar 2020.
    • Photo: Peter Kinderman

      Peter Kinderman answered on 19 Mar 2020:

      Well… this is perhaps one of those questions where scientists (psychologists), theologians and artists all have different answers. My father (who was a Minister of Religion) would have a different answer to me – he believed in an immortal soul, but I do not. And different religions have different answers (some believe in reincarnation, some in heaven, some in both heaven and hell, some religions believe in a soul or spirit, but don’t see that as immortal).
      So… then… for me, personally…
      I believe that all that I am stems from the biological functioning of my brain, and that it is biological processes that support consciousness, thinking, the way I make sense of the world, and, ultimately, my moral and spiritual beliefs.
      So, then, for me, when I die, I die. My brain stops working, and (for me) anything that can be thought of as a soul or spirit ceases.
      For me, that isn’t depressing or frightening. It merely means that I’ve been alive for 54 years, and will likely have another 20-30 years left, whereas the universe has been around for 13,000,000,000 years… and I’d better make the most of it!

    • Photo: Andrew McNeill

      Andrew McNeill answered on 20 Mar 2020:

      Most psychologists don’t believe in a separate substance called the “soul” or “spirit”. The belief that body and soul are separate substances is called substance dualism. Most psychologists believe that consciousness/soul/spirit is something that is produced through brain functioning. However, there are those who disagree and believe in some form of dualism. Where you stand on this issue will determine what you believe about what happens after death, to some extent.

    • Photo: Madeleine Pownall

      Madeleine Pownall answered on 20 Mar 2020:

      I’m a scientist and a psychologist, but I like to think that *something* happens after we die. The idea of souls and spirits may not seem ‘compatible’ with science/psychology, but I don’t think that means that we shouldn’t believe in them.

      There is more to life than the observable and measurable!

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