life after death Flashcards
Why do people not believe in life after death ?
Death is a biological function and part of a natural process.
The empirical physical evidence of the body proves that life after death does not exist.
Why do people believe in life after death ?
People are scared of death
An afterlife would give enough time for human potential to be realised
What is monism?
The body and mind/soul are linked together to form one entity. Life after death therefore involves a body and mind linked together.
What is dualism?
The body and mind/soul are separate entities, on the mind/soul lives on after death.
Support for dualism ?
Descartes - I think therefore I am
What is resurrection ?
From the Latin resurrectus “raised up again”
What happens during resurrection?
As some future date (judgement day) god as an act of love will raise the dead to eternal life in bodily form.
Monistic view - the individual was raised in a physical form but made of spirit which cannot die.
Saint Pauls ideas ?
Support resurrection
1- god was resurrected so can humans
2- since god has made humans we should believe that he can make them perfect.
Examples of resurrection?
Prophecies in the bible, Daniel 2:23 raising of Lazarus and Christ.
Thomas Aquinas’ idea ?
Based on Aristotle, that the mind and body cannot be separated because being together is their natural state
Body which is made by god so we can continue to live
We have to believe in Gods omnipotence
What is immortality of the soul?
The physical body will die, but the soul cannot die.
What did Plato believe?
In his dialogue phaedo,
The body belongs to the physical world and will one day cease to exist
The soul belongs to a higher realm and seeks to free itself to get to the realm “join the joys of the blessed”
What did Kant believe?
The purpose of existence is summon bonum, humans cannot achieve this in one lifetime
God is morally obliged to help humanity to achieve the complete good by granting eternal life.
H.h. Price claim?
We have a disembodied experience in our next life so we only need our mind
Afterlife is like a dream world where we are ourselves and we all have our own characteristics and memories.
Criticisms of resurrection?
Christian arguments would not be convincing to a non believer.
There Is no empirical evidence for resurrection- verification principle would reject the idea.
