Views about life after death across a range of religious traditions Flashcards
What does Immorality of the soul?
soul as non-physical and spiritual and continuing to exist after death of body.
What does Rebirth mean?
belief there is no unchanging soul and importance of karma.
What does Reincarnation mean? ?
transmigration of souls and importance of karma
What is the Replica theory?
notion that one can die in one body and continue to live in a different body while being the same person, including after death.
What is Resurrection?
Belief that God will restore the dead in bodily form to eternal life.
Why does the bible talk of the afterlife as a gift from God?
For believers it is a reward for fulfilling the roles on earth.
What does the Dhammapada state about reincarnation quote?
‘Like a fish which is thrown on dry land, taken away from his home in the waters, the mind strives and struggles to get free from the power of death’
What does Russel say about death?
Death is a biological function and a necessary part of the natural process ‘ i believe that when i die i shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive.’
Explain Dawkin’s view of the concept of an afterlife?
It is meaningless and there is clear physical evidence of the destruction of the body at death. ‘We are grotesquely lucky to be here’ and that’s enough. We should value life as intrinsically special, there isn’t a need to ask beyond this point.
What problems does Ayer raise about language of afterlife?
There is no empirical evidence to verify an afterelife so language used is meaningless.
Explore ideas around the immorality of the soul?
In monotheistic traditions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, scholars have argued that the physical body cannot live without the soul. The body is contingent and will decay and die, but the soul is non-contingent and cannot die.
What do the christian tradition say about immorality of the soul?
there is a distinction between the body and the soul. When the body dies, the soul carries on after death and travels to heaven or hell.
What is the notion of rebirth?
The buddhist teaching that we have no essential self or soul (anatta). Everything that has a conscious life is forever changing. Everything that changes is impermanent ( including phyiscal body). If the soul is not impermanent that means it must rid itself of all change and achieve nirvana, which is end of rebirth.
Is there an afterlife according to rebirth?
There is no personal afterlife but instead a cycle of rebirth(samsara). Rebirth is a fixed principle of reality, not something created by God.
What is rebirth governed by?
the law of karma ( ethically significant actions have consequences.)
What do Buddhists aspire to escape?
They aspire to escape from samsara ( rebirth) by recognizing the illusion ( thus reaching enlightenment (nirvana)
How does a Buddhist achieve nirvana?
Only once a person is free from desire can they escape the cycle of birth, death and rebecoming
How do Buddhist’s see life then?
As a stream of consciousness that eventually ceases upon the attainment of nirvana
What are strengths of the idea of rebirth?
1) There is some truth in the idea of constant change as I am not the same person I was 10 years ago
2) This idea of moral value; since we are constantly reborn we must constantly strive for good karmic effects. We are never just saved or damned.
3) · Could provide a solution to the problem of evil as we are suffering as a direct result of our past actions.
What are weaknesses of the idea of rebirth?
1) It is difficult to live without the idea of a fixed self. Surely it is good to know what we are really like.
2) Problem of verfiability - cannot be proven
3) There is no hard evidence for the law of karma affecting our lives
What is the idea of reincarnation?
Hinduism teaches that the soul ( atman) is immortal and seeks union with ultimate reality( Brahman). Those who perceive the world for what it is (an illusion maya) - may achieve release from the world ( moksha) and longer be subject to reincarnation.
What determines the body we reincarnate into?
Reincarnation is the belief that after death the soul will enter into another body. Hindu’s believe that the karma we generate through our actions in this life will determine the kind of body we will enter in the next life. If you generate good karma your soul will be incarnated into a being of a higher status and vice versa if you generate bad karma.
What do Hindus point out about the reincarnated soul?
hindus believe that a reincarnated soul carries no personal attributes from each life but the immortal essence (jiva) which continues into each life and learns new lessons to take into the next life.
Can Hindus argue that there is empirical evidence for reincarnation?
it lies in the fact that it explains many odd phenomena in human life e.g. our fear of death could stem from knowledge gained in previous lives.
What are 3 strengths of reincarnation?
1) Could provide a solution to the problem of evil as we are suffering as a direct result of our past actions
2) If the soul is independent of the body, then it is logical to suppose that it could have pre-existed.
3) General arguments in favour of dualism may support reincarnation: the idea that the thinking self is more essential than the body.
What are 3 weaknesses of reincarnation?
1) Seems unjust for someone to be punished for something they did in their past life
2) Scientists dispute many past life claims as they cannot be verified and are highly subjective
3) Were all these souls created at one moment or did they not have a beginning.
What is the John Hick’s replica theory about?
John smith lives in America. He dies. However, someone appears in India who looks like John Smith and has all the same memories as John smith. ( they are the same person. An all powerful God would be able to create a replica of a dead person and to place that person in a world inhabited by resurrected persons.
So according to Replica theory life after death could be what?
a different world inhabited by resurrected persons.
What are 3 strengths of the replica theory?
1) He does not posit a soul and so does not have to verify one
2) The theory provides a rational explanation for why the God of classical theism who is omnipotent, omni-benevolent and omniscient permits both natural and moral evil
3) Hick’s theory challenges the conflicting claims argument because by it everyone goes to heaven: Buddhists as well as theists
What are 3 weaknesses of the replica theory?
1) If God can create replicas at will, then God could create multiple replicas of the same perosn which would undermine personal identity.
2) · Inconsistent with mainstream Christian teaching – if people can get into heaven whether they accept Jesus or not, it make Jesus’ death pointless
3) Replicas are not as valuable as the original
What is Eschatology?
a study within theology concerning ideas concerning the end of history and the final destiny of humanity.
What is the idea of the resurrection of the body?
God will restore the dead to eternal life in bodily form. Not restore bodily corpses, but creates us as spirtual beings. The promise of a post-death experience in a re-created ( perfect) human body.
Is the resurrected person the same as the one that died?
No it is not the same as the person who died. He or she will have a spiritual body, rather than flesh and blood one, which contains all of their memories and characteristics forever.
What is a Quote about the resurrection of the body?
ST PAUL : Jesus was resurrected, so too should Christians hope to be resurrected.
Difference between Resurrection and Reincarnation?
Reincarnation- Ever changing physical body
Resurrection- the same body goes to the afterlife, but it becomes imperishable and immortal and glorious
What is a strength of the resurrection of the body?
Saint Paul argued in favour of resurrection because God has the ability to make human bodies perfect
What is a strength of the resurrection of the body?
Saint Paul argued in favor of resurrection because God has the ability to make human bodies perfect
What is the Dualistic perspective?
There are two aspects to human beings, a physical body and a non-physical soul
They tend to believe in life after death ( mind/soul survives after death)
What are 2 different dualistic views?
1) The mind totally depends on the body in order to function.
2) The mind and body influence each other equally, but the two need each other in order to be conscious and aware of the world.
Where does Dualism derive from?
Plato
What does Plato say?
Although Plato’s beliefs have changed over time, his general belief about the soul is that it is immaterial, and the real me ( essence of a person) . We come back in our next life as something better or worse depending on how we were during our previous life, until we fulfil our potential and enter a type of heaven.
Who are 2 other people who support dualism?
Aristole
Descartes
How does Aritstole agree with Dualism but disagree with Plato?
We are made up of two things a body (matter) and a soul or ‘psyche’ (the form), and (unlike Plato) the soul is an integral part of the body. You can’t have one without the other (e.g. a cake cannot be a cake without its ingredients or form).
What does Descartes say about dualism?
( ‘ i think therefore i am’ ) (he exists) made a clear distinction between the mind and the body, stating that it was possible to doubt the existence of the body, but impossible to doubt the existence of your mind. Therefore they are two separate entities.
What are strengths of Dualism?
1) we think of ourselves as distinct from out bodies, and language reflects this ‘I have a body’.
2) it may allow for mental continuity between life and the afterlife.
3) many human experiences hard to explain on purely physical basis- seems to suggest we are more than simply physical beings
What are 3 weaknesses of Dualism?
1) isn’t the body an important part of somebody’s identity ( e.g. if you are upset, you can see on there face. Isn’t the body an expression of there mind )
2) Gilbert Ryle - Ghost in the machines ( mind is a ghost in a machine). Dualists think that ‘the mind is a ghost in the machine of the body’ RYLE disagreed.
3) ‘I have an immaterial soul” - meaningless, can’t be empirically verified
What Behaviours it would support monism and what would he say?
Consciousness is not caused by a soul but simply a reflection of complex behaviour.
What are 3 strengths of Monism?
1) Support from scientists such as Dawkins and Ryle
2) Emphasis and value it places on the body
3) evidence for the soul is largely disputed by modern scientists (NDE’s etc)
What are 3 weaknesses of Monism?
1) Near death experiences such as Pam Reynolds seem to give evidence for life after death, suggesting humans can survive without their bodies.
2) Suggesting there is no afterlife going against religious believers ( Hick -eschatological verification)
3) Morality : we feel we are beings with moral responsibility - but if we are purely physical we could never be blamed for actions.
How does Life after death link to moral reasoning?
If there was no after life, there would be no justice, the bad will go unpunished and good will not be rewarded. So there has to be an afterlife to balance moral law (good rewarded and evil punished in the afterlife . Existence of heaven/hell justifies behaviour of good.
What is a critque of Life after death linking to moral reasoning?
Trying to balance the moral law argument- what about artibtiary suffering and natural evil. Some may argue that the scale of suffering is not worth the prize of heaven.
What is a critque of Life after death linking to moral reasoning?
Trying to balance the moral law argument- what about artibtiary suffering and natural evil. Some may argue that the scale of suffering is not worth the prize of heaven.
What is another critque of Life after death linking to moral reasoning?
TBA
What is near death experience
When a person dies, usually in a medical operation, and is later resuscitated (revive (someone) from unconsciousness) and can recall the experience of what happened to him/her when they died.
What features are associated with near death experiences?
Feeling of peace
Out of body experiences
Tunnel of light
How do we decide what is hallucinatory or genuinely spiritual?
1) Explanation need to be coherent and specific - accounting for particular features, not generalities.
2) The theory should provide testable predicitions.
What is theory would use to support near death experiences?
Richard Swinburne ( Principle of credulity)
What do Spiritualist claim about life after death?
claims that after death there is a spirit world in which the deceased can go.
What is the main problem of Near death experiences?
The lack of verification of testimonies is the true problem with near death experience. They can only point to an afterlife, and not prove it.
What are 3 pieces of evidence of life after death?
1) Supernatural/ psychic evidence
2) Revelation/authority
3) Rational/logical arguments
What does Supernatural/psychic evidence mean?
Some claim that there is evidence for spiritual forces working beyond the body. This may imply the individual’s ability to live beyond death e.g. near death experiences.
What does Revelation/authority mean?
Some regard life after death as certainty based on religious texts, faith and teachings. Christians may see the authority of the new testament as guaranteeing the Resurrection of Jesus, e.g.
What does Rational/logical arguments?
If we agree with the likes of Descartes (‘ i think therefore i am), then we know that our internal thinking self-constitutes what is ‘really us’, rather than our physical bodies. Though is beyond our physical existence.
What are 2 additional evidences of Life after death?
1) Moral perfection requires an afterlife ( summon bohum) Kant
2) John Hick replica theory.
What are Critques of 3 pieces of evidence for life after death?
1) The supernatural evidence is controversial. Much of it can be explained away through psychological analysis, or is even sometimes deliberate hoax.
2) Revelation seems to be a dubious( doubtful basis). We may challenge the authority of the bible.( e.g. accounts of Jesus resurrection are not consistent with one another.
3) Seemingly rational arguments like that of Descartes ignore latest scientific thinking: consciousness is a brain function, not a soul.
What is another critique of evidence of life after death about the idea of language?
Flew
What does Flew say?
Questioned the meaning of life after death. e.g. if a ship eroded, we would say those on board are dead or survivors. It is accepted that one cannot be both. Flew argues that talk of surviving death is a bit like talking of ‘dead survivors’ ( a contradiction).Thus, the idea of afterlife is meaningless and untrue.
What would be your 3 points for the statement ‘assess the reliability of near death experiences ( 12 )
1) Many cases reported, all sharing the same features, it is difficult to understand how so many people could have the same hulluncations. A02: Similar sensations can be caused by drugs without a person being dead.
2) The principle of credibility ( Richard Swinburne) - Dr susan blackmore - dying brain theory’ when the brain dies = lack of oxygen to central vision = impression of bright light.
3) it can have a lasting effect on a patients life. - A02 -verification principle
What would be your 5 points for the statement ‘Evaluate ideas regarding the belief in life after death?
1) Dualism ( A02 monism
2) Revelation(certain due to religious texts)
3) near death experiences
4) Life after death linked to moral reasoning
5) Whether language used to describt LAD has any linguistic meaning.
