[frankinstien]

The belief in an afterlife is found in all religions and most notably  Christianity believes only humans have souls. The Discovery of brain activity during dying and after death was noted in a man who died from a heart attack while being monitored with an EEG.  There are many testimonies of near-death experiences that describe recalling life's experiences which could explain the brain activity of dying.   But such brain activity is not just found in humans. Studies have been conducted with rats that showed a similar phenomenon of brain activity during dying and after death.  If one wants to believe that near-death experiences are proof of an afterlife then heaven and/or hell are filled with animals as well! A more rational explanation for such brain activity is the brain is in shock or panic mode because the heart has stopped.  This mode motivates the brain to try and find a solution to its predicament which causes high activity in all cortical areas of the brain.  This makes sense since animals in critical situations that can result in death need to figure out ways to get out of their situation which explains why pain and fear get desensitized so the animal can more effectively focus on solutions rather than obsess with pain and fear.

[frankinstien]

On thinking about this brain activity during dying and after death further, I realized that a human being might understand that it's dying at a subconscious level and rationalize that its only escape is its superstition of an afterlife. That cognition at a subconscious level becomes realized at a conscious level and such a person's last episodic memories are an entry to some afterlife.

This would mean that those that don't have any such beliefs have nothing to fall back on to escape, however futile and imaginary it is, their deaths. This could lead to, perhaps, a paranoid interpretation that leaves the individual's last experiences as horrific. This doesn't mean that life's memories aren't recalled in these last moments for such individuals but that they ultimately conclude they are dying might not sit well at their consciousness level. This might mean that believing in something is better than not believing in anything to make the experience of death more pleasant.

I for one believe in aliens and they have entanglement technologies where they can monitor all life on earth, inclusive of human thoughts! I call this technology the Qnet where this super technological society has bridged billions of stars with entanglement transceivers where one can span the heavens and explore its mysteries. They allow us, humans, to transition to this new form of existence and we participate in an adventure after death that dwarfs our human life...

[WriterOfMinds]

... and most notably  Christianity believes only humans have souls.

This is not a correct assessment of what Christianity teaches. Some particular Christians believe that only humans have souls, but IMO this is a prideful misinterpretation of the Bible. In reality the word translated "soul" is used to speak of animals as well, and though the Bible does not speak explicitly about the eternal fate of animals, a number of Christians have no problem with the idea of animals in the afterlife.

I don't have an opinion on whether near-death experiences have any validity or are just a kind of hallucination.

[MagnusWootton]

Just think if the christians are right about god,  everything is flipped on its head,   it can literally send you mad thinking about it.   But anyway you look in life does maybe.

If people dont die when they die,  and people come back from the dead,  what use has competitive evolution anymore for example,  its completely defunct.

[infurl]

I was going to write about historical attempts to transplant heads (or entire bodies depending on your perspective) but decided not to because it is too gruesome. One of the interesting outcomes of such an event would have been to see whose consciousness ended up in the "successful" result if it could be achieved. Modern physiology suggests it would be the original owner of the head and brain rather than the original owner of the body, but a true scientist doesn't make assumptions right?

[MagnusWootton]

yeh I guess its that simple,  but who wants to find out?   

[frankinstien]

I was going to write about historical attempts to transplant heads (or entire bodies depending on your perspective) but decided not to because it is too gruesome. One of the interesting outcomes of such an event would have been to see whose consciousness ended up in the "successful" result if it could be achieved. Modern physiology suggests it would be the original owner of the head and brain rather than the original owner of the body, but a true scientist doesn't make assumptions right?

That would be true if the memories of the brain could survive without an actively metabolic neuron. The chemistry of memory requires maintenance so reviving neurons is a matter of time before their coding deteriorates. So you could literally end up with a blank slate if you try to revive someone that's been dead too long. This would also be an issue with freezing brains where the chemistry would still suffer from dissipation and not retain the neural codings.

[infurl]

Another way of testing ideas about the seat of consciousness would be to consider conjoined twins. There have been a few dozen cases where a single body was shared by two distinct heads and brains. When they survive (they usually don't), they are quite obviously two distinct people.

[infurl]

That would be true if the memories of the brain could survive without an actively metabolic neuron. The chemistry of memory requires maintenance so reviving neurons is a matter of time before their coding deteriorates. So you could literally end up with a blank slate if you try to revive someone that's been dead too long. This would also be an issue with freezing brains where the chemistry would still suffer from dissipation and not retain the neural codings.

There is at least one neurosurgeon who believes his team has developed a viable procedure for transferring a head from one body to another. Obviously they would take steps to sustain the brain throughout the process or there wouldn't be any point.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/11/17/italian-doctor-says-worlds-first-human-head-transplant-imminent/847288001/

It hasn't happened yet though.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Canavero

They're going to need a couple of volunteers I think.

[frankinstien]

In my thread "Crazy" I wrote how I was embracing my death as I was falling in total darkness with just the words "Game Over" in my field of view, but that wasn't exactly the only thing that was happening. I was actually angry that my life was ending and I wanted to do so much more.  After those thoughts the parachute re-opened. Now, what if what I'm experiencing right now and since then is actually my last 6 minutes of life, where the brain can last up to 6 minutes without oxygen. Where you, Infurl, and everyone and thing that is happening right now is my escape hatch or denial of death, my afterlife experience in a brainstorm of neural activity I created a world where I continued to live my life.  And when my 6 minutes are up everything and everyone will disappear... 

[LOCKSUIT]

If people dont die when they die,  and people come back from the dead,  what use has competitive evolution anymore for example,  its completely defunct.

The new death could be deleted goals and memories, and leaving the rest intact. With the future to-be AGIs, I think you can do this.

Bit odd frankenstien is giving air to this thread, I don't think he believes souls. Anyway, if I were dying I'd only be thinking about how to get into a Cryonics freezer lol.

[WriterOfMinds]

Now, what if what I'm experiencing right now and since then is actually my last 6 minutes of life, where the brain can last up to 6 minutes without oxygen. Where you, Infurl, and everyone and thing that is happening right now is my escape hatch or denial of death, my afterlife experience in a brainstorm of neural activity I created a world where I continued to live my life.  And when my 6 minutes are up everything and everyone will disappear... 

Well ... that is almost a "what if I'm living in a simulation?" level of question. In practice (and I say this in the hope of being comforting), it probably doesn't make too much difference. The chance that this is an end-of-life hallucination that suddenly cuts off is not so different from the risk of having a surprise heart attack or lethal car accident tomorrow. None of us is guaranteed the span of life we expect, even under "normal" circumstances. So even if you were having an imaginary near-death experience, I'm not sure what you ought to do differently than in real life: enjoy the ride, knowing that at some point it ends or transitions.

I hope you don't mind me commenting, since you seem to want this whole thread to go away now. But, I already saw the latest, so ... might as well try to be helpful.

[MagnusWootton]

I was going to write about historical attempts to transplant heads (or entire bodies depending on your perspective) but decided not to because it is too gruesome. One of the interesting outcomes of such an event would have been to see whose consciousness ended up in the "successful" result if it could be achieved. Modern physiology suggests it would be the original owner of the head and brain rather than the original owner of the body, but a true scientist doesn't make assumptions right?

yeh i think i know what your hinting at, that we are all the same person and only life experience separates us,  so what difference does it make once it starts from nothing...


Thankyou everyone for the comforting words in hell.

[frankinstien]

Well ... that is almost a "what if I'm living in a simulation?" level of question. In practice (and I say this in the hope of being comforting), it probably doesn't make too much difference. The chance that this is an end-of-life hallucination that suddenly cuts off is not so different from the risk of having a surprise heart attack or lethal car accident tomorrow. None of us is guaranteed the span of life we expect, even under "normal" circumstances. So even if you were having an imaginary near-death experience, I'm not sure what you ought to do differently than in real life: enjoy the ride, knowing that at some point it ends or transitions.

You're right but the simulation is being created by a human brain that is trying to escape death. The whole point of the post was to realize that afterlife experiences are probably the denial of death by the individual dying.  Also, how each individual copes with dying as their brains spike with neural activity to try to deal with it probably varies. Where, in my case,  I simply remembered those thoughts I had as I was falling to the ground and where I could see that one might create a hallucination that simply denies death and continues their life rather than enter some afterlife where he/she imagines they end up being miraculously saved from dying.  I mean the parachute just opened 30 feet before I would have hit the ground. Very convenient, don't you think? 

There is an interesting Netflix series, called the OA, where it uses the phenomena of brain spiking activity as a means to transverse parallel universes.

[Korrelan]

IMHO the same awaits you after death, as you experienced before you where born... nothingness... no pain or regretts, just absolute oblivion... you cease to exist.

Enjoy it whilst you are. 😐