Where do we all go after we die? Do we continue to exist after the death of the body, and if we do, what would that look like?
I'm not suggesting that I know the answer to this question. In this blog, I'm just going to be analyzing some of the possibilities and trying to figure out whether they're good or bad. You die, and that's it – nothing;
you cease to exist, and death is the permanent end of experience, eternal nothingness. Death is the end of life, so the idea that there is life after death is obviously false. Our fear of death is biologically programmed into us, and to an extent, it's unavoidable, but maybe philosophy can help us reason our way out of this situation. Is death bad? Well, you might say that someone dying is bad because they're not around anymore; that person was there, and now they're not. But I don't think this is actually bad.
Heaven:
Religions that describe a Heaven place are usually pretty similar about what it's actually like there. It's described as this perfect, beautiful place with no pain and suffering, where we can live in bliss and worship God for eternity. But is this kind of immortality something we actually want?
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We have infinite time in heaven, which we could spend 1000 years to learn anything. In that place, one day, you will get bored by doing the same thing, and you actually want death there.
Hell:
Inferno, the first part of Dante's Divine Comedy, is probably the most famous depiction of hell. It has nine circles filled with horrible punishments like boiling in pools of blood or being submerged in frozen lakes. Even Buddhism has different types of hells with intricate punishments like the realm of the hungry ghosts. There are a lot of different depictions of what hell would actually be like, so I won't spend too much time on the details.
Ghost:
Being a ghost in the world after death would be the same as heaven. A ghost is shown as a matterless body which could go into the walls and could move things to scare others. But I feel like that would get pretty frustrating. Maybe you'd be condemned to haunt a particular location for some reason. Maybe you were murdered in a particular house, and now you have to spend eternity shifting around items on the counter to freak out whoever happens to live in that house in the future.
Simulation:
Let's get into the most controversial talk about the afterlife. Let's think: when you died, you got a screen showing "game over" and your real ones getting the VR headset off and telling this character is awesome, let us get into another character after taking a piss. But simulation theory is one of the most controversial theories that are trying to be proved by many people, and certain people believe they live in a simulation.
Reincarnation:
Reincarnated as every single human being who has ever lived – you were Abraham Lincoln, Adolf Hitler, and Jesus. You were also every person in the world who has ever lived, based on our current life and all the circumstances we happen to find ourselves in. But they should be based impartially, as if we could end up as anyone in society. The egg scenario is a lot like this because you're actually everyone,
so the doctrine of "do to others whatever you would like them to do to you" takes on a very literal meaning because the others are also you. Now, this is a tricky one to rank. I'm not really sure what to think about returning to the ocean of being. It's hard to say what exactly that would be like. But as for the human-to-human exhaustive reincarnation idea, I think that's really great. You would quite literally get the full spectrum of human experience – every instance of suffering, pain, joy, ecstasy, and love.
Conclusion:
Exploring the concept of the afterlife is a deeply personal and philosophical journey that spans across cultures and beliefs. Whether one finds solace in the idea of an eternal existence, seeks comfort in the memories of loved ones, or embraces the mystery of what lies beyond, contemplating the afterlife can offer insight into our own values, fears, and hopes for the unknown. Ultimately, how we envision the afterlife shapes how we live our lives in the present, emphasizing the importance of cherishing each moment and finding meaning in our existence.