What do you think "death" is?

Question

It's apparent that there is no definitive answer to this question, but I am curious as to your opinions. Do you have any personal ideas about what death actually is? Not the physical process of dying - the body failing and so forth - as that is quite obvious and is detailed in all sorts of medical books, but rather where "we" go and what death actually is. Is it just an idea we have attributed to what we perceive as being the "end" of a body, a person, a life, a soul? Or do only our bodies decay, while our personal selves move on to some heaven or nirvana? Or does everything amount to blackness? We appear to be terrified of this thing called death, but have we given any thought to what it actually is?

Yes, so, um, forgive me for being morbid but... what are you ideas on the subject of death?

Answer 1

No one here can give an answer that will satisfy everyone. None of us can know with a scientific certainty what will happen to our consciousness when our bodies fail. That is why, I think, it casts fear into so many people.

Those who don't believe in an afterlife believe that there is no more awareness after death. They contend that the human consciousness can be attributed to the activity of the human brain, and that when the brain activity stops, so does the consciousness.

However, there are many, many stories about people who "died" and who have since reported what happened to them. Many of them report seeing a white light. Some even say that they saw people that they knew that had died and were told that it wasn't yet their time to leave life. Some people claim that they felt unattached from their body and watched their body, sometimes reclaiming details of events that happened while they were dead with accuracy. If we believe their witness and that they truly were dead, then we believe there is some sort of an afterlife.

I personally am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint. Or as most people would say, a "Mormon." I personally believe that when we die we go to a place where all the dead spirits go, where we continue to exist and grow. Those who didn't have the opportunity to accept the gospel of Christ will go to a place where they will learn about it and are given an opportunity to accept it. Those who did accept or who died as young children likewise continue to learn and work and also help teach those who did not have the same opportunity. Eventually, because of the atonement and sacrifice of Christ, all will receive their bodies again. At that point, God will judge each person according to their actions and desires and circumstance, and he will make the decision about where each person is best suited to dwell for the rest of their infinite existence. This doctrine was taught by Jesus when he said "In my Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2). It is further elaborated on by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:40-42 for anyone who would care to gain a deeper understanding.

This question isn't morbid at all. It's actually quite a fascinating thing to think about. And these are my ideas. I know that whatever happens when we die, it will be sensible and fair. And if I were a sensible and just God, I think I would make afterlife like this.

Answer 2

Molecules returning to the nothingness from whence they came...

Answer 3

In Islam Death means end of your Test Examination for the hereafter. So it put an end to your own achievements in life but if you got good children, imperishable good deed and good fellow students or sub ordinates then your deed list will continue to grow till the Day of Judgment i.e End of Test Life cycle for Species known as Human-Being

Answer 4

body is a robot

plus there some sort of ability to "dig deep"

the brain can run thought experiments etc.

there seems to be a lot handed on from people to people

Answer 5

Did you ever fall asleep and wake up and not remember dreaming at all.I imagine it to be the same thing.

Answer 6

when you have no more need in this life time and is needed in another  

Answer 7

to me death is not a thing, not an act. it is the lack of living. ceasing to live. the way that technically cold is not a thing, simply the lack of heat.

every night i go to sleep, and am unaware for multiple hours. i have no recollection of that period of time, i am unaware during that time. during that time i cease to exist. i think death would be just like that minus the waking up part.

i don't see why being dead, when none of my brain is working, would be a more conscious experience than a deep sleep, when much of my body and brain is still working. if i could exist without a body what would be  the point of having one.

Answer 8

death is the end of our mortal life. idk if there are any souls or going to heaven or ghosts or anything, but let me give a scientific spin on it. "energy cannot be created nor destroyed." when we die, where does all that energy of our personalities and lives go? it certainly cant just dissappear. think about that

Answer 9

Death = no life. No motility. No reproductive ability. No verve or vivaciousness. No ability to communicate. Alone-ness. Separation. In totality or by degree - of body, soul, and/or spirit.

Answer 10

I don't know. I haven't died, yet.

Answer 11

Once you die you cease to exist. You revert back to the same state as before you were born.

There is no evidence of souls, let alone a soul that transcends the body.

I know it isn't the most positive answer, but until there is actual evidence of a soul, it is wishful thinking

Answer 12

that we die there are no souls or spirits we just die and are as if we never were.

are bodys decay are hearts minds and feelings rot with are flesh. and we aree nothing.

Answer 13

it kind of depends on religion, like reincarnation, or going to heaven/h**l or just dying.  

Answer 14

Every evening, each person passes on from this world, leaving most physical sense data behind.

How one experiences the nightly sleep is a clue to how one will first encounter passing on.

"Watch Your Dreams," Ann Ree Colton and

"The Master of Lucid Dreams," Dr. Olga Kharitidi, discuss this.

When a person's soul becomes more lucid in dreaming ( http://www.dreamviews.com and http://www.lucidity.com are helpful), that's a clue that you'll be a happier camper after passing on:  "Testimony of Light," Helen Greaves, and "The Masters and Their Retreats," Mark Prophet.

Answer 15

Death is no more than our physical body ceasing to function. A person's soul does not truly die. It lives on forever. Where that soul goes and what happens to it is dependent on God's righteous judgment. If that person accepts God's plan of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ on earth, then when he dies, his soul will be judged as righteous and he will live in heaven with God for enternity. If that person does not accept God's plan on earth then his soul will be judged and be found short of the glory of God. His soul will then be separated from God, the worst kind of punishment possible.

Answer 16

I think that the reality is like you would expect for a bug when you step on it--It is, then it is not.

In my mind, though, it is very hard for me to imagine the universe not being experienced.  So, in a way, I believe that the viewpoint would simply shift, like one camera off, and the next on.

My most fervent hope would be that I would join with the mind of God, and to be able to see the true nature of the universe, but I fear it will all be, not blackness, just not.