What happens when we die?

There are as many opinions about the potential of an afterlife as there are stars in the sky. Devoutly religious people anticipate a conventional afterlife in heaven, hell, or purgatory; some others believe in reincarnation. Imaginative atheists conceptualize alternate dimensions. Agnostics claim that there is no existence after death. Einstein believed that no one could understand the universe except through his own imperfect perspective.

Most of us agree that science provides us with the opportunity to empirically confirm or refute any concept, including the afterlife. Many piously religious people despise science for that very fact. For example, we know through carbon dating that the earth is billions of years old. This is an empirical fact. It’s as real as gravity. We can measure it. This fact refutes the biblical claim that the earth is only a few thousand years old. But what about other religious concepts? Can they be true? And how can scientists reconcile their own religious beliefs when they conflict with empirical evidence?

We know that our consciousness—everything we think about, all our memories, values, loves, hates, fears, and emotions—is the product of neurons firing in our cerebral cortex. When the cells of our cerebral cortex die, our consciousness perishes. This is the physical and legal concept of brain death. We can quantify and calculate it. To prove that there is an afterlife, we must empirically show that consciousness exists after brain cells die and that it exists elsewhere. In all of human history, no one has been able to achieve this. Until someone does, we cannot know that there is an afterlife. We can believe it by faith. But its certainty eludes us.

Some people use common near-death experiences to validate an afterlife. For example, people who have revived from near-death experiences express common characteristics of the experience, such as “traveling through a dark tunnel into a white light.” However, we know from empirical evidence that the brain cells for visual functioning are often the first to stop performing in the absence of oxygenated blood. Brain cells can function for about six minutes after they stop receiving oxygen. Therefore, it would be normal for revived people to see their vision gradually disappear, imitating a tunnel with white light at the end. This in no way suggests an afterlife; rather, it is a normal part of conscious brain death.

In the end, we don’t know if there is life after death. If so, it has remained untested (empirically) over time. If not, then we must accept that the sum of our existence occurs during the time that we are alive. Therefore, it is critical that we use every minute wisely. In this, religion produces a paradox. What if there is a life after death? Would that imply that inappropriate behavior could be redeemed in the afterlife? Can we act with senseless brutality and be forgiven? Would such a truth allow humanity to be intolerant and vicious? Could the religious concept of an afterlife inadvertently allow more hatred, mistrust and selfishness?

In the absence of science, when gigantic leaps of faith leave us wanting, we must turn to logic. The fact that we have doubts about an afterlife means that we should feel compelled to act in ways that benefit our descendants now. We must be tolerant and kind to one another, care wisely for our planet, and deliver a world to our progeny that is better than the one we inherited. If we only have one chance to exist, let’s make sure our actions are based on wisdom, love and charity. If there is an afterlife, then we might have one more chance to act prudently. If not, we will have used our only chance to create a better world wisely.