Death is the end...well probably! It looks like the best definition of death is, "Irreversible loss of consciousness."
The body
Parts of our bodies can survive on life support after our consciousness has ended irreversibly , indeed our kidneys or other organs that have been transplanted can survive for very many years after our consciousness has ended. While we are alive we may hope that others can benefit from our organs after our death but after our consciousness has ended what happens to our body tissues doesn't affect us.
Religion
It can be hard to accept that our consciousness will finally end and won't return. That's why different religions develop different fantasies about an afterlife and imagine they will carry on being conscious somewhere else. There is no evidence for any afterlife. It's just wishful thinking and can even become a terrifying nightmare when people are taught to believe in Hell. Too often religious people make themselves and those around them miserable in this life doing things which they hope will get them a better afterlife. This life is the only life that we know exists. It's best to concentrate on making this life as good as possible for ourselves and for those around us. Seriously, being unconscious doesn't hurt.
Facing Death without Religion
So must I die, and so be laid at rest, Inanimate as though I'd ne'er had been No more entranced by joy, by care oppressed, A withered mass, uncomely to be seen. READ THE WHOLE POEM
Factual
Dying is not all bad, we give back to the earth what we have taken, and all the chemicals in our body are ultimately recycled. These chemicals in our body may become part of a rock or tree, or even another human. Don't get this confused with reincarnation, there is little chance the chemicals in our body will become a conscious animal after we die, though technically possible. It is amazing to think that a tree, or the dust around you may contain the same chemicals that may have been part of Plato, Mozart, George Washington or any other historical figure.
So don't worry, death is an important process. Would you really want to live forever anyway?
External links
- How to Face Death without Religious Beliefs
- The Type of Advice Given by a Physican to an Atheist Patient who is dying
- Death (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Videos
- Christians Are Unafraid Of Death Very funny and irrerevant video. This video may not be ideal for people who are dying or recently bereaved.
Copoied from Liberapedia