Page 19 - 201004 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - April 2010

April 2010_june_july_2009.qxd 22/04/2010 11:26 PM Page 19 Is there life after bodily death? 19 Is there life after bodily death? By Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun The story of the "death" of the 20th-century philosopher, Alfred Jules (A. J.) Ayer, is becoming legendary. When the renowned atheist choked on a piece of salmon in 1988 in a British hospital, he went into cardiac arrest and technically died for four minutes. As a leader of the dominant analytic school of philosophy, Ayer had been accused of "neutralizing" Western academic philosophers; encouraging them to focus on pure logic and avoid applying their big minds to the actual art of living. And dying. But Ayer's near-death experience changed all that. After he was resuscitated in hospital, Ayer wrote a piece in the Telegraph newspaper describing wondrous images he had while "dead" -- of a beckoning red light and the They are especially relevant as roughly two happens after death. collapse of space and time. billion Christians around the world gather this It's a conundrum that has been The atheist philosopher, known as weekend for Easter. challenging humankind since ancient times -- "Freddie" to his friends, also quietly suggested While practised in many different ways, including the man many deem the greatest his near-death experience (NDE) provided Easter centres on a profound ritual in which philosopher in Western history, Socrates. "rather strong evidence that death does not put followers are called upon to mystically enter the After being condemned to death by an end to consciousness." 2,000-year-old story of the death and Greek authorities in the fourth century BC, Just as importantly, Ayer's wife, Dee, resurrection of Jesus Christ. Socrates told them that death is not an evil told anyone who would listen, including In many ways Christianity, and all great thing, but on the contrary a good thing. journalists, that her husband had become much religions, are about coming to terms with death. That said, Socrates did not presume to more pleasant company after his NDE. And all religions teach, either literally or know what happened to humans after death. He As Dee quaintly put it: "Freddie has got metaphorically, that death does not get the final was satisfied with being an agnostic about the so much nicer since he died." word. afterlife. In a Western culture that greatly fears For instance, after committing to As Socrates said, "Either it is death and distracts itself from thinking about it Christianity, which in its classic form contains annihilation, and the dead have no with endless entertainments, it's intriguing that the promise of "life everlasting," many consciousness of anything; or, as we are told, it scientific research into NDEs has expanded followers of Jesus often use the language of is really a change; a migration of the soul from since Ayer enjoyed his profound out-of-body being "reborn" to describe their renewed vigour this place to another." experience in 1988 (dying peacefully the for life and others. The story of Socrates' lack of fear about following year at age 79). The quest to overcome humans' fear of death makes up the opening chapter of The The British and U.S. governments, for death also lies at the core of Judaism and Islam. Book of Dead Philosophers, by Simon instance, are examining near-death studies in In somewhat different forms than Critchley, which explores what 190 famous 1,500 heart attack patient-survivors at 25 Christianity, traditional schools of Islam and philosophers thought about death and how they hospitals. Judaism teach also about the immortality of the died. Such groundbreaking exploration of soul, and how essential it is to live a selfless life Critchley argues compellingly that real near-death experiences is a long way from the on this Earth. philosophy, unlike that practised by Ayer until arid and abstruse subjects that many university- Eastern religions tackle death in yet his near-death experience, should be "about based academics often end up studying. another way. Generally, Hinduism and learning how to die." Paradoxically, that is the Excitingly interdisciplinary research Buddhism teach reincarnation. However, both goal of living. into NDEs and related phenomenon touches on call on followers to try to detach themselves Our ultimate purpose, as Critchley puts the kind of crucial spiritual, scientific, from the endless cycle of death and rebirth by it, should be "cultivating the appropriate attitude psychological and philosophical questions attaining Enlightenment and practising to death." humans have been asking for millennia. compassion. One of the obvious questions it brings Dealing with death by holding onto the Life's agent of change up is: Do near-death experiences offer evidence possibility of existence after it is also not unique of human consciousness after death? to organized religion. Popular culture and so- Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple And: Do near-death, or related called "alternative" spirituality often develop computers, is another contemporary figure who experiences of human mortality, turn people the idea of the soul surviving the collapse of the has come to believe that death is life's greatest into better human beings, encouraging them to body. teacher. live more kindly? The immortality of the soul is a central "Death is very likely the single-best theme of the wildly popular 3-D film, Avatar, in invention of life. It is life's change agent. It The heart of Easter which the world-weary disabled hero, Jake clears out the old to make way for the new," Sully, must go through a death experience to be Jobs told Stanford University graduates after a These are existential questions that reborn. tumour was discovered on his pancreas. almost everyone -- regardless of whether they "No one wants to die," Jobs said. "Even belong to a faith tradition or not -- could find An age-old conundrum people who want to go to heaven don't want to value in exploring. die to get there. And yet death is the destination Questions of life and death form the Even though rare, there are some brave we all share. ... Your time is limited, so don't heart of every great religion and every figures in contemporary science, psychology waste it living someone else's life." meaningful secular philosophy. and philosophy who are trying to respond to humans' confusion and wonder about what (Continued on Page 21)