Michael Shermer - Is Life After Death Possible?

Does everything about a person disappear at death? The body? Sure, it's gone. The brain? It stops working, then dissolves. But what about awareness? Does our consciousness end forever? Nothing could be more frightening! Is there any hope? Are there ways that, conceivably, our consciousness can survive the ultimate insult?

Closer To Truth presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.

[jefferee]

This chat has absolutely nothing to do with the topic advertised, life after death.

[TasteMyStinkholeAndLikeIt]

Their discussion had NOTHING to do with the title of the video

[infamousspade]

For a moment I thought dude was quoting Joe Pesci from good fellas. "OH I AMUSE YOU?"

[delq]

Its sad how less the views are for closer to truth videos and interviews.

[coltonlohn]

Adam from “Adam Ruins Everything” is pissed because Shermer said alpha male :((

[ericjohnson]

I like it, "religion is primarily not about explaining the natural world". Yes, it is primarily about spirituality.

[ojibwayinca]

Gee, I wonder what Shermer's position will be.

[leehamilton]

A friendly and nice conversation about the social purpose of religion but what does that have to do with life after death? That doesn't seem to be his specialty?

[omgsolikevalleygirl]

i am surprised to hear Shermer being so non-cynical.

[auxtas]

The choice to not believe in life after death is a human’s desire to not be accountable for his actions. He just want to be free even at death. Shermer is just throwing opinions and creating a different God religious people believe in. Natural world never created itself. Big Bang you quoting is even a theory by a Catholic priest. Why was he not an atheist having created that theory.

[yasfi]

As a theist i respect this guy.. saying "this world will be better place without religion" is the same as saying "i should be more happy if i was born in different family". Like or not, modern society that we have today historically can't be like 'today' without religion in the first place. Maybe should be better without the religion? How do you know?

[ramithuday]

Life and Death duality is not easy to grasp. Without knowing what death is, you live without knowing what life is... If you experience what death is consciously, you actually start living life..
Death is a mystery, if not experienced while you are alive...Life is as illusive particle when compared to death, which is one single wave on which everyrhing collapses, basically an experience that leads to wisdom with the superposition of the body, mind and soul on the spirit..

[jasonholbrook]

This is one guy I would love to see you have a NDE experience and come back and Change his way of life And see what he would have to say about that I would love to see what he would have to say then

[rogerjohnson]

Shermer answered this clearly 10 years ago: Michael Shermer - Is Consciousness Irreducible?

[vladimir]

Of course there’s life after death. Do you or anyone you know have descendants? Other than that………

[moayadsalih]

And who cares about what Shermer says? Explaining religion away as a tool for social order is just a manifestation of shallow-mindedness.

[Jinxed]

Why is the idea of life after death so difficult to grasp? Are we just hung up on the religious connotations? Get rid of them, we don't need them. We all have already experienced life after death. What were you 1000 years ago? Most definitely not alive. You had absolutely none of the characteristics we consider "being alive", in fact, there was no "you". The universe, without a doubt, can (and did) create you. There are exactly ZERO physical laws that limit the number of times you can be produced. Likely? The likelihood of a given outcome within a set of possibilities increases with available time. Given enough time, ALL possibilities come to fruition. Current estimates put the universe at about 14 billion years old, however, new theories indicate the process may be infinite. Possibilities over infinite time equate to a 100% chance of not only occurring, but reoccurring infinitely.

The question has always been about continuity, not probability... will you remember being you? Does this iteration effect the next? I guess that depends on how exactly the universe handles the processes that currently think they're you. We are not separate from the universe. We are as much a part of it as our solar system is part of the Milky Way. All one and the same. We are the universe, thinking, learning, creating. My perspective on the importance of all my bits and pieces is likely important to its function, but ultimately those bits and pieces are serving a much, much larger function that is not "us", but everything. I'm good with that.

[Big_Tough_Guy]

"Does our consciousness end forever? Nothing could be more frightening!"

I would argue that spending an eternity in a universe with no justice is far more frightening than death, and also far more likely...

You aren't 60 years of awareness preceded by and followed by two eternities. That is a ridiculous thought. Eternity is eternity, and it is clearly an eternity of life, not death...

[ericgraham]

For people that believe in non-existence after death. How do you know the non-existence goes on forever? How do you know that you're not going to turn into another person or an animal or something? Cause if you really don't exist you have no idea that you died. You wouldn't even know what you are let alone who you are.

[tomhummel]

I've listened to this several times, but I don't think the title/heading describes the content. Sorry to say.