Consciousness after "death"

I'm certain that consciousness continues after the deterioration of the physical body. What does everyone here believe?

 

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How deteriorated? If there is any consciousness, you aren't dead.

 

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2 major problems right from the start:

Are you "certain" or is that your belief?

You're assuming that "consciousness" is something that is not physical. If so, please explain this assumption.

 

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Well, what do you believe?

 

Sorry, this is a discussion forum.
Right now, the onus is upon you to respond to the criticisms that have been posted by other members..

 

I've always wondered if my consciousness will somehow continue on in some way after my physical body dies. I kind of imagine my consciousness as energy, and as far as I understand, energy never disappears, only changes. I'm sure something happens to the energy that composes me, physically and consciously, But I don't know if my awareness, so to speak will continue. We'll all find out... someday.

 

Or not. I don't think you'll be doing much 'finding out' when you're dead.

 

Absolutely. However I did start off by asking what everyone here believes. This isn't a discussion about me, nor do I feel the need for it to be. It's about the concept of consciousness after death and what we all believe about it.

 

I think consciousness is the same thing as thought. I think thoughts depend on an operational brain. I'm also an atheist, so you may expect some skeptical opinions from me.

Welcome to Sciforums by the way!

 

Thats true. If it doesn't continue, then you won't know. but if it does, then I guess you will.

I was raised catholic, and I believed in it for many years, until I was about 16. So it's really hard for me to imagine that it discontinues. No matter how hard I try to 'reprogram' my thought on that, I just can't. It's too deeply ingrained.

 

That's fair. If it does continue, then yes we'll all find out. As far as I'm aware, consciousness doesn't appear to be something which science is very knowledgeable about (hey, they don't yet even quite know what electricity is - harnessing it and knowing what it is are obviously two different things), and indeed, if it is energy (which I'm certain it is) then it must continue in some form.

 

Well, if conciousness is a product of the brain there is no getting around it. And I don't see any evidence to the contrary.

 

You lost me...

 

Thanks. I'd like to ask, what leads you to think that consciousness is merely thought? Don't you need to have consciousness first before you can have any thoughts, or do you believe that consciousness is somehow a "overall" thought, and all other thoughts come from / constitute part of that thought?

 

We do continue in some form. We become part of the natural environment again and eventually become part of other organisms

 

The brain's 'gears' turn subconsciously, coming up with a thought or a feeling, which takes some small amount of time, after which we become conscious of the result of the analysis. This shows the there is a brain process at work, as consciousness, that a brain is required, and that consciousness comes last, after which, of course, more rumination may occur, etc..

This means that consciousness cannot float around by itself after death, for there is then no working brain for the thought or brain process for consciousness.

Sometimes people just latch onto a word itself and try to give it more meaning than it has. Words are shorthand notation.

 

If consciousness is produced by the brain (and it is) then it dies along with the body.

 

Where did you read that?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity

I think we understand it pretty well.

 

Ok fair enough. Can you explain in your own words for the layman, briefly, what electricity is?

 

Why are you certain?
And what sort of "energy"?