Is there irrefutable proof that the mind lives on after the body is clinically dead?

Question

I recently lost a loved one, i desparately need to believe that this isnt the end.

Answer 1

You can convince yourself that your loved one continues - as you can see, lots of people take that route - but you're only choosing a delusion. In fact once a person dies, that person is over.

You should consider instead that your loved one's memories continue in you, and in others who knew the person. Your loved one's life has meaning to the extent that you were influenced by him or her, and to the extent that you use that person's memory to affect the world in a positive way. You can only dishonor your loved one's memory if you choose to remember him/her by accepting what con artists tell you about an afterlife. Instead, honor his/her memory by talking about what he or she did, and using those memories to inspire yourself and others.

Answer 2

I'm afraid that not only is there no irrefutable proof, there's absolutely no evidence.

Nor, in fact, is there any conceivable way for this to be the case. A mind is the product of the operation of a brain - as music is the product of a CD player. Destroy the hardware, and the working ceases. The 1:1 correspondence is demonstrated by a piecemeal approach: damage to the brain results in damage to the mind, in roughly direct proportion.

I'm deeply sorry for your loss, but I doubt that a retreat into comforting fantasy is really helpful when it's based on falsehood. You can consider these things, though: your loved one will never experience pain; never have a problem to solve; never know grief or misery again. It's true they won't know joy either, but even that can't worry him/her anymore.

Only we who are left behind have a real problem, so in a sense you're only sad about your own pain. That's valid, of course, but it is yours to deal with and come through. Time will heal it, and I hope it's not too long.

CD

Answer 3

Not only is there no proof, there can be no proof, irrefutable or otherwise, of an afterlife. Any such existence after death would necessarily be in a different plane of existence than our own.
However, the lack of evidence should in no way be discouraging. Regardless what kind of afterlife you believe in, there shouldn't be any evidence. You can't find proof. So the fact that there is none doesn't say anything about the belief one way or the other.

Answer 4

I'm sorry you lost a love one.

But there is no irrefutable proof or, in my mind, believable theories that suggest the mind lives on after the body dies. To me, the mind and brain are synonymous and die together. I believe death is final because I've never seen a good reason to believe otherwise. Desperation has its usefulness in dire situations, but it will not lead you to objective truth.

Answer 5

The "mind" is a result of electrochemical processes in the brain. When a person dies, the heart loses the ability to supply oxygen to the brain, and the brain runs out of chemicals to convert to electricity and produce the "mind". That's all there is.

You should feel better with a certain answer that they are gone, rather than worry about where they /might/ be.

Answer 6

Since the mind, a by-product of the interaction of the soul and brain, is not physical, it cannot be proved by scientific method as it is now practiced even while we're alive. We merely see qualities which suggest it is there. We can prove brain, but not mind, although we all know it exists. The brain and mind have a close working relationship, but the brain is not the mind. Irrefutable proof of the mind, even though we can to some extent measure it, is not possible. Mind simply isn't something we can hold in our hand. The kind of proof for existence of the soul, the keeper of memory, is indirect and inferential. One indirect proof of its existence is that when people recognize the glory of god, cleave to his truth, follow his teachings, they reflect his light and their lives are transformed. The same for a community or civilization. To see with eyes that are not physical, to hear with ears that are not physical, and to think and respond with our mind that is not physical are indirect and inferential proofs of the soul's existence.

Answer 7

Of course there isn't. I lost my dad last year, it does not get more loved one than that. But to think of him floating around wearing a halo and playing a harp, is just bloody insulting.

He lived an amazing life, did most of the things he wanted to do, and lived to a nice old age.

Guess what, thats all we get. Remember your loved ones life, not their death.

Answer 8

Sorry for your loss but you're going to have to toughen up and face the cold, harsh reality that dead is dead, no exception. Besides, I'm sure you're loved one would have wanted you to get on with your life and stop pointless pining.

Answer 9

No, there is no proof. If believing that they've lived on gives you comfort, then fine, as long as you're able to get on with your life too.

Answer 10

May the LORD bless you through your bereavement. No I do not think that a person's mind lives on after their body is dead. The brain is what controls the body and without the body what does the brain control? But don't worry, if your loved one believed in God and repented in Jesus he/she will be raised to everlasting glory at the time of Judgment. I pray that you will desperately believe in the One that can bring you peace, instead of a lie that can bring you nothing but sorrow.

God Bless You