Sign Here If You Exist By Jill Sisson Quinn

Kate Miller said, “The question shouldn't be, is there life after death? But instead, Is there life before death? This quote is saying that not everyone or everything is alive before they die. People are not happy and therefore are not truly living their best life. This quote could also work for inanimate objects, with the possibility that the objects have a mind of their own. These are both true in the book, Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. Throughout the book, Guy Montag starts to discover what living is like, and what death truly is. In society today, life is something that everyone is afraid of losing while death is something people are afraid of. When in reality, these labels don’t matter at all. There are no labels to what is alive, and what is dead.

Death is the most inevitable and unknown aspect of life. It is unescapable, and by most of today’s population, it is feared in the utmost regard. Our materialistic views and constant desertion of religious ideals has forced our society to view death as an ultimate end. Socrates and St. Augustine’s views on death differ from many views on the subject in 2017, however, for their time, these men had the power to influence a plethora of individuals with their theories. For Socrates, death should never be feared and should be considered a blessing if our souls were to ascend to heaven, or death could be an extensive slumber without any dreaming whatsoever. With

In Danielle Allen’s essay, Our Declaration, she argues that all people should understand and recognize that the Declaration gives all people in the United States the undeniable freedom to self-govern. One person has the power to change the government; although this is not specifically stated, the freedom to self-govern implies every voice matters. She guides the reader to this idea by using simple and easy to follow examples to show the reader that they have the power to invoke a change the government. Allen also uses credible sources in order to give her reasoning credibility as well as using arguments that elicit an emotional connection.

The philosophical question being asked already introduces the finitude of human existence, since, according to Martin Heidegger human beings, as Da-sein, exist “as thrown being(s)-toward-its-end,”1 recognizing death is recognized as a possibility of Da-sein. However, it is important to define death in Heidegger’s context because he establishes the idea that death is a reality that we, as human beings, encounter as a possibility of being. As such, the relation between death and authentic existence must also be clarified, so as to fully understand what it truly means to be Da-sein.

The concept of life after death has been around practically as long as life itself. Our beliefs about life after death can have a profound effect on our attitudes toward life. Most individual's beliefs about life after death are directly related to their cultural or religious affiliations. According to Montagu, "Of all the many forms which natural religion has assumed none probably has exerted so deep and far – reaching an influence on human life as the belief in immortality" (1955, p.15).

Benjamin Franklin once said, “In this world nothing can be certain, expect death and taxes”. (www.brainyquote.com). Death is something a lot of people are scared of, even though it a natural life cycle and it happens to everyone and everything. Everybody agrees death happens, but not everyone agrees what happens after death. Different people have different views of what happens after death, but one thing they all agree on is that it happens to everybody and there is no way around it, you don’t know when or where it’ll happen but it will always happen.

Facing Death is a compelling documentary on, oftentimes, the final journey patients and their families will venture through together in life. The documentary seeks to capture how the patients and their families respond to the inevitability of death. The film includes families who respond to the issue by allowing their family member, the patient, to pass through the door of death without aggressive care, while there are yet other families who insist on everything being done to delay the moment of death. This topic of fighting death is attributed with producing much debate. On one hand are those who do not see the point of fighting death, however, on the other hand, there are those who believe that delaying death and staying alive is what ought to be done. Personally, from what I understand of either party, I think that I am a part of the later party. In addition, this issue naturally delves into what one believes occurs after death, as it is an issue dealing directly with death. This also compels me to view this topic from the viewpoint of the later party.

The book Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, is a non-fiction work by Mary Roach, that explores the unanswered questions about the afterlife. The humorous and scientific exploration includes: whether there is a soul that survives death, reincarnation, near-death experiences and out of body experiences. This is a book about what scientists are doing and have done in their attempt to find evidence that when we die we don’t just turn into bones. Roach attempts to find and the define that soul using a scientific approach in order to determine the possibilities of an afterlife. To achieve this goal, she examines what scientists have discovered in their quest to find evidence for life after death.

Death is viewed as a gate to meet God and live an eternal life with him. Whatever happens at death is always a mystery. In much religious death once everyone dies they will face judgment by God (Noebel,2006). Death is not the end of life; it is the beginning of eternal existence. Postmodernism has no moral absolutes but rather places responsibility into the hands of the

When someone dies, people assume that the purpose for that life dies as well. But this is not true. Mary Roach expresses in her book “Stiff” that once one’s life ends, their potential for usefulness does not. Death simply means the passing away of an organism. And as Mary Roach explains it, “Death. It doesn’t have to be boring.” (Page 11, Roach)

Scientists, philosophers, and the general population have attempted to answer what happens after death and what

In the book, We Are Here, by Cat Thao Nguyen, she writes about the life of her family, the oppressive persecution they all suffered at the hands of the Communist government along with its new regime. This book portrays members of Nguyen’s family, their plight, during and after the Vietnam War, including, the struggle, during their escape, from Vietnam, via Cambodia, Thailand, then, Australia. In addition, it will establish that the Australian social structures of the day had the ability to dehumanise Vietnamese immigrants during the years of 1973 to 1980. The essay will also look at Geoffrey Blainey’s idea that the Indo-Chinese immigration was a middle-class idea, imposed, upon a vulnerable Anglo-Australian working class, which created

Death can be a sore topic to talk about. It is the end to all life, or so we believe. TED talk “Life that doesn’t end with death” and article “Is Death an Illusion” both support the fact that death is actually a misunderstanding. Kelli Swazey, speaker of the TED talk, supports the fact of an everlasting afterlife in the hearts of loved ones while Mark Lanza, author of the article, states scientific facts why death is an illusion.

One thing that ponders almost all who live is what happens after one dies. There are multiple theories about life after death, or the absence of it, many dependent on one’s religious beliefs. However, this is also a question philosophers have faced and come up with theories for. Bertrand Russell, a well-known philosopher from the twentieth century, has a theory on the matter. His theory on life after death, in standard form, is as follows: There is a strong correlation between brain states and mental states. In particular, the correlation between brain damage and impairment in mental capacity. So, probably all the mental states and capacities that we associate with a particular person are ontologically dependent on the continued functioning of that individual 's brain. So, if one 's brain ceases to function, then one 's mind ceases, as well. If you survive death, then your mind must survive. But, brain functioning ceases with death. Therefore, you will not survive death (Zelinski “On”). The argument is valid but some question whether it is sound. Russell 's argument is sound because the third premise, if one’s brain ceases to function, then one’s mind ceases to function, is true; the fifth premise, brain functioning ceases with death, is also true; that all leads to the conclusion, your mind will not survive death, being true.

Life after death is a concept that has been around for many centuries. Many philosophers came to the idea that there had to be something after our life ends. For some, they believe in the afterlife. Another concept is that of reincarnation. Reincarnation is the believe that once the physical body dies, the soul is then reborn as a different being. Some religious teachings are actually said to have skewed some of the details about reincarnation.