# How do we know what happen after we died? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 6, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410 "2003-03-06T03:23:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Extrovertive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Extrovertive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Extrovertive)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/1 "2003-03-06T03:23:34Z")
Are there any real valid proofs out there to show that we are conscious after we died? The Christians believe our souls come out of our body and either go to heaven or hell. Buddishists believe we don’t have an after life; rather, we recarinate into a different life form. And there are other beliefs that we just become invisible spirits living on earth or everything cease after we died. Of course, I might be wrong on what I said. The main point: how do we know what happen after we died? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/2 "2003-03-06T03:35:59Z")
We Don’t know. There are no “proofs.” No one has the slightest idea. Of course **lekatt** will be along any second now with a completely opposite answer. ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/3 "2003-03-06T03:40:41Z")
I would say poking the body with a stick will tell you all you’d care to know. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/4 "2003-03-06T03:40:49Z")
Ask [Shirley Maclaine](http://www.shirleymaclaine.com/). Yeah, yeah, I know. But we just had a new moon, … 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/5 "2003-03-06T03:42:59Z")
cooeee **lekatt** ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/6 "2003-03-06T04:50:01Z")
Lekatt’s taking the night off apparently, so i’ll do it -ahem- [lekatt] It is only in death that we truly can achieve consciousness. God is proof, the proof is in God, God is love. I know this because I have a website and I had a near-death experience. You might not believe this, but as I’ve said, I know, because I have a website and I had a near death experience. Those of us that know what happens when you die, such as me, and no one else you know, will tell you all you need to know.[/lekatt] love Jimmy ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/7 "2003-03-06T05:28:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jimmy Chitwood \* > Lekatt’s taking the night off apparently, so i’ll do it > > -ahem- > > [lekatt] It is only in death that we truly can achieve consciousness. God is proof, the proof is in God, God is love. I know this because I have a website and I had a near-death experience. You might not believe this, but as I’ve said, I know, because I have a website and I had a near death experience. Those of us that know what happens when you die, such as me, and no one else you know, will tell you all you need to know.[/lekatt] > > love > > Jimmy Let’s be careful about [attributing words to other posters](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=2171051#post2171051), hmm? ---
**Author:** ![verybdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/49beb7/32.png) [@verybdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/verybdog)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/8 "2003-03-06T05:44:22Z")
Either we eat dirts or smoke in the air. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/9 "2003-03-06T05:54:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Already in Use \* > \*\*I would say poking the body with a stick will tell you all you’d care to know. 😃 \*\* No, no, no! When it is really, really, dead what happens is: you check the pockets for loose change! 😉 Seriously, since we don’t know, I always go for an answer that takes the universe into account: We are like a wave and when we die we become the ocean. Another possibility: consider the big universe out there, do you really think it is just scenery? I think if (a big if I grant you!) we survive death there are so many interesting things out there, that I don’t think we hang around in this soso chunk of dirt. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/10 "2003-03-06T05:55:40Z")
The fact is, we’re talking subjective experience. You’d have to die (and stay dead) to be sure. But John Edward aside, we don’t have evidence that people’s minds, operating independantly of their original bodies, can still interact with us. ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/11 "2003-03-06T07:08:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Extrovertive \* > \*\*Are there any real valid proofs out there to show that we are conscious after we died? The Christians believe our souls come out of our body and either go to heaven or hell. Buddishists believe we don’t have an after life; rather, we recarinate into a different life form. And there are other beliefs that we just become invisible spirits living on earth or everything cease after we died. > > Of course, I might be wrong on what I said. The main point: how do we know what happen after we died? \*\* Gee, I didn’t know you guys were waiting on me or I would have shown up sooner. [http://ndeweb.com/wildcard](http://ndeweb.com/wildcard) and after that read some of the 150 NDEs posted, very interesting. [http://www.rnw.nl/special/en/html/030223neardeath.html](http://www.rnw.nl/special/en/html/030223neardeath.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/12 "2003-03-06T07:24:47Z")
\*\* lekatt, \*\* (Adressing the first link) I am not a doctor, but I have NEVER heard of any surgical procedure which routinely “drains all of the blood from the brain” and induces brain death. To tell you the truth, I have never heard of anyone sucessfully resucitated from brain death. Note that the story comes from an “anonymous” source. To pu it politely, I think the story is a big, steaming pile. Most people who report an NDE are not truly “dead.” Their heart may have stopped, but brain activity did not completely cease. As I understand, it takes up to four minutes for the brain to die after the heart stops beating. Most people are “brought back” before brain death, which, as I understand is irreversable. NDEs are most likely the result of chemicals released by a brain which is starved for oxygen. They’re hallucinations: nothing more. Interestingly enough, no Muslim who experienced a NDE has ever reported seeing Jesus, nor has any Christian reported seeing Allah. To put it simply, you “see” what you expect to see. ---
**Author:** ![Freyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freyr/32/5763_2.png) [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/13 "2003-03-06T07:37:55Z")
Adding my own $0.02 (and I’m a theist, too!) Honestly, I have no idea. I have some conjecture and ideas based on my own personal experience. But objective proof? No. But I honestly don’t think it’s that important. Doing something in the “here and now” is more important than worrying about the afterlife. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/14 "2003-03-06T07:51:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lissa \* > \*\* lekatt, \*\* (Adressing the first link) I am not a doctor, but I have NEVER heard of any surgical procedure which routinely “drains all of the blood from the brain” and induces brain death. To tell you the truth, I have never heard of anyone sucessfully resucitated from brain death. Note that the story comes from an “anonymous” source. To pu it politely, I think the story is a big, steaming pile. As loathe as I am to take Lekatt’s side, I believe that there actually _is_ such a procedure. If you do a little snooping (and you’ll probably have to go outside of Lekatt’s site to do it), you will find that there is a real doctor who performed this procedure. (However, the doctor in question has completely distanced himself from this NDE garbage.) There was a huge disaster of a thread awhile back where lots of reasonable skeptics asked questions and offered alternative explanations for these NDE’s, all of which Lekatt pigheadedly ignored and simply continued to spout his dogma. So I’m warning, no…begging, you not to pursue this with him. I guarantee you will get nowhere. As for the OP’s question, we can’t know for sure what happens to our consciousness after we die. But since there is a lot of evidence to suggest that consciousness is a direct result of brain activity, and since brain activity ceases in death, the best guess (in my opinion) is that consciousness simply ends. ---
**Author:** ![LowerLip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/839c29/32.png) [@LowerLip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LowerLip)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/15 "2003-03-06T08:40:21Z")
All of these posts seemed to have killed the notion that I’ll see my dog again. Oh, well… ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/16 "2003-03-06T08:50:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lissa \* > \*\*\*\* lekatt, \*\* (Adressing the first link) I am not a doctor, but I have NEVER heard of any surgical procedure which routinely “drains all of the blood from the brain” and induces brain death. To tell you the truth, I have never heard of anyone sucessfully resucitated from brain death. Note that the story comes from an “anonymous” source. To pu it politely, I think the story is a big, steaming pile. > > Most people who report an NDE are not truly “dead.” Their heart may have stopped, but brain activity did not completely cease. As I understand, it takes up to four minutes for the brain to die after the heart stops beating. Most people are “brought back” before brain death, which, as I understand is irreversable. > > NDEs are most likely the result of chemicals released by a brain which is starved for oxygen. They’re hallucinations: nothing more. Interestingly enough, no Muslim who experienced a NDE has ever reported seeing Jesus, nor has any Christian reported seeing Allah. To put it simply, you “see” what you expect to see. \*\* The Pam Reynolds surgery is well documented and appeared on Television (A&E) shortly after it happened. There are books written about it, and she has a website. The surgery was experiemental to fix an aneurism on her brain. She would have died without it. I am going to list a couple of more NDE sites and on one of them is the whole text of her experience. Sorry, but it really happened and many others also, unfortunately you are far behind in your reading of the current research on NDEs. Love Leroy ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/17 "2003-03-06T08:57:13Z")
[http://www.nderf.org/](http://www.nderf.org/) [http://www.near-death.com/](http://www.near-death.com/) [http://www.edconrad.com/lifeafterdeath/index.html](http://www.edconrad.com/lifeafterdeath/index.html) The above are some more NDE sites that talk about death and the life after. It has been said that some readers would like to see other sites. Love Leroy ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/18 "2003-03-06T09:05:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blowero \* > \*\*As loathe as I am to take Lekatt’s side, I believe that there actually _is_ such a procedure. If you do a little snooping (and you’ll probably have to go outside of Lekatt’s site to do it), you will find that there is a real doctor who performed this procedure. (However, the doctor in question has completely distanced himself from this NDE garbage.) There was a huge disaster of a thread awhile back where lots of reasonable skeptics asked questions and offered alternative explanations for these NDE’s, all of which Lekatt pigheadedly ignored and simply continued to spout his dogma. So I’m warning, no…begging, you not to pursue this with him. I guarantee you will get nowhere. > > As for the OP’s question, we can’t know for sure what happens to our consciousness after we die. But since there is a lot of evidence to suggest that consciousness is a direct result of brain activity, and since brain activity ceases in death, the best guess (in my opinion) is that consciousness simply ends. \*\* Here you will find the information, including the doctor, He appeared on the TV special and told about how amazed he was to hear Pam tell about the surgery. Most of your information here is false. Just the pigheadedness is correct. [http://www.near-death.com/experiences/evidence01.html](http://www.near-death.com/experiences/evidence01.html) Love Leroy ---
**Author:** ![lekatt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lekatt/32/7269_2.png) [@lekatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lekatt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/19 "2003-03-06T09:09:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LowerLip \* > \*\*All of these posts seemed to have killed the notion that I’ll see my dog again. > > Oh, well… \*\* Don’t give up hope, your dog will be there. > **[Home - Animals and the Afterlife.com](http://animalsandtheafterlife.com/)** > > 1 1 Since its publication in 2003, Animals and the Afterlife has offered immense comfort and reassurance to those who have ever cherished an animal, and food for thought for anyone who has ever questioned the place of these beloved creatures in the... Love Leroy ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410/20 "2003-03-06T10:18:29Z")
I believe in life after death as much as life before birth. Which is not at all. Also, I feel I should warn unsuspecting lambs what happens when you [indulge **lekatt**](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=156629) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-we-know-what-happen-after-we-died/159410.md?page=2)