Death: After Life

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Sharon McCutcheon (CC0)

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Original Air Date: 
December 07, 2014

Does death gives life meaning? You might think so, looking at the prominence of death and the afterlife in so many religions. For millennia, people have dreamed about immortality, and now transhumanists are trying to extend life by merging our selves with machines.

In this hour, we explore the philosophical and religious dimensions of mortality and the afterlife. We talk about the art and poetry of remembrance, and now that much of our lives are lived on-line, how do we plan for our digital afterlives?

Looking to weigh in on Samuel Scheffler's thought experiment? You can do so here.

"The Mysteries of Life are More Present"

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"I’m a different person when I’m in Nepal..." Jeffrey Potter has been documenting life in a village in eastern Nepal for 20 years. During a trip there in 2000, he was present for the death of a young man named Harka. In this story, he talks about how that experience that was both profound and unexplainable.

"Not Knowing Is Itself Liberation"

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Zen Buddhist Abbot Joan Halifax has been sitting with dying people since 1970. She says the experience has been a profound gift. She says that she has no idea what happens after we die, and that she's comfortable with that mystery.

Death After Dying

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Pre-Modern hunter and gatherer cultures believed that dying was a kind of trial which didn't begin until you left your physical body and entered the supernatural world, according to sociologist Allan Kellehear. In these cultures, death is not the destruction of the body, but the annihilation of the personality and its transformation into something new.

Mourning in the Digital Age

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What happens to your digital self when you die? Currently, Facebook lets users "memorialize" their pages, giving family members a virtual space to post rememberances. Religious studies professor Candi Cann believes new digital tools like these are changing the way we mourn, by letting anyone share their stories about someone who's died, and preserving social connections to departed loved ones.

Humanity Beyond the Human

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James Hughes is a practicing Buddhist who believes that the future may present radically new possibilities for death, including a potential end to the end of life.

Listener Ghost Story: 'Reset'

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Could being digitized be a way for all of us to become immortal? Maybe, but not in a way we would particularly enjoy, as this story from listener Mark Pantoja illustrates.

Length: 
6:06

If the Earth Was Destined to Die ... A Thought Experiment

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What if you knew that 30 days after you die, the earth would be destroyed?  Would it change the way you live? Take philosopher Samuel Scheffler's thought experiment HERE.

"Death Doesn't Bother Me, Anyway" Pt. 5

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Our series concludes with the final episode in the story of the end of Dan Pierotti's life. His wife, Judy, says she and Dan were both very open to sharing their story with To the Best of Our Knowledge. "I just think that this is a subject that needs to be discussed in our lives and in our world." And she's had some unexpected responses from people who've heard Dan and Judy's story on the radio, "People that I hardly even know are coming up to me, and hugging me on the street and thanking me for doing this."

Note from Anne, On Being Haunted by Death

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For the past three months, our host Anne Strainchamps came to work every day and listened to people talk about death and dying. Here are her reflections on how the experienced changed her.

Show Details 📻
Airdates
August 30, 2015
December 07, 2014
Guests: 

Jeffrey Potter

Marketing Director, Wisconsin Public Radio
onemancamera.squarespace.com

Joan Halifax

Zen Buddhist abbot

Allan Kellehear

Public Health Sociologist
bradford.ac.uk

Candi Cann

Religious Scholar

James Hughes

Sociologist

Samuel Scheffler

Moral Philosopher

Dan Pierotti

Judy Pierotti

Founding partner, "Voice Treasures"
voicetreasures.com
Categories: 
Culture
Last modified: 
August 02, 2024