Perhaps A Little Of Each?
written by Anne SkyvingtonJanuary 6, 2023
Blaise Pascal said all those years ago — in the seventeenth century — that the tragedy of being human was that we are destined to possess features of both animals and gods; and, furthermore, that we often fall back into our bestial natures, or look like fools or idiots, when we pretend to be immortal.
French writers and thinkers have often led the way in investigating who we are, and the paradoxes of being. Almost around the same time as Pascal, René Descartes stated, “I think therefore I am.” This moment could be seen as the beginning of rationalism, heralding in the age of enlightenment.
We humans need to mark such beginnings in time, in order to hold them better in our consciousness.
Ironically, it was during one deep night that Descartes, who was stationed at a site of battle, saw the future laid out before him as he dreamed. His future was the suprermacy of intellect and reason.
Everything is more complex than we like to imagine, is it not?
In any case, this leaves us open to decide that we are no more than animals, which was seemingly proven by Charles Darwin when he wrote The Origin of Species in 1859. And yet, the event that held Darwin in its thrall was the death of his beloved daughter, Annie.
Knowing and ruminating on the fact that we are going to die is one of the things that distinguishes us from our animal brothers and sisters. Books have been written about how to deal with this knowledge, in particular Ernest Becker’s 1973, The Denial of Death. These books suggest that accepting and welcoming that we will die can lead to a sort of freedom for us: there is just a blackout at the end. However, this conclusion is currently being debated and denied by many writers and researchers on the topic of consciouness.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Denial_of_Death
Even more has been written about belief in an afterlife. And quantum physics seems to open up the possibility that death is not the end, albeit that “life” would continue in a different guise than previously accepted by religions.
What do you think? Does the light go out for good at the end? Or does consciousness in some form continue after we die? I’d really like to know what you think. If you tell me that you think, I’ll tell you my own opinion.