Neurodegenerative Diseases disprove the existance of a Soul and afterlife

 The concept of having a Soul, a spirit, or immaterial part of you that is separate to your body, is fundamental to the idea that there is an afterlife or reincarnation. In order to go to heaven, (or hell), or keep coming back to life for the rest of eternity, it is assumed that your soul or the essential essence of your uniqueness, continues  after your physical body has rotted away and turned to dust.

This idea of a soul is fundamental to the worlds religions, who say that your life on earth is preparation for the next. Be good now,  and after death reap the rewards for eternity. We must earn those “pennies in heaven” as my mother used to say. The idea has attractions for everyone. Individuals, even the lowly can have a great afterlife, Rulers get compliant subjects, and Priests get status and perks too.

But knowing what happens to you after death is unknowable and always will be. Communication between dead people and living people has never happened and never will, despite all the ghost stories and séances held. Whether you believe in a soul and life after death or not, it is impossible. You can imagine a wonderful afterlife, but imagining something, is not proof of its existence. Neither is the fact that nearly every human being that has ever lived believed in an afterlife make it true either. It just means that human beings find the idea of life after death attractive and it is comforting to think that death is not the end of everything we are. Also, belief in a soul and an afterlife also means our ordinary lives are not a waste of time, even if  they have been hard and joyless lives.

Peoples recent experiences have lead me to conclude that there is no such thing as a soul, and so there can be no such thing as an afterlife. Because of modern medical knowledge and accessible high quality  health care,  more and more people are living far longer than at any previous time in history. Whilst this is wonderful progress for humanity, the down side is that we are now exposing ourselves  to new forms of dying, such as neurodegenerative diseases of the brain. Today, we can keep our bodies going far longer than our deteriorating brains, because the ongoing death of neurons is currently unstoppable, The results of modern health care is frequently sad and depressing, as people have to witness their loved slowly fading away inside a frail but still functioning body. I have heard all too frequently stories of elderly parents who no longer know their own homes, can’t recognise their loved ones, or remember their own offspring. Their brain dies faster than their bodies and confusion results.

So, if it exists, what is happening to the soul, as the diseases of the brain take hold? 

“She is just not there anymore” I have heard sons say of mothers, who fail to recognise the person they once knew in front of them, despite all the love they give them. It’s hard, but when the brain fails the person is damaged, their character diminished, memories lost.. If they ever did have a soul, it is also damaged and diminished. And so,  if the soul is diminished as more and more neurons die, the soul will also die when the person dies too.

If you believe the soul does exist, why can‘t a person with dementia still recognise their own spouse, son and daughter? If a soul does exist, will it be this unloving, confused soul that will continue to exist for eternity, or the one we remember of them in their prime, a soul from a previous time when they were at their most beautiful? And if this is true what or who decides when they were at their best? Or is the reality of  a modern disease just requiring us to use our imaginations a little harder to make the new facts fit an old idea that it's time to ditch? Perhaps their soul only exists in our living minds?

For this reason I reject the idea of a Soul, an afterlife, reincarnation or ghosts hanging about after death. Our brains and bodies are inseparably interlinked to make the person and both must function correctly for us to exist. If one develops faults, our living consciousness is affected and our lives and character changed. The stark reality is that when we die, we end. There is nothing of us that can continue.

You may find this hard, cold and desolate, but if you accept there is no afterlife, every minute of this life becomes precious, priceless and wondrous and not something to be squandered. Our time alive is truly the most amazing and valuable thing you can possibly own. And if you accept this then it is easy to realise that the life of others is also the most amazing and valuable thing they own and we all share this fantastic life with each other and the other forms of life around us, making it all even more valuable, wondrous and precious.

I see paradise not as a promise of something to come, but right here, now, all around us at this very moment. We don’t need to invent the idea of a soul to experience it. What ever your circumstances, however hard  or easy your life is, celebrate the miracle of your and everyone’s else’s lives, as our time is limited to only one short precious life.   Enjoy it and help others to enjoy theirs.

And If people accept there is no afterlife, perhaps they wouldn't waste their life fighting wars just because some else tells them to.

Concerning Religion

 On Religion

Recently, I had a great idea to sort out the world’s problems. When a Government or National leader starts a war or commits serious crimes, every one on the planet should use the power of the internet to tell them exactly what they think of them and their appalling actions. Under such global pressure, they would be forced to change their ways, thus making the world a better place for all.

This idea could be a bit naïve, but it’s never been tried before and didn’t Apartheid South Africa  eventually change after sustained global pressure? Well, for the prize of world peace, I think it’s worth a go. But who will listen to a nobody from Sheffield? So in order to get some high profile backing, I wrote to UK heads of the Church of England, Roman Catholic Church, Islam and Judaism.

No response was forthcoming from last two, but I did get an email back from the Good Cardinal. He thought the matter was best left to Governments. He does have a point, but it all smacked of buck passing to me, and what have Governments achieved in the last 20 years anyway?

However, the most thoughtful response came from a very kind lady working for the Archbishop of  Canterbury, who, not knowing the state of my mental health, let me down gently, explaining that the Archbishop was a very busy man and she would not be passing on my idea to save the world  for his attention.

Oh dear. The Archbishop is too busy for world peace!. You couldn’t make it up, could you?


And that’s the problem with Religion. When you start asking questions of it, it all gets disappointing.

Take the current panic over Covid. Why did God create the virus and other diseases  that kill people? Murder is against Gods will isn’t it? And if it’s all part of his plan, why does he allow humans to create vaccines and treatments that thwart his will? Are humans as clever as God? How is that possible?

And if the all powerful, intelligent, creator Gods exists, is he sitting up in heaven wondering  how he was created? Does he worship his creator god and if he does, why don’t we worship Gods God? And what about Gods, Gods God………?

As for heaven and life after death, it’s the ultimate con trick. “Do this, don’t do that, give us some money and we promise entry to paradise when you can’t come back and complain“. And how does anyone know that something happens after your biochemistry has packed up anyway?. There is no proof, only blind faith.
If you think I’m a lost soul damned for eternity, please don’t bother praying for me. Prayer may make you feel  better as you think you have done something constructive, but that will be all that you will have achieved. Thousands of years of prayer by billions of people and the world  has not been improved one jot as far as I can see.  

However, Religions and Gods are present in all cultures and have been worshiped as long as our records allow us to know, so what is it about religion that makes it universal? Why do humans appear to need it? I have several possible explanations..

Firstly, we all like to know what’s going on and why. We don’t like a lack of knowledge and also love a good story.. Why are we here? Well if you make up a good story to answer this question, and you  tell it round the fire side you can earn your evening meal entertaining the tribe. Better still, scare the bear skin  off them, but then convince them everything will be all right if they look after you in the right way and you have it made. You can then, providing they give you the bulk of the takings,  begin training underlings to do the same and you can have a life of luxury and status. So religion starts. And believing in a life after death, is a great story, and very comforting.

The other reason is that Religion gives humans an evolutionary advantage in times of stress, because humans function better when they are less scared or worried about death. Take times of famine. Rather than worry all day about were your next meal is coming from, why not put your faith in your god, relax and get on with your daily routine without expending energy on wasteful fretting. Chances are, that you will come across some food which is of course all down to God looking after you, not that you fully focused on the task in hand.  Or when in danger, pray for Gods safe keeping, so its his responsibility not yours. This will take the pressure off, reduce your fear levels and allow you to fight more effectively rather than stand there jibbering. Because you will be less stressed you will probably perform better and indeed survive to sing Gods praises . If you don‘t, you will more likely die and not be around to moan about what a rotten concept God is. So the after danger sample is highly bias in favour of God and so religion persists.

Finally,  religion does contain masses of wisdom which if embraced will give everyone a much happier and enjoyable life. Promoting the benefits of  co operation, peace, harmony , altruism, community and mutual support are essential, we all know this, it’s obvious and some of the kindest, selfless people I have met and read about have been deeply religious. There’s also  all  the good work done by religious charities that  do much to help others and make the world a better place for everyone.

So after 2000 years or so,  isn’t it time for a review of the worlds religions, so we can keep the wisdom and ditch the fabricated superstitious nonsense? Because the joyous reality is, we are all stuck on this planet alone and no one is here to help us. There is no after life. It’s up to us while we are alive. We have to learn how to make it work, together, right now.

And we need all the wisdom we can get.