For many people, life after death is a foregone conclusion. Whether they believe in heaven and hell or reincarnation, there are plenty who feel certain that death is not the end. However, science has something different answer to the question of whether or not life after death is possible. In fact, according to one scientist, the answer is a very firm no.
- Can we please listen to the scientists on this one? Sean Carroll is a cosmologist and physics professor at the California Institute of Technology. According to Carroll, the idea of life after death is a ridiculous one since it very clearly violates the basic laws of science.
- Your body will cease to live one day and that’s the end. “The laws of physics underlying everyday life are completely understood,” he says, per Express. And while many would argue that your soul exists separate from your physical form, Carroll contests that idea as well. Consciousness isn’t about soul, it’s about atoms and electrons working together.
- The idea that your soul lives on is… not scientifically sound. “Claims that some form of consciousness persists after our bodies die and decay into their constituent atoms face one huge, insuperable obstacle,” Carroll explains. “The laws of physics underlying everyday life are completely understood. And there’s no way within those laws to allow for the information stored in our brains to persist after we die.”
- He also says that the idea of life after death isn’t possible according to the Quantum Field Theory. That’s because there’s nowhere else for people to go when they die.
- Of course, this type of logical reasoning isn’t likely to be very effective on true believers. They operate on blind faith that there has to be more than this mortal coil. And hey, maybe scientists don’t know everything. Perhaps some things do defy explanation and scientific reasoning. You never know! Plus, if it brings comfort to people in this life, who are we to tell them otherwise?
