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What are the different models various schools of philosophy have proposed about what actually happens at the moment of death? Do any of them avoid the necessity to theorize a soul, or to consider the perspectives of anyone other than the person dying?

Jesse Cohoon
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  • unfortunately this as worded is too open-ended to be answerable within an SE. (1) we're not here just to trade opinions, we're here to answer questions about philosophy understood in broad terms around the academic discipline. (2) "death" has meant many things to different philosophers, so it is not a term with a single philosophical interpretation. Given parameter 1 and fact 2, the question as it stands needs to be closed both as "too broad" and "opinion-based." – virmaior Jul 17 '16 at 12:40
  • It might be possible to ask a question related to your favorite philosopher or school of philosophy on this front. – virmaior Jul 17 '16 at 12:40
  • What do you mean by "give meaning"? It's not as clear as it might seem. Do you mean that in the sense of giving purpose, or something to do with value (e.g. why is it good/bad), or something else? – E... Jul 17 '16 at 13:30
  • @JesseCohoon You mean something like, how should one live giving the inevitability of death? – E... Jul 17 '16 at 14:09
  • "philosophical meaning" has many dimensions. Ontologically, you get arguments about the soul and idealism. Epistemologically, you get explorations of the nature of time, with and without attention. From rational psychology, you get ideas about bracketing judgement and disowning objectivity. And so on, and so on all as corollaries to theories of death. Buddhism as a whole philosophical tradition can be seen as a single theory of death and cessation. You still need to narrow the question. What are you really asking and what is the motivation? –  Jul 17 '16 at 19:04
  • It does, but the parameters you are considering need to make it into the statement of the question before it is meaningful enough to re-open. A motivation would help. –  Jul 17 '16 at 22:36
  • It still seems like you're question is too broad and opinion-based. Right now, it sounds like "Does knowing that I am going to die matter?" But the problem is that without a particular school of philosophy in mind "matter" is completely ambiguous and unanswerable. – virmaior Jul 18 '16 at 00:53
  • That still sounds too broad. The root problem there is that you're suggesting Philosophy says but philosophy never (or perhaps only on the rarest of occassions) speaks with a unified voice. Particular philosophers have particular views that they say. As an SE, we're here to help people understood philosophy (not do philosophy), and that works best when questions are sufficiently focused to help clarify or explain the views of particular philosophers or schools rather than the univocal voice of philosophy. – virmaior Jul 18 '16 at 01:31
  • @virmaior how about according to the school of thought that nihlism addresses? – Jesse Cohoon Jul 18 '16 at 01:45
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    So basic epistemological questions about death already mentioned here range from "Can the soul have an experiential perspective outside of its participation with matter?" - to - "Is the experience of ceasing to exist really any different from the experience of conscious thought stopping in sleep, meditation or 'flow'?" - to - "If the mind is an emergent aspect of the brain can one experience death, or is it an event only for outside observers?" Each of these comes with its own context that would need explaining. Can you peel off a question that somehow captures your reason for asking? –  Jul 18 '16 at 01:45
  • That would at least allow us to guess your underlying suppositions, which if these are solid, and which are part of the range you are trying to navigate. Anything less specific would quickly become a huge waste of time for all involved. Maybe you want to search questions under this heading and ask a followup question from one of those? –  Jul 18 '16 at 01:46
  • If you rule out all three of those things, you have ruled out almost every possible cogent definition of death with any philosophical content. You are looking for a purely physicalist take on the non-existence of death? –  Jul 18 '16 at 02:45
  • More to the point why would nihilism discuss the moment of transition from life to death? Since nothing can be known about it, nihilists or even decent skeptics would bracket the assumptions and move on. It is exactly the point at which they get to be right about everything, and do not have to deal with potential explanations. –  Jul 18 '16 at 02:47
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. –  Jul 18 '16 at 02:50
  • @virmaior did my new changes make it able to be taken off hold? – Jesse Cohoon Jul 18 '16 at 16:54

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