With science and technology today evolving and improving at such a staggering rate,
humankind has never known quite so much as it does right now. However,
for all the breakthroughs that we’ve made, there still remain some massive unanswered
questions… and some huge, theoretical problems lurking on the horizon, if we ever answer them.
So, this is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question;
why might proof of life after death be hidden from us?
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Although it isn’t quite immortality on Earth, proof of life after death would
trigger a monumental paradigm shift in the human story. As we are now, we know that all
things must die… and the knowledge of our own inescapable death (at some point in the
future) has been shown to be arguably the key influence over how we live our lives. Whether
it’s at the forefront of our minds or not, the knowledge that one day we will “pass on”
is always with us. So, take that knowledge away, or dramatically alter our understanding of it,
and you immediately change the human condition; what it is to be human.
Consider it just for a moment. What would you do if you knew that actually this life isn’t
all there is? Would you worry less? Would you have fewer fears? Or would you try less,
and lose motivation? Would your appreciation of Earth go up or down, if you knew that, really,
this planet was but a mere stepping stone along your path to the “next place”? There are variously
more positive and negative directions that you might follow, but there’s little doubt that
certain confirmation of life after death would hugely change how people thought and behaved.
Of course, for followers of various religions, the belief (at least) in some form of afterlife
is nothing new. Many religions encourage their devotees to act and think in certain
ways to better their chances of making a smooth transition from here to there,
once their death on Earth occurs. So far, however, all versions of the afterlife rely
on Faith. On a kind of collective trust and belief that the likes of Heaven, Hell,
and Limbo do exist, and that any one of our souls could be heading to any one of those places.
However, while there are many compelling cases of Near Death Experiences, we’re yet to have clear,
undeniable proof - from a scientific point of view - that there is an afterlife waiting for
us. If that proof were ever found, though, we’re talking all of the rest of the non-religious world
suddenly converted; and suddenly, definitely on course for the ever after. From there,
whole industries and services could open up, for example, to prepare Earth-bound
human souls for the afterlife that they now know is coming their way. Today,
millions of people pay into pension funds, in an apparent attempt to make their latter years
of life as comfortable as possible… but now we’d be thinking beyond even that. Pension plans would
turn to Heaven plans, and there’d probably be less emphasis on building up your finances in
them… and more on building up other credentials to ensure your afterlife is the best it can be.
On the surface, there’s the potential for a majorly positive impact here,
with an upsurge in good deeds and a downturn in reckless behavior. Scratch just a little deeper,
though, and there are cracks to be exploited. Because good deeds for the sake of good deeds…
don’t really work. And while lessening reckless behavior is probably a good thing,
might that mentality soon lead humankind to near-total conformity, for fear of
doing something wrong and scuppering their chances of everlasting bliss?
Clearly the concept of a confirmed afterlife could be much more complicated than perhaps
it seems at first, and integrating it into the everyday human experience might well be extremely
difficult. So that’s perhaps one reason why the government (or any controlling power, even a
watching alien force as per the Zoo Hypothesis) would want to hide proof of life after death
from us. For our own mental safety and for the preservation of the idea that life is precious.
On the other side of the coin, however, and from a more cynical point of view,
the ongoing presence of (and threat of) death could be seen as actually a vital tool for any
controlling power. A tool that they wouldn’t want to lose. Certainly this criticism has been leveled
at various religions throughout history. Opponents to them claim that ideas on an afterlife (i.e.,
some kind of ongoing consciousness post death on Earth) primarily serve to keep followers
following. The physical death that we all know awaits us can be troubling to think about… but,
thanks to the afterlife, religions can offer a continuation of any one person’s
story. The end doesn’t have to be the end. And this is an extremely powerful message.
What would happen to religions, then, if the afterlife were confirmed? On the one hand,
they will have been proven right… because this life now wouldn’t be all there is. On the other,
the need for Faith will’ve immediately disappeared, and that could be a big
problem for any authority that has essentially built up its influence based on the Faith of the
masses. International governments, too, and entrenched monarchies and orders of power,
are also guided and shaped by local or national belief systems. So, what would
happen to them if we were to prove life after death? Would their assumed authority change?
At this point, it’s obviously important to note that there is nothing by way of even a
hint of evidence that life everlasting really is being hidden from us. In recent times,
especially, there have been countless scientific studies made into such topics
as “how to make the body immortal”, “what happens to our energy when we die?” and
“where does our consciousness go when our body fails us?”. These are problems that
science is trying to solve… it just hasn’t quite managed to do so, yet. But, still,
to imagine a future time when questions of life and death aren’t so shrouded in mystery…
is to imagine a future time when certain pieces of knowledge really would be power.
What do you think? Would the government (or anyone else) want to keep the afterlife hidden,
if it ever were proven to be true? Is the afterlife more effective as a concept
relying on Faith, or as an inevitability that all of us know we’ll arrive to? As
is so often the case whenever we look into the really big questions of life, death,
existence and the universe… there’s a blurring of the boundary between science and philosophy
and ethics. Between assured and definite thinking… and murky, messy, emotive ideas.
In many ways, the same debates can be had with regard to plain immortality. Again,
on the surface, living forever feels like it should be a good thing… and it’s little wonder
that science and technology is so seemingly hell-bent on making it happen. But, actually,
there are many counter-arguments to immortality, too, and there would no
doubt still be people who would choose to die even in a world where you no longer had to.
All versions of the afterlife differ from immortality, because they still maintain
that our time in this life is limited. Therefore, there is still a need for some kind of structure.
And perhaps there is even a need for some kind of governance to ensure that as many
people as possible pass through this mortal realm as well (or effectively) as they can.
Proof of the afterlife would certainly rock the boat, and probably mess all of that up.
Would calm or chaos unfold? Would life improve immeasurably or fritter away
into meaninglessness? For now, and perhaps forever, it’s a thought experiment only,
rather than a real world concern… and perhaps there are some reasons
why proof of life after death - if it were ever found - might be kept hidden from us.
But, really, the most important takeaway from all of this should be to value the
life we already know that we have. The lives we’re living right now, on Earth,
across our current plane of existence. Proof or no proof, the afterlife can wait!
What do you think? Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments, check out these other
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