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An unconstrained mind: Explaining belief in the afterlife

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2006

Philip Robbins  and
Anthony I. Jack
Philip Robbins*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy, Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program, Washington University, St. Louis, MO63130http://artsci.wustl.edu/~probbins/home
Anthony I. Jack*
Affiliation:
Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO63110http://www.nil.wstl.edu/labs/corbetta/personnel/ajack.html
*
probbins@wustl.edu
ajack@npg.wustl.edu
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Abstract:

Bering contends that belief in the afterlife is explained by the simulation constraint hypothesis: the claim that we cannot imagine what it is like to be dead. This explanation suffers from some difficulties. First, it implies the existence of a corresponding belief in the “beforelife.” Second, a simpler explanation will suffice. Rather than appeal to constraints on our thoughts about death, we suggest that belief in the afterlife can be better explained by the lack of such constraints.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 29 , Issue 5 , October 2006 , pp. 484
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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