life after death

One can believe in life after death without being a dualist. You might put your faith in the idea that consciousness arises not from specific brain matter but from the information that the brain encodes. If so, immortality might not be so far away. Ray Kurzweil predicts that by 2040, the technology will be available to upload yourself onto a computer, so that if your body is destroyed, you can be downloaded into a robot or a cloned body.

Even if one believes that the soul is distinct from the body and survives death, it does not follow that corpses are unimportant. On the contrary, every culture treats dead bodies with some degree of reverence and care. Sometimes they are buried, often with clothes, weapons, and other cherished or useful objects; sometimes they are burned, sometimes eaten. But there is always some proper procedure that must be carried out. Many are horrified at the thought that their bodies, or those of their family or friends, will not get the proper respect.

- Paul Bloom