Life After Death
Bertrand Russel presents a logical argument against the existence of a continuous human soul that would survive after the death of the body. Stating that "the continuity of a human body is a matter of appearance and behavior, not of substance," Russel argues that because our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are inextricably bound with the body, those very thoughts, feelings, and behaviors perish as the body does (89). Moreover, the sense that the "I" that exists now is the same as the "I" that existed yesterday is but an illusion, based on the fact that we possess certain memories and neural pathways that create the sense of a continuous self. Really, though, what we take to be the continuous "I" is nothing more than well-worn neural pathways, which Russel compares to a riverbed.
Because experimentation in this area of thought is impossible, Russel's argument does not amount to scientific, empirical truth. However, Russel's case is far more plausible than a standard Christian or religious one. According to Russel, "it is not rational arguments but emotions that cause belief in a future life," (90). People want to believe in life after death for several reasons: the desire to overcome the fear of death being foremost, but also an idealistic vision of the perfection of mankind fuels people's belief in an afterlife. A belief in a creator God influences the ways people view the soul and its potential fate following the death of a body. According to the author, these religious and philosophical beliefs cloud the truth. Just as the belief that the earth was the center of the universe clouded the truth about the nature of our solar system, so too does belief in life after death cloud what could be the absolute truth about the nature of the human mind.
Russel's argument is powerful and compelling, and although he argues against the existence of a soul, his thesis is not nihilistic. Rather, Russel is profoundly realistic. Certainly open to the possibility of their being a separate, continuous soul, Russel nevertheless concludes that with our current knowledge of the nature of the body and the mind, there is no proof that a continuous self exists.
