📖 Teaching and scripture
Many religions teach that death is not the end, and their holy writings say so. For believers, this is a strong reason, because they trust the source of the teaching.
Life and Death: Key Ideas » Death and the Afterlife: Linear and Cyclical Views
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
Edexcel spec: Paper 1, 2.1
- Different views about death and whether there is an afterlife
- Why some people believe in life after death and why others do not
- Linear and cyclical views of human existence
- Resurrection, rebirth, judgement and the law of cause and effect
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Unlock This CourseWhat happens when we die?
Every human life ends in death. People have always asked what, if anything, comes next. Some see death as the end of a person. Others see it as a doorway to something else. This lesson looks at the main answers, and the reasons people give for them.
Key terms:
- Afterlife: life after death, in some form.
- Human destiny: what finally happens to a person, and where their existence is heading.
- Linear view: the belief that each person has one life, followed by death and then what follows.
- Cyclical view: the belief that existence goes round in a cycle of birth, death and rebirth, again and again.
Why some people believe in life after death
People give several reasons for believing in an afterlife. They often work together.
✨ The soul
Remember, dualists believe a person has a soul that can outlive the body, and some point to near-death experiences as support. Both ideas came up in the lesson Do Humans Have a Soul? Human Nature and Physicalism.
⚖️ Justice
Good people often suffer and wrongdoers often escape punishment in this life. Some believe there must be a life after death where good is rewarded and wrong is put right.
💬 Past lives
Some people say they remember a life before this one. Believers in rebirth take such accounts as evidence. Sceptics say memories like these cannot be checked.
Finally, there is comfort. Believing that a loved one lives on, or that we may meet again, can ease grief and the fear of dying.
Why others do not
Other people reject the idea of an afterlife.
- No evidence. They say nobody has returned from death to show what happens, and no test can show it, so they will not believe without proof.
- The mind ends with the brain. Physicalists argue that thoughts and feelings depend on the brain. When the brain stops working at death, the mind stops too.
- Wishful thinking. They say people believe in an afterlife because they want it to be true, not because it is.
Humanists believe that this life is the only one. They think people live on only in a limited way: in the memories of others, in their children and in what they achieved. This gives them a reason to make the most of the life they have.
Linear and cyclical views
🛤️ Linear
In a linear view, existence runs like a road in one direction: one life, then death, then whatever follows. Those who hold it believe there is no return to this life, so each person has one chance to live well.
🔄 Cyclical
In a cyclical view, existence goes round like a wheel. A being is born, lives, dies and is born again, many times. Believers see death as one stage in a long journey, not an ending.
Ideas about the nature of life after death
Key terms:
- Immortality of the soul: the belief that the soul never dies and carries on after the body has died.
- Resurrection: the belief that the dead are raised to a new life after death, once.
- Rebirth: the belief that after death a being begins a new life, again and again.
- Reincarnation: rebirth in which the soul returns in a new body, again and again.
- Judgement: the belief that a person's life is assessed after death, with a result that depends on how they lived.
- The law of cause and effect: the belief that every action has results, so what you do in this life shapes what comes next.
These ideas are not all the same, and a religion may combine some of them. Resurrection usually belongs with a linear view. Rebirth and reincarnation belong with a cyclical view. Immortality of the soul can fit either: in reincarnation the soul lives on from body to body. Judgement is usually linked to a single life.
The law of cause and effect fits most closely with rebirth. Remember karma from the lesson The Problem of Evil and Suffering: actions bring results. Here it means that good and bad actions in one life help to decide what a person's next life will be like. Under judgement, the result is decided at the end of a single life instead.
Different religions teach different things about what the afterlife is like. Those teachings are covered in each religion's own lessons.
Common mistakes
Do not mix up resurrection and reincarnation. Resurrection is being raised to a new life after death, once. Reincarnation is the soul returning in a new body, again and again. Do not say all religions believe in the same afterlife. And do not write that people 'know' what happens after death. Write 'believers say' or 'some people argue'.
Exam-style question
Paper 1 style question. Parts (a) and (b) test AO1. Parts (c) and (d) test AO1 and AO2.
(a) Identify three ideas about life after death. [3 marks]
(b) Outline two reasons why some non-religious people do not believe in life after death. [4 marks]
(c) Explain why some people believe in life after death. [6 marks]
(d) 'Belief in life after death makes people live better lives.' Evaluate this statement, showing you have considered different points of view. In your answer you should refer to at least one religion. [12 marks]
Model answer
(a) 1. Resurrection (1). 2. Rebirth (1). 3. Immortality of the soul (1).
(b) One reason is that there is no evidence (1), because they say nobody has returned from death to show what happens (1). Another reason is that the mind ends with the brain (1), which means that when the brain stops working at death, thoughts and feelings stop too (1).
(c) Many people believe in life after death because their religion teaches it. Holy writings say that death is not the end, and believers trust that teaching. This means they see death as a change and not an ending.
Others believe because of the soul. Dualists say a person has a soul that can outlive the body, so something of the person continues. Some point to near-death experiences as support for this.
A third reason is justice. Good people sometimes suffer and wrongdoers sometimes escape punishment. Some believe there must be a life after death in which good is rewarded and wrong is put right, because otherwise the world would be unfair.
Finally, the belief gives comfort. It can ease grief and the fear of dying, because loved ones may live on.
(d) Plan. For: belief in judgement can make people think about the results of their actions and try to be kind and honest; belief in cause and effect means every action matters, because it shapes the next life; belief gives hope and comfort, which can make people more caring.
Against: humanists live good lives with no belief in an afterlife, because they value this life and the memory they leave; some religious people have done harm while believing in an afterlife; some people may behave well only from fear of punishment or hope of reward, which does not seem truly good.
Your religion: add what your own religion teaches about life after death, by name, and say how it affects the way its followers live.
Possible conclusion: judge each point as you go, then pick a side. For example: I partly agree. Belief in an afterlife gives many people a strong reason to live well, but good lives are clearly lived without it, so it is not the only thing that makes people better.
Exam tip
In part (c), do not just list the reasons. Give each one a 'because' or 'this means' to show why it makes people believe. Three or four short, developed reasons reach the top level.