Death is one of the few experiences that every human being will share. Yet how we understand death, and what we believe happens afterwards, varies enormously between cultures, religions and individuals.
For humanists, death is not a failure of life or a passage to another existence. Instead, it is a natural part of being alive.
Humanism approaches death without belief in gods, spirits or an afterlife. Instead, humanists look to what we can know about the natural world, while recognising that our mortality can raise profound emotional, philosophical and ethical questions.
Why do humanists see death as part of life?
From a humanist perspective, death is a natural condition of life.
All living things eventually die. Across the history of life on Earth, matter has continually moved through cycles of growth, death, decomposition and renewal. The bodies of living things return to the natural world, where their constituent materials can become part of other living things.
We are therefore part of a much larger natural process. Our individual lives are temporary, but the natural world continues.
This can be a confronting idea. Human beings are unusual in having a highly developed awareness of our own mortality. We don’t simply experience danger and try to escape it; we can think about the fact that one day we will no longer exist.
We fear death, try to delay it and spend enormous amounts of time and resources extending human life. Other animals also respond to danger and death, and some appear to demonstrate forms of grief or awareness when members of their social groups die. But humans have an especially developed capacity to reflect on our own mortality and imagine a future in which we are no longer alive.
Our awareness of death is therefore both a source of anxiety and a distinctive part of the human experience.
Do humanists believe in an afterlife?
Some of the most common questions about death are: ‘What happens when we die?’ and ‘Will we ever see the people we love again?’
Belief in an afterlife is ancient and appears in many religious and cultural traditions. For many people, the idea that some part of us continues after death — whether in heaven, reincarnation or another spiritual realm — provides comfort and meaning.
Humanists understand why this idea is appealing. The prospect of losing someone we love can be devastating, and it is natural to wish that death were not the end of our relationship with them.
However, humanism does not require belief in an afterlife. Humanists generally conclude that there is no reliable evidence that our consciousness continues after our bodies die. Modern neuroscience provides strong evidence that our thoughts, memories, personality and sense of self are closely connected to the functioning of the brain. When the brain permanently ceases to function, the mental processes associated with our individual consciousness cease as well.
For humanists, this means that we should be honest about what we know and what we do not know. We do not need to claim certainty about things for which there is no good evidence.
This can sound bleak at first. But accepting that life is finite can also change how we think about the life we have.
If there is no afterlife, what does death mean?
If we don’t expect to live forever, does that make life meaningless?
Humanists generally see it the other way around. The fact that our lives are finite can make them more precious. We have a limited amount of time to spend with the people we love, pursue our interests, experience the world and contribute to our communities.
We don’t need an eternal existence for our lives to have meaning. The relationships we form and the experiences we share have value because they happen. A conversation with a friend does not become meaningless because it eventually ends. Neither does a life.
And although someone who has died is no longer able to experience the world, they can continue to have an impact on the people and communities they leave behind.
How do humanists remember people who have died?
For humanists, remembering someone after their death is not about imagining that they are watching over us from another world. Instead, we can remember them through their lives and the difference they made while they were here.
Their influence can continue through their children, friends, ideas, work, creativity and acts of kindness. Their stories become part of our own stories.
This is one reason humanist funerals and celebration-of-life ceremonies can be so meaningful.
Rather than focusing on an afterlife or religious beliefs, a humanist funeral can focus on the person who has died: who they were, what they valued, the relationships they formed and the memories they created.
Grief is given space without requiring a particular religious explanation for death. Friends and family can come together to acknowledge the loss, share memories and celebrate the life of the person they loved.
In this sense, someone can continue to ‘live on’ in our memories and in the effects they have had on the world.
Humanism, euthanasia and the right to die
Humanist values also influence how humanists think about the end of life.
Humanists place a strong emphasis on human rights, personal autonomy and individual choice. This has led humanist organisations and individuals to support voluntary assisted dying and the right of people facing intolerable suffering to have greater control over the circumstances of their death, subject to appropriate safeguards.
The question of how and when a person should be able to choose the end of their life is complex. It involves competing considerations around autonomy, suffering, medical ethics, safeguards and the protection of vulnerable people.
For humanists, however, respecting a person’s autonomy means taking their wishes and values seriously when making decisions about their own life and death.
Australian humanists have played a role in Australia’s voluntary assisted dying movement. Members of the Humanist Society Victoria were among those involved in establishing the Voluntary Euthanasia Society of Victoria, which is now known as Dying With Dignity Victoria.
Planning for the end of life
Accepting that death is a natural part of life can also encourage humanists to think about what they want their own final years, months and days to look like.
End-of-life planning can include thinking about medical treatment, appointing someone to make decisions on your behalf, documenting your wishes and considering the kind of funeral or ceremony you would like.
An advance care directive can be an important part of this process. Depending on the relevant Australian state or territory laws, it can allow a person to record their preferences for future medical treatment and care in circumstances where they may later be unable to communicate their wishes.
Making these decisions in advance can help ensure that our values and preferences are known, while also reducing the burden on family and friends who may otherwise have to make difficult decisions without knowing what we would have wanted.
What does it mean to have a ‘good death’?
With the expectation of only one life, humanists aim to make that life a good one, but humanism also encourages us to think about how we want that life to end.
A good death might mean being surrounded by people we love. It might mean having our wishes respected, being free from unnecessary suffering, or having the opportunity to say goodbye. For some people, it may simply mean knowing that their affairs are in order and that the people close to them understand what they wanted.
We cannot know exactly what death will feel like until we experience it. But we can decide how we approach the fact that it will come.
For humanists, accepting mortality isn’t about giving up on life. It is about recognising that this life matters, because it is the one life we know we have.