128-620: Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death . Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is another similar but distinct belief in some religions. With the advent of written records, the earliest known recurrent theme of resurrection was in Egyptian and Canaanite religions , which had cults of dying-and-rising gods such as Osiris and Baal . Ancient Greek religion generally emphasised immortality , but in
256-412: A postmortem examination or an obduction , is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a human corpse to determine the cause and manner of a person's death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present. It is usually performed by a specialized medical doctor called a pathologist . Autopsies are either performed for legal or medical purposes. A forensic autopsy
384-518: A boy from the dead in the land of Picts and St. Nicholas is said to have resurrected pickled children from a brine barrel during a famine by making the sign of the cross . Christians regard the resurrection of Jesus as the central doctrine in Christianity. Others take the incarnation of Jesus to be more central; however, it is the miracles – and particularly his resurrection – which provide validation of his incarnation. According to Paul
512-548: A coma. In the case of sleep, electroencephalograms (EEGs) are used to tell the difference. The category of "brain death" is seen as problematic by some scholars. For instance, Dr. Franklin Miller, a senior faculty member at the Department of Bioethics, National Institutes of Health, notes: "By the late 1990s... the equation of brain death with death of the human being was increasingly challenged by scholars, based on evidence regarding
640-409: A concept of an afterlife that may hold the idea of judgment of good and bad deeds in one's life. There are also different customs for honoring the body, such as a funeral , cremation , or sky burial . After a death, an obituary may be posted in a newspaper, and the "survived by" kin and friends usually go through the grieving process . The concept of death is the key to human understanding of
768-446: A definition of the moment of death is required, doctors and coroners usually turn to "brain death" or "biological death" to define a person as being dead; people are considered dead when the electrical activity in their brain ceases. It is presumed that an end of electrical activity indicates the end of consciousness . Suspension of consciousness must be permanent and not transient, as occurs during certain sleep stages, and especially
896-471: A different space to our own. He also distinguishes the theory from reincarnation , where a person lives in several successive bodies. Other scholars reivse the replica theory with the "counterpart theory", where it is believed that God creates a resurrection counterpart to one's current body, which is new and improved. Although it is defined by one's soul and history, it is not identical to the current body, which remains destroyed after death . A useful analogy
1024-450: A form of mind uploading (see also: wetware computer ). De-extinction , enabling an organism that either resembles or is an extinct species , is also known as "resurrection biology" and often described as working on "resurrecting" dead species. Modern medicine can, in some cases, revive patients who "died" by some definitions of death , or were declared dead. However, under most definitions of death ( brain death ), this would mean that
1152-425: A living being can survive all calamities but eventually dies due to causes relating to old age. Conversely, premature death can refer to a death that occurs before old age arrives, for example, human death before a person reaches the age of 75. Animal and plant cells normally reproduce and function during the whole period of natural existence, but the aging process derives from the deterioration of cellular activity and
1280-411: A locked room. He would reappear alive years later. However, Greek attitudes toward resurrection were generally negative, and resurrection was considered neither desirable nor possible. For example, Asclepius was killed by Zeus for using herbs to resurrect the dead, but, by his father Apollo 's request, was subsequently immortalized as a star. Many other figures, like a great part of those who fought in
1408-425: A mountain called Tittheion (from τίτθη "wet nurse", τιτθεύω "to suckle, breastfeed"). The child was given milk by one of the goats that pastured about the mountain, and was guarded by the watch-dog of the herd. Aresthanas, the owner of goats and the guard dogs found the child. As he came near, he saw lightning that flashed from the child, and thinking of it to be a sign of the divine, he left the child alone. Asclepius
SECTION 10
#17328370039191536-536: A new dimension in philosophy. John Hick argues that the "replica theory" makes the religious doctrine of bodily resurrection somewhat plausible. For example, if a man disappears or dies in London and an exact "replica" suddenly re-appears in New York , both entities should be regarded as the same, especially if they share physical and psychological characteristics. Hick extends this theory to parallel universes , which occupy
1664-401: A previous miscarriage, and the use of abortion can increase the chances of having a miscarriage. An abortion may be performed for many reasons, such as pregnancy from rape , financial constraints of having a child, teenage pregnancy , and the lack of support from a significant other . There are two forms of abortion: a medical abortion and an in-clinic abortion or sometimes referred to as
1792-545: A resurrection of the dead could take place at the end of the cosmos . He posits that humans will evolve into robots which will turn the entire cosmos into a supercomputer which will, shortly before the Big Crunch , perform the resurrection within its cyberspace , reconstructing formerly dead humans (from information captured by the supercomputer from the past light cone of the cosmos) as avatars within its metaverse . David Deutsch , British physicist and pioneer in
1920-565: A snake with a "head of linen" was an incarnation of Asclepius. The Greek language rhetorician and satirist Lucian produced the work Alexander the False Prophet to denounce the swindler for future generations. He described Alexander as having a character "made up of lying, trickery, perjury, and malice; [it was] facile, audacious, venturesome, diligent in the execution of its schemes, plausible, convincing, masking as good, and wearing an appearance absolutely opposite to its purpose." In Rome,
2048-538: A son, Aratus , with Aristodeme . Asclepius once started bringing back to life the dead people like Tyndareus, Capaneus, Glaucus, Hymenaeus, Lycurgus and others. Others say he brought Hippolytus back from the dead on Artemis's request, and accepted gold for it. It is the only mention of Asclepius resurrecting the dead. In all other accounts he is said to use his skills simply as a physician. However, Hades accused Asclepius of stealing his subjects and complained to his brother Zeus about it. According to others, Zeus
2176-402: A surgical abortion. A medical abortion involves taking a pill that will terminate the pregnancy no more than 11 weeks past the last period , and an in-clinic abortion involves a medical procedure using suction to empty the uterus; this is possible after 12 weeks, but it may be more difficult to find an operating doctor who will go through with the procedure. Senescence refers to a scenario when
2304-441: A vegetative state or coma, in that the former situation describes a state that is beyond recovery. EEGs can detect spurious electrical impulses, while certain drugs, hypoglycemia , hypoxia , or hypothermia can suppress or even stop brain activity temporarily; because of this, hospitals have protocols for determining brain death involving EEGs at widely separated intervals under defined conditions. People maintaining that only
2432-704: A woman named Dorcas (also called Tabitha), and Paul the Apostle revived a man named Eutychus who had fallen asleep and fell from a window to his death. According to the Gospel of Matthew , after Jesus's resurrection, many of those previously dead came out of their tombs and entered Jerusalem , where they appeared to many. Following the Apostolic Age , many saints were said to resurrect the dead, as recorded in Orthodox Christian hagiographies. St. Columba supposedly raised
2560-456: Is aging , followed by cardiovascular disease , which is a disease that affects the heart or blood vessels . As of 2022, an estimated total of almost 110 billion humans have died, or roughly 94% of all humans to have ever lived. A substudy of gerontology known as biogerontology seeks to eliminate death by natural aging in humans, often through the application of natural processes found in certain organisms. However, as humans do not have
2688-764: Is "little or no clear reference ... either to immortality or to resurrection from the dead" in the texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls . C.D. Elledge , however, argues that some form of resurrection may be referred to in the Dead Sea texts 4Q521 , Pseudo-Ezekiel , and 4QInstruction . Too, there is the Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones in the Book of Ezekiel , and the Book of Daniel , which mentions resurrection. As Professor Devorah Dimant notes on TheTorah.com , "Originally an allegorical vision about
SECTION 20
#17328370039192816-493: Is "not mere sentimental respect for the physical remains that is...the motivation for the practice, but rather an assumed connection between proper sepulture and the condition of happiness of the deceased in the afterlife". According to Brichto, the early Israelites apparently believed that the graves of family, or tribe, united into one, and that this unified collectivity is to what the Biblical Hebrew term Sheol refers,
2944-408: Is a finite supply presented at birth. Later, Goldstone proposed the concept of production or income of adaptation energy which may be stored (up to a limit) as a capital reserve of adaptation. In recent works, adaptation energy is considered an internal coordinate on the "dominant path" in the model of adaptation. It is demonstrated that oscillations of well-being appear when the reserve of adaptability
3072-417: Is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology . He is the son of Apollo and Coronis , or Arsinoe , or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represents the healing aspect of the medical arts; his daughters, the "Asclepiades", are: Hygieia ("Health, Healthiness"), Iaso (from ἴασις "healing, recovering, recuperation", the goddess of recuperation from illness), Aceso (from ἄκεσις "healing",
3200-427: Is almost exhausted. In 2012, suicide overtook car crashes as the leading cause of human injury deaths in the U.S., followed by poisoning, falls, and murder. Accidents and disasters, from nuclear disasters to structural collapses , also claim lives. One of the deadliest incidents of all time is the 1975 Banqiao Dam Failure , with varying estimates, up to 240,000 dead. Other incidents with high death tolls are
3328-494: Is an irreversible process where someone loses their existence as a person. Historically, attempts to define the exact moment of a human's death have been subjective or imprecise. Death was defined as the cessation of heartbeat (cardiac arrest) and breathing , but the development of CPR and prompt defibrillation have rendered that definition inadequate because breathing and heartbeat can sometimes be restarted. This type of death where circulatory and respiratory arrest happens
3456-501: Is carried out when the cause of death may be a criminal matter, while a clinical or academic autopsy is performed to find the medical cause of death and is used in cases of unknown or uncertain death, or for research purposes. Autopsies can be further classified into cases where external examination suffices, and those where the body is dissected and an internal examination is conducted. Permission from next of kin may be required for internal autopsy in some cases. Once an internal autopsy
3584-438: Is complete the body is generally reconstituted by sewing it back together. A necropsy, which is not always a medical procedure, was a term previously used to describe an unregulated postmortem examination. In modern times, this term is more commonly associated with the corpses of animals. Death before birth can happen in several ways: stillbirth , when the fetus dies before or during the delivery process; miscarriage , when
3712-883: Is determined by the rate of aging for a species inherent in its genes . A recognized method of extending maximum lifespan is calorie restriction . Theoretically, the extension of the maximum lifespan can be achieved by reducing the rate of aging damage, by periodic replacement of damaged tissues , molecular repair , or rejuvenation of deteriorated cells and tissues. A United States poll found religious and irreligious people, as well as men and women and people of different economic classes, have similar rates of support for life extension, while Africans and Hispanics have higher rates of support than white people. 38% said they would desire to have their aging process cured. Researchers of life extension can be known as "biomedical gerontologists ." They try to understand aging, and develop treatments to reverse aging processes, or at least slow them for
3840-500: Is found in the writings of some ancient non-Abrahamic religions in the Middle East . A few extant Egyptian and Canaanite writings allude to dying-and-rising gods such as Osiris and Baal . Sir James Frazer , in his book The Golden Bough , relates to these dying-and-rising gods, but many of his examples, according to various scholars, distort the sources. Taking a more positive position, Tryggve Mettinger argues in his book that
3968-405: Is generally applied to whole organisms; the equivalent for individual components of an organism, such as cells or tissues , is necrosis . Something that is not considered an organism, such as a virus , can be physically destroyed but is not said to die , as a virus is not considered alive in the first place. As of the early 21st century, 56 million people die per year. The most common reason
Resurrection - Misplaced Pages Continue
4096-639: Is known as saṃsāra . Aside from religious belief, cryonics and other speculative resurrection technologies are practiced, but the resurrection of long-dead bodies is not considered possible at the current level of scientific knowledge. Resurrection, from the Latin noun resurrectio -onis , from the verb rego , "to make straight, rule" + preposition sub , "under", altered to subrigo and contracted to surgo, surrexi, surrectum ("to rise", "get up", "stand up") + preposition re- , "again", thus literally "a straightening from under again". The concept of resurrection
4224-478: Is known as the circulatory definition of death (CDD). Proponents of the CDD believe this definition is reasonable because a person with permanent loss of circulatory and respiratory function should be considered dead. Critics of this definition state that while cessation of these functions may be permanent, it does not mean the situation is irreversible because if CPR is applied fast enough, the person could be revived. Thus,
4352-406: Is more of a process than a single event. It implies a slow shift from one spiritual state to another. Other definitions for death focus on the character of cessation of organismic functioning and human death, which refers to irreversible loss of personhood. More specifically, death occurs when a living entity experiences irreversible cessation of all functioning. As it pertains to human life, death
4480-470: Is no wonder that he is associated with an event that breaks the usual prohibition on displaying such powers. Here is the account from Irmgard Schloegl's "The Zen Teaching of Rinzai." "One day at the street market Fuke was begging all and sundry to give him a robe. Everybody offered him one, but he did not want any of them. The master [Linji] made the superior buy a coffin, and when Fuke returned, said to him: "There, I had this robe made for you." Fuke shouldered
4608-506: Is not one where God prescribes the people to work but instead one where God rewards them. Preceding the Lord of the Resurrection ( Qāʾim ) is his proof ( ḥujjat ). The Qur’anic verse stating that “the night of power ( laylat al-qadr ) is better than a thousand months” (Quran 97:3) is said to refer to this proof, whose knowledge is superior to that of a thousand Imams, though their rank, collectively,
4736-669: Is now seen as a process, more than an event: conditions once considered indicative of death are now reversible. Where in the process, a dividing line is drawn between life and death depends on factors beyond the presence or absence of vital signs . In general, clinical death is neither necessary nor sufficient for a determination of legal death . A patient with working heart and lungs determined to be brain dead can be pronounced legally dead without clinical death occurring. Life extension refers to an increase in maximum or average lifespan , especially in humans, by slowing or reversing aging processes through anti-aging measures. Aging
4864-536: Is one. Hakim Nasir also recognizes the successors of the Lord of the Resurrection to be his deputies ( khulafāʾ ). There are three explicit examples in the Hebrew Bible of people being resurrected from the dead: According to Herbert C. Brichto, writing in Reform Judaism's Hebrew Union College Annual , the family tomb is the central concept in understanding biblical views of the afterlife . Brichto states that it
4992-501: Is something humans share with cetaceans called the mammalian diving reflex . As medical technologies advance, ideas about when death occurs may have to be reevaluated in light of the ability to restore a person to vitality after longer periods of apparent death (as happened when CPR and defibrillation showed that cessation of heartbeat is inadequate as a decisive indicator of death). The lack of electrical brain activity may not be enough to consider someone scientifically dead. Therefore,
5120-402: Is the end of life ; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism . The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose shortly after death. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. Some organisms, such as Turritopsis dohrnii , are biologically immortal ; however, they can still die from means other than aging . Death
5248-483: Is the most common cause of death worldwide. Aging is seen as inevitable, so according to Aubrey de Grey little is spent on research into anti-aging therapies, a phenomenon known as pro-aging trance . The average lifespan is determined by vulnerability to accidents and age or lifestyle-related afflictions such as cancer or cardiovascular disease . Extension of lifespan can be achieved by good diet , exercise, and avoidance of hazards such as smoking . Maximum lifespan
Resurrection - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-473: Is to imagine a soul as a programme, a body as a computer and the "series of states" that a soul undergoes as a person's biography. They believe the theory has precedent in scriptures like the New Testament. In addition, it incentivizes people to care about their future. Cryonics is the low-temperature freezing (usually at −196 °C or −320.8 °F or 77.1 K) of a human corpse or severed head, with
5504-463: Is viewed as problematic by some scholars, there are proponents of it that believe this definition of death is the most reasonable for distinguishing life from death. The reasoning behind the support for this definition is that brain death has a set of criteria that is reliable and reproducible. Also, the brain is crucial in determining our identity or who we are as human beings. The distinction should be made that "brain death" cannot be equated with one in
5632-572: The 1931 China floods , which killed an estimated 4 million people, although estimates widely vary; the 1887 Yellow River flood , which killed an estimated 2 million people in China; and the 1970 Bhola cyclone , which killed as many as 500,000 people in Pakistan. If naturally occurring famines are considered natural disasters, the Chinese famine of 1906–1907 , which killed 15–20 million people, can be considered
5760-468: The Aesculapian snake ( Zamenis longissimus ) is named for the god. He was originally called Hepius but received his popular name of Asclepius after he cured Ascles, ruler of Epidaurus who suffered an incurable ailment in his eyes. Asclepius became so proficient as a healer that he surpassed both Chiron and his father, Apollo. Asclepius was therefore able to evade death and to bring others back to life from
5888-572: The College of Aesculapius and Hygia was an association ( collegium ) that served as a burial society and dining club that also participated in the Imperial cult . The botanical genus Asclepias (commonly known as milkweed) is named after him and includes the medicinal plant A. tuberosa or "Pleurisy root". Asclepius was depicted on the reverse of the Greek 10,000 drachmas banknote of 1995–2001. At
6016-626: The Day of Resurrection ( yawm al-qiyāmah ) is also crucial for Muslims. They believe the time of Qiyāmah is preordained by God but unknown to man. The trials and tribulations preceding and during the Qiyāmah are described in the Quran and the hadith , and also in the commentaries of scholars . The Quran emphasizes bodily resurrection , a break from the pre-Islamic Arabian understanding of death. According to Nasir Khusraw (d. after 1070), an Ismaili thinker of
6144-536: The Fatimid era, the Resurrection ( Qiyāma ) will be ushered by the Lord of the Resurrection ( Qāʾim al-Qiyāma ), an individual symbolizing the purpose and pinnacle of creation from among the progeny of Muhammad and his Imams. Through this individual, the world will come out of darkness and ignorance and “into the light of her Lord” (Quran 39:69). His era, unlike that of the enunciators of the divine revelation ( nāṭiqs ) before him,
6272-500: The Islands of the Blessed . Memnon , who was killed by Achilles, seems to have received a similar fate. Alcmene , Castor , Heracles , and Melicertes are also among the figures interpreted to have been resurrected to physical immortality. According to Herodotus 's Histories , the seventh-century BC sage Aristeas of Proconnesus was first found dead, after which his body disappeared from
6400-538: The Second Temple period , there developed a diversity of beliefs concerning the resurrection. The concept of resurrection of the physical body is found in 2 Maccabees , according to which it will happen through re-creation of the flesh. Resurrection of the dead also appears in detail in the extra-canonical Book of Enoch , 2 Baruch , and 2 Esdras . According to the British scholar in ancient Judaism Philip R. Davies , there
6528-478: The Therapeutae of Asclepius . The etymology of the name is unknown. In his revised version of Frisk's Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch ( Greek Etymological Dictionary ), R. S. P. Beekes gives this summary of the different attempts: Beekes suggested a Pre-Greek proto-form *(a)-s klap- . His name may mean "to cut open" from a story about his birth. Asclepius was the son of Apollo and, according to
SECTION 50
#17328370039196656-536: The Trojan and Theban wars, Menelaus , and the historical prizefighter Cleomedes of Astupalaea, were also believed to have been made physically immortal, but without having died in the first place. Indeed, in Greek religion, immortality originally always included an eternal union of body and soul. Alcestis undergoes something akin to a resurrection in her escape from the underworld, but without achieving immortality. Writing his Lives of Illustrious Men ( Parallel Lives ) in
6784-513: The Wanggongchang explosion (when a gunpowder factory ended up with 20,000 deaths), a collapse of a wall of Circus Maximus that killed 13,000 people, and the Chernobyl disaster that killed between 95 and 4,000 people. Natural disasters kill around 45,000 people annually, although this number can vary to millions to thousands on a per-decade basis. Some of the deadliest natural disasters are
6912-485: The embryo dies before independent survival; and abortion , the artificial termination of the pregnancy. Stillbirth and miscarriage can happen for various reasons, while abortion is carried out purposely. Stillbirth can happen right before or after the delivery of a fetus. It can result from defects of the fetus or risk factors present in the mother. Reductions of these factors, caesarean sections when risks are present, and early detection of birth defects have lowered
7040-454: The neo-cortex of the brain is necessary for consciousness sometimes argue that only electrical activity should be considered when defining death. Eventually, the criterion for death may be the permanent and irreversible loss of cognitive function, as evidenced by the death of the cerebral cortex . All hope of recovering human thought and personality is then gone, given current and foreseeable medical technology. Even by whole-brain criteria,
7168-426: The personality and identity are irretrievably lost, so therefore, the person should be considered entirely dead. Brain death is sometimes used as a legal definition of death. For all organisms with a brain, death can instead be focused on this organ. The cause of death is usually considered important and an autopsy can be done. There are many causes, from accidents to diseases. Many cultures and religions have
7296-453: The 20th century and could kill 1 billion people worldwide in the 21st century, a World Health Organization report warned. Many leading developed world causes of death can be postponed by diet and physical activity , but the accelerating incidence of disease with age still imposes limits on human longevity . The evolutionary cause of aging is, at best, only beginning to be understood. It has been suggested that direct intervention in
7424-601: The Apostle , the entire Christian faith hinges upon the centrality of the resurrection of Jesus and the hope for life after death. Paul wrote in his first letter to the Corinthians: If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Christianity started as a religious movement within 1st-century Judaism (late Second Temple Judaism ), and it retains what
7552-776: The New Testament itself claims was the Pharisaic belief in the afterlife and resurrection of the dead . Whereas this belief was only one of many beliefs held about the world to come in Second Temple Judaism, it was notably rejected by the Sadducees but accepted by the Pharisees ( Acts 23 :6-8). Belief in the resurrection became dominant within Early Christianity , and already in the Gospels of Luke and John included an insistence on
7680-688: The President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research in 1980. They concluded that this approach to defining death sufficed in reaching a uniform definition nationwide. A multitude of reasons was presented to support this definition, including uniformity of standards in law for establishing death, consumption of a family's fiscal resources for artificial life support, and legal establishment for equating brain death with death to proceed with organ donation . Aside from
7808-533: The United Nations Special Reporter on the Right to Food, 2000 – Mar 2008, mortality due to malnutrition accounted for 58% of the total mortality rate in 2006. Ziegler says worldwide, approximately 62 million people died from all causes and of those deaths, more than 36 million died of hunger or diseases due to deficiencies in micronutrients . Tobacco smoking killed 100 million people worldwide in
SECTION 60
#17328370039197936-404: The aging process may now be the most effective intervention against major causes of death. Selye proposed a unified non-specific approach to many causes of death. He demonstrated that stress decreases the adaptability of an organism and proposed to describe adaptability as a special resource, adaptation energy . The animal dies when this resource is exhausted. Selye assumed that adaptability
8064-473: The ancestral line: sons and daughters restore their fathers and mothers, they in turn restore their parents and so on. This means restoring the ancestors using the hereditary information that they passed on to their children. Using this genetic method it is only possible to create a genetic twin of the dead person. For the traditional definition of resurrection, a restoration of the deceased's personality, or their brain, would be neccesary. Fedorov speculates about
8192-514: The appropriate therapy by a process of interpretation. Some healing temples also used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners. In honor of Asclepius, a particular type of non-venomous snake was often used in healing rituals, and these snakes—the Aesculapian Snakes —slithered around freely on the floor in dormitories where the sick and injured slept. These snakes were introduced at the founding of each new temple of Asclepius throughout
8320-444: The arguments for and against the CDD boil down to defining the actual words "permanent" and "irreversible," which further complicates the challenge of defining death. Furthermore, events causally linked to death in the past no longer kill in all circumstances; without a functioning heart or lungs, life can sometimes be sustained with a combination of life support devices, organ transplants , and artificial pacemakers . Today, where
8448-439: The array of biological functioning displayed by patients correctly diagnosed as having this condition who were maintained on mechanical ventilation for substantial periods of time. These patients maintained the ability to sustain circulation and respiration, control temperature, excrete wastes, heal wounds, fight infections and, most dramatically, to gestate fetuses (in the case of pregnant "brain-dead" women)." While "brain death"
8576-471: The art of medicine. It is said that in return for some kindness rendered by Asclepius, a snake licked Asclepius's ears clean and taught him secret knowledge (to the Greeks snakes were sacred beings of wisdom, healing, and resurrection). Asclepius bore a rod wreathed with a snake, which became associated with healing. Another version states that when Asclepius (or in another myth Polyidus ) was commanded to restore
8704-472: The beliefs of the Pharisees . The New Testament claims that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, but does not specify whether this included the flesh or not. According to Josephus, who himself was a Pharisee, the Pharisees held that only the soul was immortal and the souls of good people will "pass into other bodies," while "the souls of the wicked will suffer eternal punishment." Paul the Apostle , who also
8832-501: The brain must have completely ceased. However, in other jurisdictions, some follow the brainstem version of brain death. Afterward, a death certificate is issued in most jurisdictions, either by a doctor or by an administrative office, upon presentation of a doctor's declaration of death. There are many anecdotal references to people being declared dead by physicians and then "coming back to life," sometimes days later in their coffin or when embalming procedures are about to begin. From
8960-605: The brink of death and beyond. This caused an excessive abundance of human beings, and Zeus resorted to killing him to maintain balance in the numbers of the human population. At some point, Asclepius was among those who took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt. Also, he was one of the Argonauts . Asclepius was married to Epione , with whom he had five daughters: Hygieia , Panacea , Aceso , Iaso , and Aegle , and three sons: Machaon , Podaleirios and Telesphoros . He also sired
9088-520: The category of rise and return to life is significant for Ugaritic Baal , Melqart , Adonis , Eshmun , Osiris and Dumuzi . In ancient Greek religion , a number of men and women have been interpreted as being resurrected and made immortal . Achilles , after being killed, was snatched from his funeral pyre by his divine mother, Thetis , and brought to an immortal existence in Leuce, the Elysian plains , or
9216-509: The cellular level – multiple vital (pig) organs one hour after death (during which the body had prolonged warm ischaemia ). It could be used to preserve donor organs but may also be developed to be useful for revival in medical emergencies by buying "more time for doctors to treat people whose bodies were starved of oxygen, such as those who died from drowning or heart attacks". There is research into what happens during and after death as well as how and to what extent patients could be revived by
9344-410: The city walls, and laid himself into the coffin. He asked a traveler who chanced by to nail down the lid. The news spread at once, and the people of the market rushed there. On opening the coffin, they found that the body had vanished, but from high up in the sky they heard the ring of his hand bell. In Christianity , resurrection most importantly concerns the resurrection of Jesus but also includes
9472-476: The classical world. The original Hippocratic Oath began with the invocation "I swear by Apollo the Physician and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods ...". Epidauria (τὰ Ἐπιδαύρια) was a festival at Athens in honour of Asclepius. Some later religious movements claimed links to Asclepius. In the 2nd century AD the controversial miracle-worker Alexander claimed that his god Glycon ,
9600-545: The coffin, and went back to the street market, calling loudly: "Rinzai had this robe made for me! I am off to the East Gate to enter transformation" (to die)." The people of the market crowded after him, eager to look. Fuke said: "No, not today. Tomorrow, I shall go to the South Gate to enter transformation." And so for three days. Nobody believed it any longer. On the fourth day, and now without any spectators, Fuke went alone outside
9728-683: The common grave of humans. Although not well defined in the Tanakh , Sheol in this view was a subterranean underworld where the souls of the dead went after the body died. The Babylonians had a similar underworld called Aralu , and the ancient Greeks had one known as Hades . According to Brichto, other biblical names for Sheol were Abaddon "ruin", found in Psalm 88:11, Job 28:22 and Proverbs 15:11; Bor "pit", found in Isaiah 14:15, 24:22, Ezekiel 26:20; and Shakhat "corruption", found in Isaiah 38:17, Ezekiel 28:8. During
9856-471: The concept of information-theoretic death has been suggested as a better means of defining when true death occurs, though the concept has few practical applications outside the field of cryonics . The leading cause of human death in developing countries is infectious disease . The leading causes in developed countries are atherosclerosis ( heart disease and stroke), cancer, and other diseases related to obesity and aging . By an extremely wide margin,
9984-474: The context of knowledge management , "virtual persona" could "aid in knowledge capture, retention, distribution, access and use" and continue to learn. Issues include post-mortem privacy , and potential use of personalised digital twins and associated systems by big data firms and advertisers. Related alternative approaches of digital immortality include gradually " replacing " neurons in the brain with advanced medical technology (such as nanobiotechnology ) as
10112-403: The cult of Asclepius grew very popular and pilgrims flocked to his healing temples ( Asclepieia ) to be cured of their ills. Ritual purification would be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god (according to means), and the supplicant would then spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary– the abaton (or adyton). Any dreams or visions would be reported to a priest who would prescribe
10240-581: The daughter of Jairus shortly after death, a young man in the midst of his own funeral procession, and Lazarus of Bethany , who had been buried for four days. During the Ministry of Jesus on earth, before his death, Jesus commissioned his Twelve Apostles to, among other things, raise the dead. Similar resurrections are credited to the apostles and Catholic saints. In the Acts of the Apostles , Saint Peter raised
10368-612: The dead and ascension to Heaven was in a material body, some think it was only spiritual. Like some forms of the Abrahamic religions, the Dharmic religions also include belief in resurrection and/or reincarnation. There are stories in Buddhism wherein the power of resurrection was allegedly demonstrated in the Chan or Zen tradition. In Hinduism , the core belief in resurrection and/or reincarnation
10496-426: The dead using scientific methods. Fedorov tried to plan specific actions for scientific research of the possibility of restoring life and making it infinite. His first project is connected with collecting and synthesizing decayed remains of dead based on "knowledge and control over all atoms and molecules of the world". The second method described by Fedorov is genetic-hereditary. The revival could be done successively in
10624-552: The dead will be raised. There are folklore, stories, and extractions from Hindu holy texts that refer to resurrections. One major legend is that of Savitri saving her husband's life from Yamraj. In the Ramayana , after Ravana was slain by Rama in a great battle between good and evil, Rama requests the king of Devas, Indra, to restore the lives of all the monkeys who died in the great battle Mahavatar Babaji and Lahiri Mahasaya are also believed to have resurrected themselves. Belief in
10752-539: The deadliest natural disaster in recorded history. In animals, predation can be a common cause of death. Livestock have a 6% death rate from predation. However, younger animals are more susceptible to predation. For example, 50% of young foxes die to birds , bobcats , coyotes , and other foxes as well. Young bear cubs in the Yellowstone National Park only have a 40% chance to survive to adulthood from other bears and predators. An autopsy, also known as
10880-535: The determination of brain death can be complicated. At present, in most places, the more conservative definition of death (irreversible cessation of electrical activity in the whole brain, as opposed to just in the neo-cortex) has been adopted. One example is the Uniform Determination Of Death Act in the United States. In the past, the adoption of this whole-brain definition was a conclusion of
11008-519: The earliest accounts, a mortal woman named Koronis (Coronis), who was a princess of Tricca in Thessaly. When she displayed infidelity by sleeping with a mortal named Ischys , Apollo found out with his prophetic powers and killed Ischys. Coronis was killed by Artemis for being unfaithful to Apollo and was laid out on a funeral pyre to be consumed, but Apollo rescued the child by cutting him from Coronis' womb. According to Delphian tradition, Asclepius
11136-400: The field of quantum computing , formerly agreed with Tipler's Omega Point cosmology and the idea of resurrecting deceased people with the help of quantum computers but he is critical of Tipler's theological views. Italian physicist and computer scientist Giulio Prisco presented the idea of "quantum archaeology", "reconstructing the life, thoughts, memories, and feelings of any person in
11264-439: The figure to be closer to 800. In cases of electric shock , cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for an hour or longer can allow stunned nerves to recover, allowing an apparently dead person to survive. People found unconscious under icy water may survive if their faces are kept continuously cold until they arrive at an emergency room . This "diving response," in which metabolic activity and oxygen requirements are minimal,
11392-850: The first century, the Middle Platonic philosopher Plutarch in his chapter on Romulus gave an account of the king's mysterious disappearance and subsequent deification, comparing it to Greek tales such as the physical immortalization of Alcmene and Aristeas the Proconnesian , "for they say Aristeas died in a fuller's work-shop, and his friends coming to look for him, found his body vanished; and that some presently after, coming from abroad, said they met him traveling towards Croton". Plutarch openly scorned such beliefs held in ancient Greek religion, writing, "many such improbabilities do your fabulous writers relate, deifying creatures naturally mortal." Likewise, he writes that while something within humans comes from
11520-434: The flaws in this approach is that there are many organisms that are alive but probably not conscious. Another problem is in defining consciousness, which has many different definitions given by modern scientists, psychologists and philosophers. Additionally, many religious traditions, including Abrahamic and Dharmic traditions, hold that death does not (or may not) entail the end of consciousness. In certain cultures, death
11648-528: The form of memories, filmstrips, social media interactions, modeled personality traits, personal favourite things, personal notes and tasks , medical records , and genetic information . Ray Kurzweil , American inventor and futurist , believes that when his concept of singularity comes to pass, it will be possible to resurrect the dead by digital recreation. Such is one approach in the concept of digital immortality , which could be described as resurrecting deceased as "digital ghosts " or "digital avatars". In
11776-520: The future return of Judeans to their land, Ezekiel's vision (ch. 37) becomes one of the cornerstones for the Jewish belief in the resurrection of the dead. ... The only biblical passage that unambiguously refers to resurrection is found in the final chapter of the book of Daniel[.]" Both Josephus and the New Testament record that the Sadducees did not believe in an afterlife , but the sources vary on
11904-637: The goddess of the healing process), Aegle (the goddess of good health) and Panacea (the goddess of universal remedy). He has several sons as well. He was associated with the Roman/Etruscan god Vediovis and the Egyptian Imhotep . He shared with Apollo the epithet Paean ("the Healer"). The rod of Asclepius , a snake-entwined staff similar to the caduceus , remains a symbol of medicine today. Those physicians and attendants who served this god were known as
12032-650: The gods and returns to them after death, this happens "only when it is most completely separated and set free from the body, and becomes altogether pure, fleshless, and undefiled." The parallel between these traditional beliefs and the later resurrection of Jesus was not lost on the early Christians, as Justin Martyr argued: "When we say ... Jesus Christ , our teacher, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended into heaven, we propose nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you consider sons of Zeus." ( 1 Apol. 21 ). There are stories in Buddhism where
12160-406: The heartbeat ceased, a status still known as clinical death . However, the development of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) meant that such a state was no longer strictly irreversible. Brain death was then considered a more fitting option, but several definitions exist for this. Some people believe that all brain functions must cease. Others believe that even if the brainstem is still alive,
12288-455: The idea of "radial images" that may contain the personalities of the people and survive after death. Nevertheless, Fedorov noted that even if a soul is destroyed after death, Man will learn to restore it whole by mastering the forces of decay and fragmentation. In his 1994 book The Physics of Immortality , American physicist Frank J. Tipler , an expert on the general theory of relativity , presented his Omega Point Theory which outlines how
12416-486: The improvement of health and maintenance of youthfulness. Those who use life extension findings and apply them to themselves are called "life extensionists" or "longevists." The primary life extension strategy currently is to apply anti-aging methods to attempt to live long enough to benefit from a cure for aging. Asclepius Asclepius ( / æ s ˈ k l iː p i ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Ἀσκληπιός Asklēpiós [asklɛːpiós] ; Latin : Aesculapius )
12544-475: The issue of support of or dispute against brain death, there is another inherent problem in this categorical definition: the variability of its application in medical practice. In 1995, the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) established the criteria that became the medical standard for diagnosing neurologic death. At that time, three clinical features had to be satisfied to determine "irreversible cessation" of
12672-544: The jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii , the hydra , and the planarian . Unnatural causes of death include suicide and predation . Of all causes, roughly 150,000 people die around the world each day. Of these, two-thirds die directly or indirectly due to senescence, but in industrialized countries – such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany – the rate approaches 90% (i.e., nearly nine out of ten of all deaths are related to senescence). Physiological death
12800-476: The largest unifying cause of death in the developed world is biological aging, leading to various complications known as aging-associated diseases . These conditions cause loss of homeostasis , leading to cardiac arrest, causing loss of oxygen and nutrient supply, causing irreversible deterioration of the brain and other tissues . Of the roughly 150,000 people who die each day across the globe, about two thirds die of age-related causes. In industrialized nations,
12928-481: The life of Glaucus, he was confined in a secret prison. While pondering on what he should do, a snake crept near his staff. Lost in his thoughts, Asclepius unknowingly killed it by hitting it again and again with his staff. Later, another snake came there with an herb in its mouth, and placed it on the head of a dead snake, which soon came back to life. Seeing this, Asclepius used the same herb, which brought Glaucus back. A species of non-venomous pan-Mediterranean serpent,
13056-431: The means to apply this to themselves, they have to use other ways to reach the maximum lifespan for a human, often through lifestyle changes, such as calorie reduction , dieting , and exercise . The idea of lifespan extension is considered and studied as a way for people to live longer. Determining when a person has definitively died has proven difficult. Initially, death was defined as occurring when breathing and
13184-578: The mid-18th century onwards, there was an upsurge in the public's fear of being mistakenly buried alive and much debate about the uncertainty of the signs of death. Various suggestions were made to test for signs of life before burial, ranging from pouring vinegar and pepper into the corpse's mouth to applying red hot pokers to the feet or into the rectum . Writing in 1895, the physician J.C. Ouseley claimed that as many as 2,700 people were buried prematurely each year in England and Wales, although some estimates peg
13312-466: The moment when life ends. Determining when death has occurred is difficult, as cessation of life functions is often not simultaneous across organ systems. Such determination, therefore, requires drawing precise conceptual boundaries between life and death. This is difficult due to there being little consensus on how to define life. It is possible to define life in terms of consciousness. When consciousness ceases, an organism can be said to have died. One of
13440-559: The most famous temples of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in north-eastern Peloponnese , dated to the fourth century BC. Another famous asclepeion was built approximately a century later on the island of Kos , where Hippocrates , the legendary "father of medicine", may have begun his career. Other asclepieia were situated in Gortys (in Arcadia), and Pergamum in Asia . From the fifth century BC onwards,
13568-500: The mythos, a number of individuals were made physically immortal as they were resurrected from the dead. The universal resurrection of the dead at the end of the world is a standard eschatological belief in the Abrahamic religions . As a religious concept, resurrection is used in two distinct respects: The death and resurrection of Jesus are a central focus of Christianity . While most Christians believe Jesus's resurrection from
13696-447: The other hand, believe that the rule does not uphold the best interests of the donors and that the rule does not effectively promote organ donation. Signs of death or strong indications that a warm-blooded animal is no longer alive are: The stages that follow after death are: The death of a person has legal consequences that may vary between jurisdictions. Most countries follow the whole-brain death criteria, where all functions of
13824-455: The past, up to any desired level of detail, and thus resurrecting the original person via 'copying to the future'". In their science fiction novel The Light of Other Days , Sir Arthur Clarke and Stephen Baxter imagine a future civilization resurrecting the dead of past ages by reaching into the past, through micro wormholes and with nanorobots , to download full snapshots of brain states and memories. Death Death
13952-518: The patient wasn't truly dead. Most advanced versions of such capabilities may include a method/system under development reported in 2019, 'BrainEx', that could partially revive (pig) brains hours after death (to the degree of brain circulation and cellular functions). It showed that "the process of cell death is a gradual, stepwise process and that some of those processes can be either postponed, preserved or even reversed". A similar organ perfusion system under development, 'OrganEx', can restore – i.e. on
14080-663: The permanent cessation of circulation and respiration because they know that irreversible cessation follows rapidly and inevitably once circulation no longer will restore itself spontaneously and will not be restored medically". Development of advanced live support measures "including cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and positive pressure ventilation (PPV)" brought the interdependence of cessation of brain function and loss of respiration and circulation and "the traditional definition of death into question" and further developments upend more "definitions of mortality". Russian cosmist Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov advocated resurrection of
14208-420: The phenomenon. There are many scientific approaches and various interpretations of the concept. Additionally, the advent of life-sustaining therapy and the numerous criteria for defining death from both a medical and legal standpoint have made it difficult to create a single unifying definition. One of the challenges in defining death is in distinguishing it from life. As a point in time, death seems to refer to
14336-638: The power of resurrection was allegedly demonstrated in Chan or Zen tradition. One is the legend of Bodhidharma , the Indian master who brought the Ekayana school of India that subsequently became Chan Buddhism to China. The other is the passing of Chinese Chan master Puhua (Japanese: Jinshu Fuke), recounted in the Record of Linji (Japanese: Rinzai Gigen). Puhua was known for his unusual behavior and teaching style. Hence, it
14464-624: The proportion is much higher, approaching 90%. With improved medical capability, dying has become a condition to be managed . In developing nations , inferior sanitary conditions and lack of access to modern medical technology make death from infectious diseases more common than in developed countries . One such disease is tuberculosis , a bacterial disease that killed 1.8 million people in 2015. In 2004, malaria caused about 2.7 million deaths annually. The AIDS death toll in Africa may reach 90–100 million by 2025. According to Jean Ziegler ,
14592-662: The rate of stillbirth. However, 1% of births in the United States end in a stillbirth. A miscarriage is defined by the World Health Organization as, "The expulsion or extraction from its mother of an embryo or fetus weighing 500g or less." Miscarriage is one of the most frequent problems in pregnancy, and is reported in around 12–15% of all clinical pregnancies ; however, by including pregnancy losses during menstruation , it could be up to 17–22% of all pregnancies. There are many risk-factors involved in miscarriage; consumption of caffeine , tobacco , alcohol , drugs, having
14720-454: The resurrection of Jesus Christ . Dwivedi and Mohan, referring to Nancy, defined Ana-stasis as coming over stasis, which is a method for philosophy to overcome its end as Martin Heidegger defined. This concept is noted to be linked in the works of Nancy, Dwivedi and Mohan to have a relation to Heidegger's "other beginning of philosophy" . Kohan and Dwivdei that this "overcoming" would construct
14848-511: The resurrection of Judgment Day , known as the resurrection of the dead by those Christians who subscribe to the Nicene Creed (which is the majority of mainstream Christianity), as well as the resurrection miracles done by Jesus and the prophets of the Old Testament ( Hebrew Bible ). In the New Testament , Jesus is said to have raised several persons from death. These resurrections included
14976-516: The resurrection of the flesh. Most modern Christian churches continue to uphold the belief that there will be a final resurrection of the dead and world to come . Belief in the resurrection of the dead, and Jesus's role as judge, is codified in the Apostles' Creed , the fundamental creed of Christian baptismal faith. The Book of Revelation also makes many references about the Judgment Day , when
15104-722: The ruination of regular functioning. The aptitude of cells for gradual deterioration and mortality means that cells are naturally sentenced to stable and long-term loss of living capacities, even despite continuing metabolic reactions and viability. In the United Kingdom, for example, nine out of ten of all the deaths that occur daily relates to senescence, while around the world, it accounts for two-thirds of 150,000 deaths that take place daily. Almost all animals who survive external hazards to their biological functioning eventually die from biological aging , known in life sciences as "senescence." Some organisms experience negligible senescence , even exhibiting biological immortality . These include
15232-433: The rule: there must be an official declaration of death in a person before starting organ procurement, or that organ procurement cannot result in the death of the donor. A great deal of controversy has surrounded the definition of death and the dead donor rule. Advocates of the rule believe that the rule is legitimate in protecting organ donors while also countering any moral or legal objection to organ procurement. Critics, on
15360-513: The sake of Apollo, put among the stars." Asclepius was killed by Zeus, and by Apollo 's request, was subsequently immortalized as a star. The most ancient and the most prominent asclepeion (or healing temple) according to the geographer of the 1st century BC, Strabo, was situated in Trikala . The 1st century AD Pool of Bethesda , described in the Gospel of John , chapter 5, was found by archaeologists in 1964 to be part of an asclepeion. One of
15488-474: The speculative hope that resurrection may be possible in the future . Cryonics is regarded with skepticism within the mainstream scientific community. It is generally viewed as a pseudoscience , and has been characterized as quackery . In his 1988 book Mind Children , roboticist Hans Moravec proposed that a future supercomputer might be able to resurrect long-dead minds from the information that still survived. For example, such can include information in
15616-414: The total brain, including coma with clear etiology, cessation of breathing, and lack of brainstem reflexes. These criteria were updated again, most recently in 2010, but substantial discrepancies remain across hospitals and medical specialties. The problem of defining death is especially imperative as it pertains to the dead donor rule , which could be understood as one of the following interpretations of
15744-443: The use of science and technology. For example, one study showed that in the hours after humans die, "certain cells in the human brain are still active". However, it is thought that at least without any life-support-like systems, death is permanent and irreversible after several hours – not days – even in cases when revival was still possible shortly after death. A 2010 study notes that physicians are determining death "test only for
15872-452: Was a Pharisee, said that at the resurrection what is "sown as a natural body is raised a spiritual body." The Book of Jubilees seems to refer to the resurrection of the soul only, or to a more general idea of an immortal soul. Anastasis or Ana-stasis is a concept in contemporary philosophy emerging from the works of Jean-Luc Nancy , Divya Dwivedi and Shaj Mohan . Nancy developed the concept through his interpretation of paintings depicting
16000-440: Was afraid that Asclepius would teach the art of resurrection to other humans as well. Concerning the fate of Asclepius, Ovid writes that "the youth [Asclepius] blasted by ancestral bolts [of Zeus] soars from earth [rising as the constellation Ophiuchus] and flings his hands coiled with double snakes." Later accounts read "The Serpent-Holder. Many astronomers have imagined that he is Aesculapius [Asclepius], whom Jupiter [Zeus], for
16128-531: Was born in the temple of Apollo, with Lachesis acting as a midwife and Apollo relieving the pains of Coronis. Apollo named the child after Coronis' nickname, Aegle. Phoenician tradition maintains that Asclepius was born of Apollo without any woman involved. According to the Roman version, Apollo, having learned about Coronis' betrayal with the mortal Ischys through his raven Lycius , killed her with his arrows. Before breathing her last, she revealed to Apollo that she
16256-467: Was later taken by Apollo. According to Strabo and other traditions, the birthplace of Asclepius is considered to be Tricca (modern Trikala city in Thessaly ). Apollo named the rescued baby "Asclepius" and reared him for a while and taught him many things about medicine. However, like his half-brother, Aristaeus , Asclepius had his formal education under the centaur Chiron who instructed him in
16384-408: Was pregnant with his child. He repented his actions and unsuccessfully tried to save her. At last, he removed their son safely from her belly before she was consumed by the fire. In yet another version, Coronis who was already pregnant with Apollo's child, had to accompany her father to Peloponnesos . She had kept her pregnancy hidden from her father. In Epidaurus , she bore a son and exposed him on
#918081