The kind of evidence would depend upon the kind of afterlife. One notion of an afterlife that ought to get at least a little respect around here is this:
We exist within a simulation.
Within our simulated universe, reductionism works—our minds can be reduced to a computational process taking place within our brains.
When our brains deteriorate after death, our minds disappear—at least within our simulated universe.
Nevertheless, Omega, the dude who runs the simulation, is in the habit of making copies of the information in the simulation, including the brain information of certain favored simulated entities.
When people die in our (simulated) universe, Omega creates ‘reincarnated’ NPCs into a different simulated universe—using the copies of our brains as the information source. Therefore, these NPCs have our personalities, and our memories (up to the point in time when our brains were ‘backed up’). But they get new (immortal?) bodies. A completely naturalistic afterlife.
However, whatever “near death experiences” really are, they are not evidence for an afterlife as speculatively described here. Information about Omega’s activities doesn’t flow into our naturalistic universe. Instead, information about our universe flows out. The kind of afterlife I have described leaves no evidence.
So, what kind of afterlife does leave evidence? I find it hard to imagine an afterlife scenario in which the Omega in question is so sloppy as to allow information to leak back into his simulation.
ETA: Hmmm. Now that I think about it, my speculation described two universes—a completely naturalistic ‘first-life’ universe, and a less naturalistic ‘after-life’ universe. Information clearly does flow into the after-life universe. The origin of each reincarnated mind requires a miracle. So, I guess what I am saying is that I doubt the existence of evidence that there will be an afterlife. But I suspect that evidence for an prior life should be pretty overwhelming once you get to the afterlife. So, I’m pretty much ruling out Hinduism—at least as I understand it.
The kind of evidence would depend upon the kind of afterlife. One notion of an afterlife that ought to get at least a little respect around here is this:
We exist within a simulation.
Within our simulated universe, reductionism works—our minds can be reduced to a computational process taking place within our brains.
When our brains deteriorate after death, our minds disappear—at least within our simulated universe.
Nevertheless, Omega, the dude who runs the simulation, is in the habit of making copies of the information in the simulation, including the brain information of certain favored simulated entities.
When people die in our (simulated) universe, Omega creates ‘reincarnated’ NPCs into a different simulated universe—using the copies of our brains as the information source. Therefore, these NPCs have our personalities, and our memories (up to the point in time when our brains were ‘backed up’). But they get new (immortal?) bodies. A completely naturalistic afterlife.
However, whatever “near death experiences” really are, they are not evidence for an afterlife as speculatively described here. Information about Omega’s activities doesn’t flow into our naturalistic universe. Instead, information about our universe flows out. The kind of afterlife I have described leaves no evidence.
So, what kind of afterlife does leave evidence? I find it hard to imagine an afterlife scenario in which the Omega in question is so sloppy as to allow information to leak back into his simulation.
ETA: Hmmm. Now that I think about it, my speculation described two universes—a completely naturalistic ‘first-life’ universe, and a less naturalistic ‘after-life’ universe. Information clearly does flow into the after-life universe. The origin of each reincarnated mind requires a miracle. So, I guess what I am saying is that I doubt the existence of evidence that there will be an afterlife. But I suspect that evidence for an prior life should be pretty overwhelming once you get to the afterlife. So, I’m pretty much ruling out Hinduism—at least as I understand it.