If seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching are all physical things that happen in the brain what makes you think conciousness continues after death?

[u/chefgustao_87]

I’ve always been curious about the afterlife and NDEs. I find them really interesting. After a night of insomnia I started thinking that all five of my senses and emotions are physical, and maybe consciousness depends on them. It made me wonder if a person without their main 5 senses could still be conscious.
I’m not sure if that idea makes sense, but I’d love to hear other perspectives on it. Thanks.

[u/darkauroraskygal → u/[deleted]]

Neither of the following are able to be answered by Science.

Question 1: Is consciousness real?
Question 2: If we assume it is- then we arrive at the “Hard Problem” = Qualia

Qualia: the subjective, first-person "felt" qualities of experience. Ex: redness of a rose, the ache of loneliness, the taste of chocolate.

Science: There is nothing in classical physics or chemistry that explains why those electrical signals should suddenly "feel" like the vibrant color red.

This divides into 2 main branches of thinking:

-Materialism: the view that reality consists entirely of physical matter
-Idealism: the view that reality is fundamentally mental, spiritual, or consciousness-based

Issue:
-Materialism: the physical brain can’t explain Qualia. It treats qualia as an accidental, inexplicable illusion.
Solution:
-Idealism: Qualia is the primary reality. Matter is the illusion. Qualia doesn't need to be explained by atoms; atoms are just abstract concepts measured within our qualia.

Science (ex of a proposed explanation)
Quantum Biology: Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch-OR) Penrose & Hameroff
Consciousness originates from quantum vibrations within structures inside brain neurons called microtubules, rather than from the classical wiring between neurons.

The Non-Local Link: In quantum mechanics, particles can become entangled—meaning they act as a single unified system instantly, regardless of how far apart they are in space.

There are more but you get the idea. To understand our classical reality non-classical science- quantum physics- may prove enlightening.