Why so many of us think our minds continue on after we die

Brian Nelson sent me a link to Jesse Bering's October 2008 SciAm.com article on the subject, by far the best explanation I've ever read for this almost impossible-to-shake belief.

Key Concepts

Almost everyone has a tendency to imagine the mind continuing to exist after the death of the body.

Even people who believe the mind ceases to exist at death show this type of psychological-continuity reasoning in studies.

Rather than being a by-product of religion or an emotional security blanket, such beliefs stem from the very nature of our consciousness.

There's a printer-friendly version here, if — like me — you prefer to wrap what's left of your mind around the piece in its dead-tree atomic as opposed to bit form.