The Eternal Transition: Justifying the Right to Life Beyond Death
The philosophical idea of the right to life after death can be justified by understanding death not as an absolute end, but as a necessary transitional stage that opens the way to eternal life. The main argument is that the finiteness of earthly existence necessitates a transition to immortality, which in turn emphasizes the dignity of the human essence and demands the recognition of the right to life in another, eternal form.Firstly, some thinkers assert that death gives life meaning by limiting it and thereby directing our existence toward an eternal beginning. For instance, one source notes: "And since the possibility of transition lies only in death, it is death that gives life meaning, because only it limits life, thereby halting endless stagnation. Thus, the connection between eternal life and the right to it is derived from the necessity of death." (source: link txt, page: 42) This reasoning emphasizes that it is precisely through the inevitability of death that the right to embark on a new, immortal state emerges.Secondly, from the perspective of Stoicism and the religious-philosophical tradition, there exists the idea of the immortality of the soul, which contrasts the transience of the physical body with the eternity of thought and spirit. It is stated as follows: "By the way, Stoicism was right when it encouraged a person to rise above it. Man is mortal, but humanity is immortal;... The immortality of the human soul, affirmed by revelation, also constitutes a demand of sound thinking. The existing proofs of the soul's immortality in theology and philosophy serve as testimony to this." (source: link txt, page: 615) This perspective indicates that despite the finiteness of our physical existence, there exists an immutable drive within the soul toward eternity, which can be viewed as a fundamental right.Moreover, the notion that death opens the possibility for a person to enter a new stage of existence is expressed as follows: "Thus, death does not reveal our ephemerality; it reveals our infinity, our eternity. Death is not an end; it is the beginning of true life that awaits us beyond the grave." (source: link txt, page: 54) This statement emphasizes that the transition through death gives rise to a full, eternal existence, which philosophically justifies everyone’s right to such a life.Finally, an important argument draws on the divine principle, wherein the pursuit of immortality is seen as a reflection of the higher laws of existence. As noted: "For the law of the flesh resists the law of the mind, as revealed to us by the Apostle Paul... what kind of
God is there who does not satisfy the desire for immortality?" (source: link txt, page: 304) Here it is asserted that the aspiration for immortality has profound philosophical and even divine roots, reinforcing the concept of the human right to life after death.Thus, from a philosophical standpoint, the human right to life after death can be justified as the necessary transition from finiteness to infinity, where death is not an annihilation but the beginning of a new, eternal form of existence that fulfills the deep spiritual and moral needs of humanity.