I don’t think we’re meant to know.
Death & what remains
What happens when we die?
53 answers answered between 1932 and 2026 one of 25 in The Q&A
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A recurring late-stage question in The Guardian Q&A, with materially different answers on publisher-hosted pages.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
On the record
Public figures who have answered a question like this elsewhere. Quoted from the source shown, not written for FLAPSS.
Read by age
Any age
In their thirties 9
In their forties 5
In their fifties 11
In their sixties 13
Seventy and beyond 11
Massive DMT release, your perception of time dilates, you realise you can fly, then it all goes black, and you start again, only this time … you’re a slug.
I have never been able to become an atheist and, even though I know it is completely irrational and cannot be backed up, I think when I die I’m going to glory.
You reach a certain point in life and suddenly know a lot of dead people, and I’ve noticed you don’t stop getting to know people who are dead. Those relationships continue and I like that.
I think we’re definitely gone, but I do think people leave traces everywhere from what they did in life, and live on and continue to make an impact through the ripple effect of that.
0 answers from members
Nobody has answered this one yet.
More on death & what remains
- What would you like to be remembered for? 220 answers
- How close have you come to death? 210 answers
- What song would you like played at your funeral? 179 answers
- If you had only one day left to live, how would you spend it — and what would you deliberately avoid doing? 54 answers
- What would you like to leave your children? 48 answers
- How would you like to die? 44 answers