ESL Voices

The following article is not a speculation about what is on the “other side” after we die, but rather how the value and purpose of our lives depends on what happens to our descendants and others after our demise. It also explains why it is so important  to remember that the fate of future generations depends heavily on what we do today.

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key.

By Art Revolution.

Excerpt: The Importance of the Afterlife. Seriously. By Samuel Scheffler, The New York Times

“I believe in life after death. No, I don’t think that I will live on as  a conscious being after my earthly demise. I’m firmly convinced that death marks the unqualified and irreversible end of our lives.

My belief in life after death is more mundane. What I believe is that other people will continue to live after I myself have died. You probably make the same assumption in your own case. Although we know that humanity won’t exist forever, most of us take it for granted that the human race will survive, at least for a while, after we ourselves are gone.

Death & the AfterLife By Samuel Scheffler. Amazon Books.

Because we take this belief for granted, we don’t think much about its significance. Yet I think that this belief plays an extremely important role in our lives, quietly but critically shaping our values, commitments and sense of what is worth doing. Astonishing though it may seem, there are ways in which the continuing existence of other people after our deaths.

Consider a hypothetical scenario. Suppose you knew that although you yourself would live a long life and die peacefully in your sleep, the earth and all its inhabitants would be destroyed 30 days after your death in a collision with a giant asteroid. How would this knowledge affect you?

If you are like me, and like most people with whom I have discussed the question, you would find this doomsday knowledge profoundly disturbing. And it might greatly affect your decisions about how to live. If you were a cancer researcher, you might be less motivated to continue your work. If you were a novelist or playwright or composer, you might see little point in continuing to write or compose, since these creative activities are often undertaken with an imagined future audience or legacy in mind…Of course, many people are terrified of dying. 

Egyptian journey to the afterlife. Photo; The Guardian.

But even people who fear death (and even those who do not believe in a personal afterlife) remain confident of the value of their activities despite knowing that they will die someday. Thus there is a way in which the survival of other people after our deaths matters more to us than our own  survival…However self-interested or narcissistic we may be, our capacity to find purpose and value in our lives depends on what we expect to happen to others after our deaths. Even the egotistic tycoon who is devoted to his own glory might discover that his  ambitions seemed pointless if humanity’s disappearance was imminent.

Photo- Anna and Elena Balbusso. NYT

Similarly, I think that familiar assumptions about human individualism are oversimplified. Even though we as individuals have diverse values and goals, and even though it is up to each of us to judge what we consider to be a good or worthy life, most of us pursue our goals and seek to realize our values within a framework of belief that assumes an ongoing humanity.” Read more…

Samuel Scheffler, a professor of philosophy and law at New York University, is the author of the forthcoming book “Death and the Afterlife.”

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Level: Intermediate -Advanced

Language Skills: Reading, writing, speaking. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.

Time: Approximately 2 hours.

Materials: Student handouts (from this lesson) access to news article, and video.

Objective: Students will read the article with a focus on improving reading comprehension and learning new vocabulary. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic through discussions, and writing.

I. Pre-Reading Activities

Stimulating background knowledge

Brainstorming

Directions: Place students in groups, ask students to think about what they already know about  the afterlife.  Next, have students look at the picture(s) in the text and generate ideas or words that may be connected to the article. Debrief as a class and list these ideas on the board.Students can use the UIE brainstorming chart (sample) for brainstorming the meanings.

II. While Reading Activities

Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. They may use a dictionary or thesaurus for assistance. They might find this vocabulary chart by Word Chart By Education Oasisuseful as a guide. 

1. Death marks the unqualified and irreversible end of our lives.
2. My belief in life after death is more mundane.
3. You probably make the same assumption in your own case.
4. Consider a hypothetical scenario.
5. You would find this doomsday knowledge profoundly disturbing.
6. We are horrified at the prospect of a post-mortem catastrophe.
7. The disappearance of the human race is imminent.
8. An aging population inexorably fades away.
9. Some people would seek consolation in religious faith.
10. Some people would take what pleasure they could in activities that seemed intrinsically rewarding.

Reading Comprehension

True /False/NA-Statements

Directions: Review the following statements from the reading.  If  a statement is true they mark it T.  If the statement is  not applicable, they mark it NA. If the statement is false they  mark  it F and provide the correct answer.

1. If the world were going to end people would try to go to another planet.
2. If the world were going to end a cancer researcher might be motivated to find a cure.
3. If the world were going to end an engineer working to improve the seismic safety of bridges would stop.
4. If the world were going to end an activist trying to reform our political or social institutions would have reasons to continue.
5. If the world were going to end a novelist, playwright or composer, would see  the point in continuing to write or to compose.
6. If the world were going to end people would probably stop having children.
7. People typically react with a loss of purpose  in the prospect of their own deaths.
8. Many people are terrified of dying.
9.  If the world were going to end countries would stop fighting.
10. When set against the background of a dying humanity activities like enjoying the pleasures of food and drink might seem less fulfilling.

 Grammar Focus

Structure and Usage

Directions: The following groups of sentences are from the article. One of the sentences in each group contains a grammatical  error. Students are to identify the sentence (1, 2, or 3 ) from each group that contains the grammatical error.

I.

1. No, I don’t think that I will live on as a conscious being after my earthly demise.
2. My belief in life after death are more mundane.
3. You probably make the same assumption in your own case.

II.

1. Because we take this belief for granted, we don’t think much about its significance.
2. Consider a hypothetical scenario.
3. I think that this belief play an extremely important role in our lives.

III.

1. Most people find this doomsday knowledges profoundly disturbing.
2. Of course, many people are terrified of dying.
3. But will humanity survive for a good long time?

III. Post Reading Tasks

Reading Comprehension Check

WH-How Questions

Directions: Have students use the  WH-question format to discuss or to write the main points from the article.

Who or What is the article about?

Where does the action/event take place?

When does the action/event take place?

Why did the action/event occur?

How did the action/event occur?

Discussion/Writing Exercise

Directions: Place students in groups and have them answer the following questions. Afterwards, have the groups share their thoughts as a class. To reinforce the ideas, students can write an essay on one of the following discussion topics.

1. The article states, “Even though we as individuals have diverse values and goals, and even though it is up to each of us to judge what we consider to be a good or worthy life, most of us pursue our goals and seek to realize our values within a framework of belief that assumes an ongoing humanity. Remove that framework of belief, and our confidence in our values and purposes begins to erode.” Explain this statement in your own words and provide examples.
2. The author states, “I believe in life after death.” Do you believe in life after death? Provide reasons why or why not. If you do believe, describe what you think the afterlife would be like.
3. How would you answer the following question, “ Suppose you knew that although you yourself would live a long life and die peacefully in your sleep, the earth and all its inhabitants would be destroyed 30 days after your death in a collision with a giant asteroid. How would this knowledge affect you?”

ANSWER KEY: After Our Demise