Death of death's certainty

By John Janssen

Whilst strolling the lakefront sometime in my thirties, I was theologically accosted by two women concerned that I would suffer eternal death lest I follow their teachings that led to eternal life.

We strolled side-by-side and talked accompanied by a pleasant Lake Michigan breeze. After about 15 minutes, the conversation ended abruptly when they asserted that, should they remove my eyes, I would be grateful. The details of how they got to that conclusion are interesting, but impertinent to the question of “death.” What is important is that, when I told them they were crazy if they thought I would thank them for removing my eyes they abruptly turned and left. I hoped they were uncertain about their faith. Even Mother Theresa was uncertain, and if anyone deserves an escape from eternal death…

The two biggest uncertainties about death are (1) Is there an afterlife? and (2) When is someone dead?

The importance of the second question made front-page headlines in the sad situation of Terri Schiavo, who died somewhere in the time period of Feb. 25, 1990 to March 31, 2005. Clearly, there was no consensus about her status prior to removal of life support. Most people were probably uncertain, and perhaps frustrated, that modern science gave no absolute certainty about Schiavo’s status. I mean absolute certainty in the sense that everyone agreed and was certain of her status.

One of the great advances in 20th century science was a better understanding that science produces no certainty. At best it constrains the possibilities. The determinism of Newton’s mechanics yielded to the constrained (and quantified certainty) of quantum mechanics. (But it’s useful to remember that Newton’s equations are used to plot trajectories of space probes.) Uncertainty is pervasive in scientific publications in the form of statistical analyses with estimates of the certainty of conclusions. For the more general public, the uncertainty is presented in the form of, for example, warnings on medicines. Even aspirin, a commonly used and ancient medicine, has uncertain consequences. Just read the label.

Prior to modern science and medicine Terri Schiavo would have died at sometime around Feb. 25, 1990. Probably cessation of breathing or heartbeat would be the basis of judgment. Now we have an uncertainty of slightly over 15 years about when she died.

I wonder when my two lakefront friends would think she entered her afterlife?

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John Janssen is a senior scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Great Lakes WATER Institute. His home page, The Life Aquatic with John Janssen, includes information on his lake trout research, which has taken WATER ROVs to the depths of Lake Michigan's Mid-Lake Reef.