--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I would love to believe that when I die I…" description: "\"“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/carl-sagan-160_death_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_375545.jpg" --- # I would love to believe that when I die I will live again… ![“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/carl-sagan-160_death_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_375545.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/carl-sagan-160_death_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_375545.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d44/carl-sagan-160_death_i-would-love-to-believe-that-when-i-die_375545.jpg) > ““I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. I want to grow really old with my wife, Annie, whom I dearly love. I want to see my younger children grow up and to play a role in their character and intellectual development. I want to meet still unconceived grandchildren. There are scientific problems whose outcomes I long to witness—such as the exploration of many of the worlds in our Solar System and the search for life elsewhere. I want to learn how major trends in human history, both hopeful and worrisome, work themselves out: the dangers and promise of our technology, say; the emancipation of women; the growing political, economic, and technological ascendancy of China; interstellar flight. If there were life after death, I might, no matter when I die, satisfy most of these deep curiosities and longings. But if death is nothing more than an endless dreamless sleep, this is a forlorn hope. Maybe this perspective has given me a little extra motivation to stay alive. The world is so exquisite, with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better, it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look Death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.”” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges the desire for an afterlife but concludes that evidence supports death as final, urging appreciation of life’s fleeting beauty. **In simple terms:** Life ends, so cherish it now. Key Takeaway Live fully, value each day. Themes mortality meaning appreciation science humanity Mood reflective hopeful serene Type philosophical inspirational personal When to use this quote - family time - personal growth - scientific curiosity - social activism Key Concepts existentialism secular humanism cosmology Questions to Reflect On - How does accepting mortality shape your priorities? - What daily practices help you savor life? A Different Perspective Belief in an afterlife can distract from present responsibilities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Assert Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assert-afterlife-2343660/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Early love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-love/) [Every day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-day/) [Life after death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-after-death/) [Life Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-want/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Solar system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solar-system/) [Stay Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stay-alive/) [Thinking Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-want/) [Wishful thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wishful-thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. 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But the two "Voyager" spacecraft were built by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-conventional-wisdom-now-that-anything-built-by-the-government/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“The total amount of energy from outside the solar system ever received by all the radio telescopes on the planet Earth is less than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-total-amount-of-energy-from-outside-the-solar-system-ever/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“It is now almost possible to assign color combinations, based on the colors of clouds and sky, to every planet in the Solar System—from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-now-almost-possible-to-assign-color-combinations-based-on-the/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Each Voyager is itself a message. In their exploratory intent, in the lofty ambition of their objectives, in their utter lack of intent to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/each-voyager-is-itself-a-message-in-their-exploratory-intent-in-the/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In more than one respect, the exploring of the Solar System and homesteading other worlds constitutes the beginning, much more than the end, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-more-than-one-respect-the-exploring-of-the-solar-system-and/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge, and there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or-2/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“The Cosmos extends, for all practical purposes, forever. After a brief sedentary hiatus, we are resuming our ancient nomadic way of life. Our remote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-cosmos-extends-for-all-practical-purposes-forever-after-a-brief/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. We humans are one species and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-tiny-blue-dot-set-in-a-sunbeam-here-it-is-that-s-where-we-live-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Telepathy’ literally means to feel at a distance, just as ‘telephone’ is to hear at a distance and ‘television’ is to see at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/telepathy-literally-means-to-feel-at-a-distance-just-as-telephone-is/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“On the scale of worlds—to say nothing of stars or galaxies—humans are inconsequential, a thin film of life on an obscure and solitary lump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/on-the-scale-of-worlds-to-say-nothing-of-stars-or-galaxies-humans-are/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/every-one-of-us-is-in-the-cosmic-perspective-precious-if-a-human/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [In our time, we have sifted the sands of Mars, we have established a presence there, we have fulfilled a century of dreams!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/in-our-time-we-have-sifted-the-sands-of-mars-we-have-established-a/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“Books permit us to voyage through time, to tap the wisdom of our ancestors. The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/books-permit-us-to-voyage-through-time-to-tap-the-wisdom-of-our/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [We live on a hunk of rock and metal that circles a humdrum star that is one of 400 billion other stars that make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/we-live-on-a-hunk-of-rock-and-metal-that-circles-a-humdrum-star-that/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [A tiny blue dot set in a sunbeam. Here it is. That's where we live. That's home. 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I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. I respect people who do, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-i-don-t-believe-in-a-single-or/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“There was no attack on religion because people were generally indifferent to religion. They were neither hot nor cold. They were the tepid, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-day/there-was-no-attack-on-religion-because-people-were-generally/) [Dorothy Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-day/) > [I guess on one hand I believe it doesn't matter if there is life after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-morton/i-guess-on-one-hand-i-believe-it-doesn-t-matter-if-there-is-life/) [Joe Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-morton/) > [“And what if there are only spiders there, or something of that sort”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-what-if-there-are-only-spiders-there-or-something-of-that-sort/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Most people would probably call me a ghost. 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After we die, our hopes for an afterlife reside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/it-s-my-firm-conclusion-that-human-meaning-comes-from-humans-not-from/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“One's past can't be erased, it can only be learned from, the child taught her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-balcomb/one-s-past-can-t-be-erased-it-can-only-be-learned-from-the-child/) [H. L. Balcomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-balcomb/) > [It was like I’d stepped out into an afterlife. Only there were no angels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/it-was-like-i-d-stepped-out-into-an-afterlife-only-there-were-no/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [“death is predestined for all mortals. Souls live forever, but the body does not. Unless you are immortal, both the soul and body are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yelle-hughes/death-is-predestined-for-all-mortals-souls-live-forever-but-the-body/) [Yelle Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yelle-hughes/) [Browse all 844 Afterlife quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But as much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. I want to grow really old with my wife, Annie, whom I dearly love. I want to see my younger children grow up and to play a role in their character and intellectual development. I want to meet still unconceived grandchildren. There are scientific problems whose outcomes I long to witness—such as the exploration of many of the worlds in our Solar System and the search for life elsewhere. I want to learn how major trends in human history, both hopeful and worrisome, work themselves out: the dangers and promise of our technology, say; the emancipation of women; the growing political, economic, and technological ascendancy of China; interstellar flight. If there were life after death, I might, no matter when I die, satisfy most of these deep curiosities and longings. But if death is nothing more than an endless dreamless sleep, this is a forlorn hope. Maybe this perspective has given me a little extra motivation to stay alive. The world is so exquisite, with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. 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