I don’t believe there is an afterlife, unless you consider the afterlife as a feast for the worms or for the flames.
My “conception” of it is derived from me believing that its illustration in any culture or time period is as close to a physical manifestation that one may perceive of man’s need for guidance, security and peace in a world where these things are never guaranteed.
And we all know it, even if it’s subconscious, otherwise we wouldn’t conjure such concepts to live with.
I base that on every people of the world since the dawn of man’s history having so many different kindsa spiritual beliefs, deities and crap but them all meaning the same things, ultimately.
However such concepts are instinctive, and while I believe that peeps like Darwin and Maslow were right, I derive what I may perceive as logical from the matter from seeing and experiencing things in my life which completely and totally defy the ideas of after life, spiritual beliefs and hope that many use in every day life.
It’s also quite instinctive however, and we probably all do it, some way or another.
I’m now straying away from the subject, but essentially, in my mind the idea of an afterlife is a natural part of man’s need to emotionally survive in the face of adversity. Were it not for such things, we’d still huddle in caves and make drawings on the walls with our poop.
This may also be observed through the fact that ideas and beliefs on the afterlife often evolve, from simple promised lands and damnation, to the transition of these concepts towards altered states of existence and emotional damnation rather than fire and brimestone…