Re:Awareness at Death
by mike_hock on Wednesday October 11, 2023 @04:40PM
(#37849987)
It's interesting that the neuroprotective chemicals also happen to result in a pleasant feeling, as there would have been no evolutionary pressure whatsoever to make a physiological state that's almost exclusively experienced just before death feel like anything in particular. Anything from bliss to agonizing pain to nothing would have been equally viable.
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In fact there may be an evolutionary advantage in doing the opposite - flooding the system with stress/fear chemicals at the time of death. Predators would likely prefer to avoid tense, stringy meat reeking of primal panic and feces.