The evidential value of near-death experiences for belief in life after death.
Journal of Near-Death Studies 2002 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-2002-20-4-p233-258. (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Citations | 30 |
| Key points | Argues that NDE evidence suggests the possibility of life after death but is not yet convincing, though it is persuasive for the individual experiencer. |
Abstract
In this paper, I explore the issue of what evidential value near death experiences (NDEs) offer for belief in life after death. I survey the major positions on this issue, ranging from writers who believe that NDEs already offer convincing evidence for life after death, to physicalists who believe that they offer, at best, a very weak case. I argue that the present NDE evidence does suggest the possibility of life after death; however, such evidence is not yet overpowering or convincing. However, I go on to argue that NDEs do offer persuasive evidence for life after death for the individual who has the NDE. I end by suggesting that further research should be done on the most impressive type of NDE evidence for life after death, veridical perceptions during an NDE.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otherworld Journeys: Accounts of Near-Death Experience in Medieval and Modern Times | 1987 | Historical analysis | |
| Neuroscience and the Near-Death Experience: Roles for the NMSA-PCP receptor, the sigma receptor and the endopsychosins | 1990 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Implications of near-death experiences for a postmaterialist psychology. | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Near-Death Experience as a Probe to Explore (Disconnected) Consciousness | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Near-death experiences between science and prejudice | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cited by 4
- Characteristics of Near-Death Experiences Memories as Compared to Real and Imagined Events Memories PLoS One March 27, 2013
- “Reality†of near-death-experience memories: evidence from a psychodynamic and electrophysiological integrated study Frontiers in Human Neuroscience June 19, 2014
- On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’ International Journal of Philosophy 2019
- Meaning making after a near-death experience: The relevance of intrapsychic and interpersonal dynamics. Death Studies October 1, 2017
Cites 9
- The Near-Death Experience Scale The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease June 1, 1983
- Features of "near-death experience" in relation to whether or not patients were near death The Lancet November 1, 1990
- Near-Death Experience Journal of Interpersonal Violence July 1, 2001
- Can Experiences Near Death Furnish Evidence of Life after Death? OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying June 1, 2000
- A philosopher's view of near-death research. Journal of Near-Death Studies 1995
and 4 more in the library