Commentary on ''Psychophysiological and Cultural Correlates Undermining a Survivalist Interpretation of Near-Death Experiences''
University of North Texas Digital Library (University of North Texas) 2007 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-2007-26-2-p127-145 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Transcendental number Materialism Causality physics Interpretation philosophy Epistemology Phenomenology philosophy Bivariate analysis Cognitive psychology Jungian analytical psychology |
| Citations | 3 |
| Key points | Argues that the transcendental hypothesis accounts for NDE phenomenology better than the materialist model, despite weaknesses in the evidence. |
Abstract
Abstract: Keith Augustine has provided a legitimate and cogent critique of a transcendental interpretation of near-death experiences, exposing weaknesses in the research methodology, paucity of the data, and gaps in the arguments. He offers evidence from psychophysiological and cultural correlates of NDEs that he interprets as favoring a hallucinatory understanding of these phenomena. however, his analysis relies on idiosyncratic definitions of psychological concepts, reads unidirectional causality into bivariate correlations, and underestimates the empirical predictions of the separation hypothesis. Despite less than compelling evidence for the transcendental hypothesis, it accounts for NDE phenomenology better than the materialist model.