The Final Configuration of Near-Death Experiences (1960–1975)

The term 'near-death experiences' was introduced by John C. Lilly in 1972, earlier than commonly thought, before being popularized by Raymond Moody in 1975. Books on astral projection by Robert Crookall and Robert A. Monroe, along with C. G. Jung and other researchers discussing paranormal phenomena in the 1960s and early 1970s, had already assembled almost all the phenomena Moody later bundled. LSD use sometimes triggered such experiences, and psychologists and psychotherapists like Russell Noyes, Roy Kletti, and Stanislav Grof showed growing interest. The post-Moodian 'Greyson scale' institutionalized the term, reflecting a still-dominant religious interest focused on mystic, esoteric, and transformative qualities.

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Abstract

The final chapter of the discursive history outlines how Robert Crookall’s and Robert A. Monroe’s books on “astral projection,” but also C. G. Jung and other researchers discussing paranormal and parapsychological phenomena in the 1960s and early 1970s, already assembled almost all phenomena that Moody could bundle in 1975 under the new term “near-death experiences.” However, the chapter points to the fact that, in contrast to the opinio communis, the term had already been introduced by John C. Lilly in 1972. Other influences discussed are the use of LSD, which sometimes triggered near-death experiences, and the growing interest of psychologists and psychotherapists in such experiences (e.g., Russell Noyes and Roy Kletti or Stanislav Grof). It concludes with the institutionalization of the term as grasped in the post-Moodian “Greyson scale.” The latter serves as an example for the still-dominant religious interest in the experiences, i.e., their mystic, esoteric, and transformative qualities.