Conceptions of the Afterlife in Early Civilizations: Universalism, Constructivism and Near-Death Experience
Gregory Shushan, G. Flood
July 10, 2009 DOI: 10.5040/9781472548948 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis |
|---|---|
| Population | Ancient Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Indian, Chinese, and Mesoamerican textual sources |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Key points | Argues that near-death experiences in ancient civilizations exhibit both cross-cultural similarities and distinct differences, and proposes a new comparative framework that combines cultural and experiential factors, rejecting purely diffusionist or universalist explanations. |
Abstract
Foreword by Gavin Flood Acknowledgements Abbreviations of Primary Sources Introduction Part I 1. Comparison, Universalism, and the Rehabilitation of the Comparative 'Similar' 2. Early Civilizations, Contact, Diffusion, and Cultural Continuity 3. Near-Death Experience Part II 4. Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt 5. Sumerian and Old Babylonian Mesopotamia 6. Vedic India 7. Pre-Buddhist China 8. Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica Part III 9. Analysis of Similarities and Differences 10. The Interface of Conception and Experience 11. Alternative and Supplementary Theories 12. Conclusions: Theoretical Eclecticism and A New Comparative Framework References Index.
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 15
- An encounter with the self: A thematic and content analysis of the DMT experience from a naturalistic field study. Frontiers in Psychology 2023
- "Between Realness and Unrealness": Anthropology, Parapsychology and the Ontology of Non-Ordinary Realities November 7, 2015
- Understanding Spiritual Awareness in Terms of Anomalous Information Access The Open Information Science Journal February 8, 2011
- Smokable "Vine of the Dead": Two Case Studies of Experiencers of Both Changa and Near-Death Experiences International Journal of Transpersonal Studies December 31, 2024
- How to Know You’ve Survived Death Method & Theory in the Study of Religion July 24, 2018
and 10 more in the library