The Near-Death Experience and the Nature of Consciousness
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Key points | Argues that while most researchers accept the near-death experience as a real phenomenon, interpretations differ across physiological, pharmacological, psychological, and spiritual levels, and these may be complementary rather than mutually exclusive. The paper's central question is whether materialist theories of mind can satisfactorily account for the NDE. |
Abstract
Since the publication of Raymond Moody’s popular book ‘Life after Life’ in 1975, a good deal of academic research [1] has been conducted into the nature and effects of the near-death experience (NDE), a characteristic type of experience that has been reported by many individuals who have been for a time in a state close to that of death, but survived to tell of their experience, often involving an apparent entry into other realms of existence. Many investigators begin with a sceptical position, but invariably come to the conclusion that the NDE exists as a phenomenon, although they differ in their interpretations, which range from the physiological and pharmacological to the psychological and the spiritual. These interpretations reflect the number of levels at which the NDE can be analysed across a range of disciplines; it is quite possible that they are complementary rather than mutually exclusive. The basic issue discussed in this paper is whether the NDE can be satisfactorily accounted for by materialist theories of mind.