Similarities between near-death experiences and multiple personality disorder.
The Journal of near-death studies 1992 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-1992-11-1-p19-38. (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 | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that near-death experiences and multiple personality disorder share phenomenological features, including out-of-body experiences, a transcendental environment, encounter with a higher self, possible temporal lobe involvement, and antecedent child abuse, and proposes that the two may be variants of the same basic phenomenological pattern. |
Abstract
In this paper I compare the phenomenology of near-death experiences to that of multiple personality disorder. The comparison reveals a number of similarities, including out-of-body experiences, the transcendental environment, encounter with the higher self, possible temporal lobe involvement, and antecedent child abuse. Rather than being disparate and unrelated experiences, I suggest that the near-death experience and multiple personality disorder may be variants of the same basic phenomenological pattern.