Guest editorial: A theory of death

Abstract

Dying is considered by most people to be a gradual process. Charles II apologized for taking an unconscionable time over it, whereas he probably thought death itself would be instantaneous, like the snuffing out of a candle. But death is also a process, which commonly starts with cardiac arrest. Some minutes elapse before stoppage of the circulation becomes lethal to the brain. The mind can remain alert until the brain stem, into which are packed the control mechanisms for speech, sight, and hearing, ceases to function. What takes place in the mind during that interval is crucial. A considerable body of evidence has been assembled indicating that a unique experience is in fact in progress. Certain stages of this near-death experience (NDE) can be aligned with corresponding physical events. For example, the thump that accompanies the return to the body in many autoscopic NDEs appears to coincide with the heart being restarted by a successful resuscitation procedure (Sabom, 1982, pp. 56-58). To align the failure of every individual system or component within the dying brain with a corresponding stage in the deterioration of personality is beyond the scope of an enquiry such as this. Nevertheless, it is possible to focus on certain stages of loss of function in the brain and infer the corresponding perceptions in the conscious mind. The most significant event is the irreversible loss of the capacity for consciousness that is the inevitable effect of death of the brain stem. A distinction must be made here between the capacity for consciousness,