The Science of Near-Death Experiences (Book Review)

J o u r n a lo f th e S o c ie ty fo r P s y c h ic a l R e s e a r c h , edcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA 2018, 82(4) B lackm ore as a continuing experiencer reflecting on her experiences, including her know ledge of these puzzling neuroscientific findings? W hich fleeting experience accepted the invitation to w rite this very readable book? W ho decided to w rite her autobiography w hich, surely, is a contradiction in term s ifthere is no autobiographical experiencer? Ifthere is not an experiencer of experiences then w hat, or w ho, do w e put in its place to fulfil this essential function? Intruding m y ow n thoughts here, is it possible that these experim ental findings indicate that 'm entalness', including consciousness, is som e form of brain generated physicality, m aybe som e form of field w ith new "qualial" properties that, like dark m atter and dark energy, is not yet instrum entally detectable? T hat w e are brain-generated experiencers able to observe and act upon the w orld to ensure physical survival. W hatever the answ er, as an experiencer, I strongly recom m end the experience of reading this provocative book. ROBERT A. CHARM AN 9 , M o u n tb a tte n C lo s e C a r d iff C F 2 3 5 Q G T H E S C IE N C EO F N E A R -D E A T E HX P E R IE N C Eby S John C . H agan III C olum bia, M O : U niversity ofM issouri P ress. 2017. 208 pp . .t23.35. IS B N 9780826221032. T his book attem pts to give a partial answ er to the question "W hat is it like to die?" F or this purpose, it brings together papers w hich represent different perspectives on near-death experiences (N D E s). T hese papers first appeared in M is s o u r i M e d ic in e : T h e J o u r n a lo f th e M is s o u r i S ta te 2013 up to and including July/ M e d ic a l A s s o c ia tio n , from S eptem ber/O ctober A ugust 2015 and w ere w ritten by distinguished and w ell-know n authors in the field. It is only fair that R aym ond M oody, the founder of the m odern scholarly study of N D E s, w as asked to w rite a forew ord to the book. -H e stresse that N D E s present truly interdisciplinary problem s and considers the view points of m edical physicians w ho describe their ow n personal N D E s of special im portance, because "their clear conviction that they experienced a transcendent state of conscious existence beyond the physical w orld aw akens questions in m edical science about an afterlife" (p. ix). M oody also w ant physicians to listen to w hat their revived patients report and to leave the interpretation of an experience to the patient. F or m e, there is only one dissonant elem ent in the forew ord, nam ely w here M oody claim s that questions about an afterlife clash w ith logic so that w e w ould need to develop new m ethods of conceptual analysis. I've read elsew here that he considered "life af ter death" a contradiction in ternis. w hereas this is only the case if one defines "Iife" as "biological life" rather than "personal existence" or "inner life of the S elf'. W hat is odd about this ÎE that no rational person w ould have "biologicallife after death" in m ind w he talking about survival. A ssum ing that this is typical for the purported kin of clash w ith logic M oody is referring to, I conclude that the problem he perceives m ay be reduced to conceptual confusion, w hich w ould im ply w e d not need an entirely new type of analysis to conceptualise survival. 242 T he criteria Cha their cl m ore, logical afterlif B rU I but C O D plausib V eridie m ental the pro chapter the Do probabJ hadan D eal relies ti cardiac w ell doe m aincc acknow veridics little lei but alsr In C l studies existed no begil C ha] R enee I develop neurolo ofdocw to life a w ay of r C ha] NDEs I R eseare evidenc telling: explana C ha) "appare betw eel concern objects, B o o k R e v ie w s edcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA T he introduetion by E ditor John H agan III explains the background, criteria and aim s ofthe book, and sum m arises the contents ofits 13 chapters. C hapter 1, also w ritten by M oody, offers a concise history of N D E s and their characteristics. It also discusses shared-death experiences and, once m ore, M oody claim s, w ithout necessity, th at there are "no know n rational or logical principles that allow reliable inferences ab out the prospect of an afterlife" (p. 16). B ruce G reyson is responsible for C hapter 2. It offers an overview of N D E s but concentrates on explanatory m odels. G reyson conclusively show s that no plausible m edical, psychological or psychiatrie theories have been proposed. V eridical perception and paranorm al encounters, along w ith heightened m ental functioning w hen neurological activity is severely im paired, challenge the production theory of consciousness. T here is one m inor error in this chapter, nam ely w h ere G reyson claim s that "ab out nine m illion people in the U nited S tates alone have reported this kind of experience" (p. 20). H e probably m eans that w e m ay expect such a num ber of U S citizens to have had an N D E . D ean R adin also tries to explain N D E s in C hapter 3. U nfortunately, R adin relies too m uch on rather irrelevant recent reports of brain activity during cardiac arrest and also seem s to underestim ate the evidential im portance of w ell docum ented case studies (see R ivas, D irven, & S m it, 2016). A s one ofthe m ain contem porary experim ental researchers of psi phenom ena, he naturally acknow ledges the evidence for E S P and its im portance for understanding veridical perception in near-death experiences. H ow ever, he seem s to be a little less w ell-versed in the specialist debate about super-psi versus survival, but also appears to be less interested in it. In C hapter 4, P im van L om m el describes the w ell-know n D utch prospective studies on N D E s and concludes that "non-local consciousness has alw ays existed and w ill alw ays exist independently from the body, because there is no beginning nor w ill there ever be an end toour consciousness" (p. 39). C hapters 5 and 6 concern the personal N D E s oftw o m edical doctors, Jean R enee H ausheer and T ony C icoria, and how they w ere affected by it. C icoria developed savant-like m usical abilities af ter his N D E . H e rightly discards neurological theories for N D E s, as he states th at these "w ould ne gate cases of docum ented cardiac arrest and brain death w here patients have returned to life after death and brought back inform ation they w ould have no possible w ay of obtaining through m ediation ofthe senses and the brain" (p. 61). C hapter 7 is dedicated to the im portant online studies on m ore than 3,700 N D E s carried out by Jeffrey L ong through the N ear D eath E xperience R esearch F oundation (N D E R F ). L ong m entions several interesting lines of evidence that suggest the non-physical reality of N D E s and rem inds us of the telling fact that there is no consensus am ong physicalists ab out the right explanation. C hapter 8 by Jan H olden is also very im portant because of its focus on "apparently non-physical veridical perception" or A V P . H olden distinguishes betw een nonm aterial. m aterial and transm aterial aspects ofN D E s, andA V P concerns the second category, in w hich the patient correctly perceives specific objects, situations or events w ithin physical reality. W hile acknow ledging the 243 Journalof the Society [or Psychical Research,ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA 2 0 1 8 , 8 2 (4 ) p re se n c e o f p e rc e p tu a l n u m e ro u s cannot v a ria tio n b e e x p la in e d a n d d e s c rib e s a tte m p ts ta rg e ts , u n d e rta k e n know n. by Sam s ix re v e a ls u n lik e ly m any ta rg e t u n lik e d o c u m e n te d R a d in , b lin d ra n d o m is e d S m it, phenom ena p a rty , s u c h a s m e d ic a l In C h a p te r d e s c rib e d o th e r th in g s , she and In C h a p te r v a rie tie s C h a p te r w hen, 10, N ancy an to re m a in o p p o n e n ts o fth e of p ro b le m " p h y s ic a lis t and phenom ena, P h y s ic a lis t a u th o r REM to th is c o g n itiv e p h y s ic a lis ts , K e v in p o in ts w e ll as th re a t N e ls o n th e re la te d Is t u d i e s c h ild re n th a t th e N D E c a n E L E C T R O N IC g iv e a n o v e rv ie w to s u c h s h o u ld w hy he o c c u rre d have is d e lig h tfu lly p h ilo s o p h ic a l o th e r C h a p te r 13 and in w h ic h as re le v a n t th e e v id e n tia l ''l i t e r a l i s t s '' and s ta te s : s c ie n c e jo in s m akes h is O ne ow n m ig h t v ie w s fin d o th e r a n y th in g a u th o rs d e b a s in g been b o ld in la rg e ly it u n fa ir 244 th a t h is in th is a s h o rtc u e x p e rie n c e s irre le v a n t, N e ls o n as A le x a n d e r is th e Dimension? (C ~ th a n a d e s c rip ri a n a rtie le o n ly - in The th e ir her to n e i of d is p la y s b e lie f in a n n o th in g w hat c le a r_ d is s id e (C a rd u s e d d u rin g m ig h t b e u n d e r (p . 1 2 1 ). In re a lity , th is irra tio th a t wo o f lifs C a rd o so a s p e c ts s p iritu a l is C a rd a n o th e r d im e n s io n b o o k in d a ta . w h o to u t ed s e c o n d , s lim m e r. fo r poses T h is w ith of som e ty p ic a l w he~ te e n a g e th e d e c e a "h a rd d e fe n d O ut o f th e ir h a s b e e n p u b lis e m p iric a l o f p a ra n o rm a l n e a r-d e a th C w ith a p p a re n in S p a in , A le x a n d e r seem s o f n o n -e x p e rim e n ta l m in d s o f m a n y w h o h o ld s c ie n c e in e s te e m " d e rn o n s tra te s . ig n o re s p ro fe s s io n a ls ris k and a lth o u g h re m a rk s w h o a c c e p t th e re a lity " M e d ic a l s e rio u s ly 12, it a " s u p e rs titio n " . s im p ly v a lu e e v e n c a lls o p p o n e n ts b y fo rs a k in g c a lls th e o ry . A le x a n d e r to e x p la in C h a p te r A le x a n d e r u n d o u b te d ly to h is in A n a b e la , T ra n sc o m m u n i T h e e x p e rie n c e C h a lm e rs ' se v e ra l o. 97817 6ïï of such b y th e m . it re a lly C a rd o of e x p e rie n c e s . o w n N D E a n d c la rifie s o n re a lity . to (p . 9 2 ). a b o u t th e o rig in a n d n a tu re to w a n d th e e v id e b y a th ird h e lp s b ra in " o f re sp o n se s to The Science fo r a n y o n e liv e s . S h e a ls o p o in ts " s u g g e s ts g e ts a c h a n c e th e o ry N e ls o n a c k n o w le d g in g a ttitu d e th e ir s ta n d p o in t, in tru s io n d is s o n a n c e , N e ls o n a s u c h a s te rm in a llu c id ity . n e u ro lo g ic a l re sp o n d s as co o rg a m s c o m p e n s a te " s c ie n tific " w o rld v ie w . H e c ite s o th e r p ro m in e n t p h y s ic a lis m th e The Self Does Not of N D Es in to o f h is n e o c o rte x . A le x a n d e r o f c o n s c io u s n e s s , in o n c h ild N D E s . A m o n g to p e o p le a ffe c te d fo r h is o u tlo o k p e rs a ll th in g s fo c u s o n d o u b le - c o rro b o ra te d a n d B ru c e G re y so n n e u tra l - o r frie n d s . v a lid a tio n ty p e s c a re fu lly d o m in a n t of ra tio n a l it c o n d itio n s . on A V Ps and a b o u t s tu d ie s t o E b e n A l e x a n d e r 's o rth o d o x m ake e v id e n c e S h e m e n tio n s a n d J o r m a tu re N D E s and d u e to th e s ta te h is re je c tio n v a lu a b le c o n c e n tra te d e x p e rie n c e s B ush w ith s tu d y re p o rtin g c o n tro lle d a o n e -s id e d re la tiv e s w h ic h a c c u ra te ly w e re d ire c tly w rite s e a rly E vans 1 1 is d e v o te d im p o s s ib le , s e rio u s th a t it s o im p o rta n t AW ARE w h o h a d b e e n in v o lv e d in th e h o s p ita th e ir a n d to lis te n fro m th e te rm s o f c a s e s o f y o u n g c h ild re n T h e y a d v is e p h y s ic ia n s c o n s id e rs th a t c o n te x t, th e fa c to rs p a tie n ts " s c ie n tis tic " . o f a fu n c tio n in g o f d is tre s s in g e x p e rie n c e s , even 2 0 1 6 ) w h ic h c h a p te r, s tre s s e s th e e x is te n c e vn - up bei th o ro u g h ly a fe w A V P s , a lth o u g h to s e v e ra l a p p re c ia te s and S a rto ri, in te g ra te o c c u r in d e p e n d e n tly " o rth o d o x î ends s e e m s to h a v e b e c o m e th e b e s t d id d e liv e r a rre st d o c to rs , n u rs e s , 9, Penny o f w h ic h s e m i-e x p e rim e n ta l, in N D E s in th e p re v io u s u n d e rs ta n d o u t th a t she cases, & s tu d ie s S h e p o in ts under m e th o d o lo g y (R iv a s , D irv e n , p a ra n o rm a l of s p o n ta n e o u s ly in a s e m i-e x p e rim e n ta l s tu d ie s , o f c a rd ia c w ill b e fo u n d H o w e v e r, Die th e s e ta rg e ts . cases n u m e ro u s th e m a n d h is c o lle a g u e s th a t th e v is u a l v is u a l th e e x is te n c e in w h ic h A V P s o c c u rre d h o s p ita l P a rn ia n o t in v o lv in g th a t s tre s s e s o f w h a t th e N D E r p e rc e iv e d m a n y o th e r o f s tu d ie s to c a p tu re d u rin g H o ld e n H o ld e n c h a ra c te r aw ay. H o ld e n g iv e s a n o v e rv ie w v is u a l a n d e rro rs, c a s e s , in w h ic h th e v e rid ic a l to h e lp b r (if a n y th in g T h e re is a s ta - th e so u re e o f th e I B a a k R e v ie w s ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA " o rth o d o x " v o ic e in th e b o o k , a n d th a t h e is a ls o th e o n ly o n e w h o s e c o n trib u tio n ends u p b e in g m e rc ile s s ly m a n y o th e r s c h o la rly th o ro u g h ly ra tio n a l ra tio n a l th e and p e rs p e c tiv e a ll th in g s in c o n s id e re d . c h a p te r. H o w e v e r, fo r u n lik e to fo llo w th e e v id e n c e . F ro m a e ls o n a re s im p ly o n th e lo s in g s id e , a lrig h t to re fle c t th is D e b u n k e rs get in p h y s ic a lis t p le n ty te d in n e a r-d e a th s ta te o f a ffa irs o f o p p o rtu n ity to p u b lic a tio n s . e a r -D e a th E x p e r ie n c e s i s a n i m p o r t a n t w h o is in te re a n d th e e v id e n c e book. " u n fa irn e s s " T h e S c ie n c e o f fo r a n y o n e w a n ts such as a n d it is p e rfe c tly o f th e fo r th i in a s e p a ra te o n th e s u b je c t, th is w o rk is in m o s t re s p e c ts s in c e re ly d e b u n k e rs o rg a n is a tio n c o m p e n s a te a tta c k e d p u b lic a tio n s e x p e rie n c e s , a n d re lia b le p s y c h ic a l book re se a rc h , u rv iv a l, D arrenhof 9 6 5 3 3 R T N ijm e g e n , T h e " le th e r la n d s titu s r iv a s @ h o tm a il.c o m T I T U SR I V A S R E F E R K "C E R i v a s , T ., D i r v e n . A .. Phenom ena " m it. R . H . f r o m ' 'e a r · D e a t h N e a r D e a th TM 2016. E x p e rie n c e Ir D o e s N o t D ie : V e r ifie d P a r a n o r m a l . D u rh a m , . C : In te rn a tio n a l A s s o c ia tio n fo r tu d ie . ELECTRONC I CO N T A CW T IT HT H E D E A D W : H A TD o T H E V o r C E ST E L LU S ? b y A n a b e l a C a rd o so . H ove: W h ite C ro w B ooks. 2017. 146 pp. n 1 .9 9 . IS B N 9781786770257. A n a b e la C a rd o so is T ra n s c o m m u n ic a tio n w ith a p p a re n tly in S p a in su c c e ssfu l re se a rc h e r has re s u lts . th e d e c e a s e d is d im e n s io n econd o f life . H e r 0 fo u n d e d book d e ta ilin g tre a m The 2 0 1 2 ). w h ic h h e r in v e to n e C a rd o so o f th e d is p la y s b e lie f in a n n o th in g w hat b o o k fro m a n im o T h e re th e o f th e e le c tro n ic w h ic h th e d e a th to c o n ta c t in 2 0 0 0 , a n d it th e m , c o m m u n ic a tio n s o p e ra te s in th e n e x t V o ic e s : C o n ta c t w ith A n o th e r o f h e r e x p e rim e n ta tio n . o n th e c o n te n t th e s ta rt a lth o u g h T h is o f th e m e s s a g e s th e a p p e n d ix th e m e th o d s have o p p o s in g is q u ite d e fe n s iv e , a n u m b e r o f d iffe rin g a s h is to ric a lly happens is a s ta te m e n t so u re e her ta tio n d o e s d e s c rib e ity to w a rd s a fte rlife to h e lp b rin g (if a n y th in g ) 1997 ra th e r re p ro d u c e s and e q u ip m e n t tig a tio n . m ig h t b e u n d e rs ta n d a b le th e ir s in c e a s a d ip lo m a t th e trio a tte m p te d th e h is to ry c o n c e n tra te s o f h o w to o b ta in (C a rd o so , u s e d d u rin g w o rk in g th e IT C J o u rn a l f i r t h o o k . E le c tr o n ic v o lu m e a d e s c rip tio n a n a rtie le In s tru m e n ta l a re a to a c o u p le w h o w e re g rie v in g D im e n s io n ? ( C a r d o 0 .2 0 1 0 ) . d e t a i l th a n i of th is tw ic e a y e a r s in c e th e n . w o rld , v ia th e T im e s e c o n d , s lim m e r, fie ld H e r b a c k g ro u n d s o n u in g IT C . C a rd o C a r d o s o 's a n o th e r th e re s e a rc h in g o n , a n d o n th e a d v ic e o f a p rie s t h a s b e e n p u b lis h e d T h is in been w h e re s h e w a s in tro d u c e d o f th e ir te e n a g e w ith a (JT C ) a n d becom e and th o s e w h o a re n o t a fra id ta rg e ts v o ic e s to g e th e r o f rid ic u le , th ro u g h o u t v ie w p o in ts . T h is to p ro c la im how ever it d o e s to try to s o lv e th e m y s te ry of a f te r d e a th . n e a r th e b e g in n in g m e d iu m s h ip c ita tio n s , 245 o f t h e b o o k " ... i f ... I c a n n o t r e c a l l I g u a ra n te e th a t th e y w ill b e fro m