Near-death experiences : understanding visions of the afterlife

209 Pages·2016·1.38 MB·English

by  Fischer

NEAR-D EATH EXPERIENCES

NEAR-D EATH EXPERIENCES
Understanding Visions of the Afterlife
John Martin Fischer
AND
Benjamin Mitchell-Y ellin
1
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Fischer, John Martin, 1952– author. | Mitchell-Yellin, Benjamin, author.
Title: Near-death experiences: understanding visions of the afterlife /
John Martin Fischer and Benjamin Mitchell-Yellin. Description: New York, NY:
Oxford University Press, [2016] | Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015038168 | ISBN 978–0–19–046660–2 (hardcover: alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Near-death experiences.
Classification: LCC BF1045.N4 F58 2016 | DDC 133.901/3—dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015038168
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed by Sheridan, USA
CONTENTS
Preface  vii
1. Introduction  1
2. Two Famous Near- Death Experiences  10
3. When Exactly Do Near- Death Experiences
Take Place?  17
4. Must Near- Death Experiences Be Explained by
the Supernatural?  26
5. Are Vivid Experiences More Accurate Because
They Are Vivid?  33
6. Near- Death Experiences in the Blind  46
7. Near- Death Experiences in Children and
throughout the World  60
8. Can Near- Death Experiences Be Explained by a
Single Factor?  74
9. Are Simpler Explanations More Likely to Be True?  88
10. Near- Death Experiences, Transformation,
and the Afterlife  105
Contents
11. A Strategy for Explaining Near- Death Experiences  121
12. Confirmation Bias: We Believe What We
Want to Believe  148
13. Awe, Wonder, and Hope  157
References  181
Index  187
vi
PREFACE
There is tremendous interest in near- death experiences: their
nature, their meaning and their implications for the afterlife. This
is understandable. Few topics are of greater interest to human
beings than what happens to us after we die, and near- death expe-
riences seem to be a window into the truth on this matter.
These issues have recently been explored in a number
of popular books. Three of them, Eben Alexander’s Proof of
Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife and The Map
of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People Are Proving
the Afterlife, as well as Todd Burpo’s Heaven Is for Real (also the
subject of an extremely successful motion picture), offer an inter-
pretation of near- death experiences as pointing to the existence of
an afterlife (as understood in the Christian tradition). Two other
books that have reached a wide audience, Jeffrey Long’s Evidence
of the Afterlife: The Science of Near- Death Experiences and Pim van
Lommel’s Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of Near- Death
Experience, call into question the framework of the physical sci-
ences. All five of these discussions of near- death experiences take
them as evidence of something supernatural.
PrefaCe
We have deep respect for individuals who have had near- death
experiences. Indeed, we hope that our serious attention to these
remarkable experiences displays our respect. We also respect
the deep religious convictions of many who have thought about
the significance of these experiences. In these pages we wish to
address the implications of near- death experiences for questions
about the fundamental nature of reality and the relationship
between our minds and our brains. Do near- death experiences
establish that there is an afterlife? Do they show that our minds
can function separately from our brains? Our aim is to explore
these questions with the seriousness and rigor they deserve.
Many people have provided us with helpful feedback on the
material in this book. In particular, we would like to thank the fol-
lowing people, in alphabetical order: Yuval Avnur, Christie Coy,
Richard Coy, Ari Fischer, Tina Fischer, Heinrik Hellwig, John
Perry, Patrick Ryan, Eric Schwitzgebel, Allison Solso, and Howard
Wettstein. We owe special debts of gratitude to Nathan Ballantyne,
Shelly Kagan, and Peter Ohlin for their detailed and extremely
helpful comments. The writing of this book was supported in part
by a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation, but the
book does not necessarily reflect its views or stances on any of the
issues discussed.
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NEAR-D EATH EXPERIENCES