Science and the Near-Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death PDF
Preview Science and the Near-Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death
Dedicated to the memories of Henri Bergson, William James, and Ferdinand Schiller, three remarkable individuals who never let fashion dictate their opinions. SCIENCE AND THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE “The belief that consciousness itself is somehow produced within the brain will topple under the momentum of observations this theory simply cannot explain. Chris Carter’s second book, as well organized and accessible as his first, details the history, physics, and observed phenomena that will forever change how we look at the brain. A readable, informative, and devastating critique of materialism.” ROBERT BOBROW, M.D., CLINICAL ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF FAMILY MEDICINE AT STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY AND AUTHOR OF THE WITCH IN THE WAITING ROOM “Chris Carter’s tightly reasoned approach and his encyclopedic grasp of the research make Science and the Near-Death Experience the best book on NDEs in years. The clarity of Carter’s writing and the breadth of his scholarship make this an ideal resource for both experts and those new to the field. This book brings much-needed insight and common sense to our understanding of NDEs.” BRUCE GREYSON, M.D., CARLSON PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY AND NEUROBEHAVIORAL SCIENCES, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA “As a physicist and neurosurgeon, I find Chris Carter’s Science and the Near-Death Experience to be a comprehensive analysis of NDEs, and a book that allows one to understand that consciousness persists beyond the death of the physical body. It is beautifully written!” JOHN L. TURNER, M.D., AUTHOR OF MEDICINE, MIRACLES, AND MANIFESTATIONS “In this important book, author Chris Carter does a masterful job at demonstrating how the evidence does not support the mainstream scientific view that consciousness and mind are produced by the brain. In addition, Carter objectively reviews the empirical data on near-death experiences and rightly concludes that these data fully support the notion that mind and consciousness can continue to operate after the cessation of brain activity.” MARIO BEAUREGARD, PH.D., PROFESSOR OF NEUROSCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL, AND COAUTHOR OF THE SPIRITUAL BRAIN “There has been a spate of books on the afterlife and the immortality of consciousness lately, indicating a resurgence of interest in what is surely one of the most important—and I would argue THE most important— question a conscious human being can pose in his or her life. Carter’s book is not only an important contribution to this literature; it is its current crowning achievement. For he masters both the theoretical and the evidential approach, showing that belief to the contrary of the survival of consciousness is mere, and now entirely obsolete, dogma, and that the evidence for survival is clear and rationally convincing. A book to read and to remember for the rest of one’s life—and perhaps beyond. . . .” ERVIN LASZLO, AUTHOR OF SCIENCE AND THE AKASHIC FIELD AND FOUNDER OF THE CLUB OF BUDAPEST We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. PLATO CONTENTS Title Page Dedication Epigraph Foreword by Neal Grossman Introduction PART 1 Does Consciousness Depend on the Brain? Chapter 1—Ancient and Modern Theories The Issues at Stake Implicit Assumption behind the Empirical Arguments against the Possibility of Survival Chapter 2—Objections of Skeptics Chapter 3—Opinions from Neuroscience Chapter 4—Physics and Consciousness The Ancient and Medieval Worldview Classical Physics Quantum Mechanics Determinism and the Role of the Observer Psychokinesis and the Age of Electronics Implications for Physics and Consciousness Localism Nonmechanical Causation A New Conception of Matter Quantum Mechanical Theories of Mind Phenomena Quantum Mechanical Models of Mind Can Explain Materialist Theories of Mind The Dreaded Interaction Problem The Objections of Daniel Dennett Concluding Remarks Chapter 5—Are Memories Stored in the Brain? Remarks on the Debate The Evidence from Neurophysiology Chapter 6—Theories of Life Implications for Memory Implications for Survival Other Lines of Evidence Conclusions PART II The Near-Death Experience Chapter 7—Reports from the Brink Stages of the Near-Death Experience Feeling of Peace Separation from the Body Passage through Darkness Seeing a Light Encountering the Deceased or a Presence Life Review Entering the Light After Effects: The Impact of the Experience Faith and the Near-death Experience Factors Influencing the Near-Death Experience Chapter 8—Into the Abyss: Horrific Near-Death Experiences Inverted Near-Death Experiences The Meaningless Void Hellish Near-Death Experiences Chapter 9—Near-Death Experiences across Cultures China India Native America Guam Maori New Zealand Discussion Near-Death Research Today Chapter 10—Proposed Psychological Explanations Fantasy and Wishful Thinking Dissociated States Imaginative Reconstructions Semiconscious Perception Memories of Birth Chapter 11—Proposed Physiological Explanations Endorphins Oxygen Starvation Does Anoxia Produce the Tunnel? Excessive Carbon Dioxide Can Rapid Acceleration Induce the Near-Death Experience? Temporal Lobe Seizures Conclusion Regarding Temporal Lobe Seizures and Near-Death Experiences Chapter 12—Experiencing Death through Drugs? The Ketamine Model Relevance of Ketamine for the Near-Death Experience Concluding Remarks Chapter 13—The “Dying Brain” Theory of Susan Blackmore Neural Disinhibition and the Out-of-Body Experience Perception of Dead Relatives The Physiology of the Dying Brain The Effects of Cardiac Arrest Chapter 14—Veridical Near-Death Experiences Case of the Missing Dentures “Flapping His Arms as if Trying to Fly . . .” Operation “Stand still” Chapter 15—Near-Death Experiences of People Who Are Blind Chapter 16—The Scientific Challenge to Materialism Summary Chapter 17—The Near-Death Experience as Evidence for Survival But Are They Really Dead? Features of the Near-Death Experience Suggesting Survival PART III Deathbed Visions Chapter 18—Reports from England to India Reports from India Differences between the American and Indian Surveys Chapter 19—Alternative Explanations Chapter 20—Comparison with the Near-Death Experience Epilogue: Next Footnotes Endnotes Bibliography About the Author About Inner Traditions • Bear & Company Books of Related Interest
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