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Karkon Beiraq H. Philosophical Explanation of the Implication of Near-Death Experiences on the Immateriality of the Soul. jpt 2024; 4 (4) :369-386
URL: http://jpt.modares.ac.ir/article-34-78392-en.html
URL: http://jpt.modares.ac.ir/article-34-78392-en.html
Department of Islamic Education and Training, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran
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Introduction
Today, the discussion of near-death experiences (NDEs) is a lively and dynamic discussion in the world that has also attracted the attention of philosophers, and paying attention to them, especially in the philosophy of mind, seems inevitable. These experiences date back thousands of years, although the term “near-death experiences” was not used at that time. The earliest reference to these experiences is in Plato’s Republic [Etemadinia, 2012: 40-39; Parnia, 2013: 161-162]. Although the term “near-death experiences” is now well-established, it is not necessarily accepted by everyone, and some scholars consider it incorrect [Parnia, 2013: 151-154]. Some researchers consider those who have NDEs to be people who almost died or who were dead but revived [Peterson et al., 2013: 344]. Today, one of the challenges of studies on "consciousness" is research on people who have had the aforementioned experiences. "Consciousness" is one of the most important and complex issues in the philosophy of mind, which complicates the mind-body problem [Nagel, 2004: 528].
Definition of near-death experiences
There is no general agreement on the definition of NDEs. Still, some have defined them as follows: NDEs are generally understood to be the unusual, often vivid and realistic, and sometimes profoundly life-changing experiences occurring to people who have been physiologically close to death, as in cardiac arrest or other life-threatening conditions, or psychologically close to death, as in accidents or illnesses in which they feared they would die.] Greyson et al., 2009: 213; Long, 2015: 44[.
Components of Near-Death Experiences
NDEs are sometimes reported by individuals who are resuscitated from a period of clinical death or near death. These experiences typically involve sensations of consciousness temporarily leaving the body, rising upwards and seeing one’s own “corpse” below, entering darkness or a tunnel, emerging in bright light, meeting deceased friends or relatives, encountering a being of light radiating love and acceptance, a panoramic life review with a sense of moral evaluation or self-judgment, reaching a border or limit, and ultimately returning to the body. Other features are also mentioned [Shushan, 2018: 319; Blackmore, 2017: 143].
Objection to near-death experiences
Some have raised objections to the aforementioned experiences. Therefore, those objections must be answered to prove that these experiences imply the immateriality of the soul (mind).
First: The main cause of NDEs is hypoxia or anoxia in the brain [Wulff, 2013: 831].
Answer: NDEs occur without anoxia or hypoxia, as in non-life-threatening illnesses, falls, or other near-accidents. Furthermore, the experiential phenomena associated with hypoxia are only superficially similar to NDEs. Therefore, if anoxia and related mechanisms play an important role in the generation of NDEs, why do most cardiac arrest patients not report an NDE? Clearly, anoxia is neither necessary nor sufficient for NDEs to occur. Interestingly, despite the cognitive problems in the brain in NDEs, the experiencers' perceptions also become stronger! However, it is medically unacceptable and impossible to have an organized and clear experience during unconsciousness or clinical death [Sabom, 1989: 43; Carter, 2014: 283]. Interestingly, this finding has been confirmed by examining the number of samples some researchers collected, including blind people. Much of the sensory nature of an NDE can be created through drugs or hallucinogenic-induced hallucinations. Still, it does not seem that creating positive changes in a person's personality and attitude can be objectively recreated. So the view of those who believe there is no credible evidence that a person has been able to continue living without a body is easily refuted because there is now less doubt about the NDEs of some people [Greyson et al., 2009: 217; Sabom, 1989: 355-356; Carter, 2014: 198].
Second: The parietal cortex is involved in visual imagery and the mental representation of the body. Therefore, temporal lobe epilepsy and its electrical stimulation are caused by a disruption of these functions. Accordingly, some have argued that NDEs are an example of temporal lobe seizures, i.e., seizure-like neural discharges in the temporal lobe or, more generally, in the limbic system.
Answer: One answer to this objection is that although some elements of NDEs can be artificially created through electrical stimulation of the temporal lobe in the right hemisphere of the brain and by using hallucinogenic substances, other elements of the experience, such as reviewing life events or obtaining objective information from the surrounding environment during the experience, not only cannot be recreated but there are also no clear physiological explanations for them [Kajbaf, 2013; Harvey & Watt, 2009: 240].
Third: What is observed or reported in NDEs is consistent with the experiencers' mindset, beliefs, and their culture.
Answer: One important answer to these objections is children's experiences. Children who have not yet been educated in the context of specific cultural, religious, and social beliefs also speak of experiences similar to those of adults [Shushan, 2009: 193; Long, 2015: 145].
Fourth: Some psychologists consider NDEs to be a type of defense mechanism, meaning that they defend a person who is in danger from the threat of death [Hooper & Teresi, 2016: 573].
Answer: This theory implies that the patient understands the danger of death. But such a theory does not explain why NDEs occur in patients who suffer from Stokes-Adams heart attacks, in which the heart suddenly stops working without any prior awareness and consciousness completely ceases [Parnia, 2013: 160; Kübler-Ross, 2012: 62-63; Long, 2015: 120].
Fifth: Some researchers equate out-of-body experiences with depersonalization and believe that NDEs are an example of depersonalization, which involves psychological separation from one's own body. In their opinion, concerning NDEs, depersonalization is a psychological defense reaction to a sense of threat [Harvey & Watt, 2009: 250; Boland, 2022: 197].
Answer: This is not a characteristic of NDE, as experiencers typically report that during a NDE, their sense of self is stronger, clearer, and even more real than in normal waking consciousness [Boland, 2022: 198].
Out-of-body experience
Out-of-body experience (OBE) is an important component of NDEs, which also has even been mentioned in medieval experiences [Zaleski, 1987: 187], but it is not necessarily unique to NDEs and may occur in a variety of other situations. A prominent example is the out-of-body experiences experienced by some mystics and divine philosophers [Suhrawardi, 1996: 111; American Psychiatric Association, 2022: 513].
Conclusion
In contrast to physicalists, some researchers and philosophers believe that one of the main requirements for believing in the authenticity of reports of NDEs is to strengthen the dualistic theory of the relationship between mind (soul) and body or the dualist perspective about the self and consciousness [Habermas, 2018: 243; Sabom, 1989: 50; Morse, 1996: 261; Long, 2015: 59; White, 2021: 155]. Therefore, NDEs that occur following cardiac arrest and simultaneously with general anesthesia are perhaps the most complete and clearest evidence for the possibility of consciousness outside the body. Based on what has been mentioned, it is obvious that such matters cannot be explained based on material and physical matters. Hence, the naturalist view is the weaker explanation here. From all that has been said, it can be concluded that NDEs imply the separation of the soul (mind) from the body and the immateriality of the soul (mind), and their denial stems from minds that believe in physicalism, naturalism, and scientism, which have no scientific or philosophical basis to prove them. Scientism is based on a blind ideological commitment or dogmatic thinking, not on demonstrable epistemological progress [Bunnin & Jiyuan, 2004: 624]. Despite the differences that exist among contemporary philosophers of mind, at least one thing stands as more or less a consensus view: the commitment to a naturalistic philosophy of mind [Gasser, 2007: 3; Horst, 2007: 11]. So, naturalism has become a kind of ideology in philosophical circles, while its basic assumptions are seldom examined or argued for. Therefore, if one sets aside mental presuppositions and prejudices in interpreting the NDEs, it seems that accepting the immaterial dimension is not so difficult for humans.
Today, the discussion of near-death experiences (NDEs) is a lively and dynamic discussion in the world that has also attracted the attention of philosophers, and paying attention to them, especially in the philosophy of mind, seems inevitable. These experiences date back thousands of years, although the term “near-death experiences” was not used at that time. The earliest reference to these experiences is in Plato’s Republic [Etemadinia, 2012: 40-39; Parnia, 2013: 161-162]. Although the term “near-death experiences” is now well-established, it is not necessarily accepted by everyone, and some scholars consider it incorrect [Parnia, 2013: 151-154]. Some researchers consider those who have NDEs to be people who almost died or who were dead but revived [Peterson et al., 2013: 344]. Today, one of the challenges of studies on "consciousness" is research on people who have had the aforementioned experiences. "Consciousness" is one of the most important and complex issues in the philosophy of mind, which complicates the mind-body problem [Nagel, 2004: 528].
Definition of near-death experiences
There is no general agreement on the definition of NDEs. Still, some have defined them as follows: NDEs are generally understood to be the unusual, often vivid and realistic, and sometimes profoundly life-changing experiences occurring to people who have been physiologically close to death, as in cardiac arrest or other life-threatening conditions, or psychologically close to death, as in accidents or illnesses in which they feared they would die.] Greyson et al., 2009: 213; Long, 2015: 44[.
Components of Near-Death Experiences
NDEs are sometimes reported by individuals who are resuscitated from a period of clinical death or near death. These experiences typically involve sensations of consciousness temporarily leaving the body, rising upwards and seeing one’s own “corpse” below, entering darkness or a tunnel, emerging in bright light, meeting deceased friends or relatives, encountering a being of light radiating love and acceptance, a panoramic life review with a sense of moral evaluation or self-judgment, reaching a border or limit, and ultimately returning to the body. Other features are also mentioned [Shushan, 2018: 319; Blackmore, 2017: 143].
Objection to near-death experiences
Some have raised objections to the aforementioned experiences. Therefore, those objections must be answered to prove that these experiences imply the immateriality of the soul (mind).
First: The main cause of NDEs is hypoxia or anoxia in the brain [Wulff, 2013: 831].
Answer: NDEs occur without anoxia or hypoxia, as in non-life-threatening illnesses, falls, or other near-accidents. Furthermore, the experiential phenomena associated with hypoxia are only superficially similar to NDEs. Therefore, if anoxia and related mechanisms play an important role in the generation of NDEs, why do most cardiac arrest patients not report an NDE? Clearly, anoxia is neither necessary nor sufficient for NDEs to occur. Interestingly, despite the cognitive problems in the brain in NDEs, the experiencers' perceptions also become stronger! However, it is medically unacceptable and impossible to have an organized and clear experience during unconsciousness or clinical death [Sabom, 1989: 43; Carter, 2014: 283]. Interestingly, this finding has been confirmed by examining the number of samples some researchers collected, including blind people. Much of the sensory nature of an NDE can be created through drugs or hallucinogenic-induced hallucinations. Still, it does not seem that creating positive changes in a person's personality and attitude can be objectively recreated. So the view of those who believe there is no credible evidence that a person has been able to continue living without a body is easily refuted because there is now less doubt about the NDEs of some people [Greyson et al., 2009: 217; Sabom, 1989: 355-356; Carter, 2014: 198].
Second: The parietal cortex is involved in visual imagery and the mental representation of the body. Therefore, temporal lobe epilepsy and its electrical stimulation are caused by a disruption of these functions. Accordingly, some have argued that NDEs are an example of temporal lobe seizures, i.e., seizure-like neural discharges in the temporal lobe or, more generally, in the limbic system.
Answer: One answer to this objection is that although some elements of NDEs can be artificially created through electrical stimulation of the temporal lobe in the right hemisphere of the brain and by using hallucinogenic substances, other elements of the experience, such as reviewing life events or obtaining objective information from the surrounding environment during the experience, not only cannot be recreated but there are also no clear physiological explanations for them [Kajbaf, 2013; Harvey & Watt, 2009: 240].
Third: What is observed or reported in NDEs is consistent with the experiencers' mindset, beliefs, and their culture.
Answer: One important answer to these objections is children's experiences. Children who have not yet been educated in the context of specific cultural, religious, and social beliefs also speak of experiences similar to those of adults [Shushan, 2009: 193; Long, 2015: 145].
Fourth: Some psychologists consider NDEs to be a type of defense mechanism, meaning that they defend a person who is in danger from the threat of death [Hooper & Teresi, 2016: 573].
Answer: This theory implies that the patient understands the danger of death. But such a theory does not explain why NDEs occur in patients who suffer from Stokes-Adams heart attacks, in which the heart suddenly stops working without any prior awareness and consciousness completely ceases [Parnia, 2013: 160; Kübler-Ross, 2012: 62-63; Long, 2015: 120].
Fifth: Some researchers equate out-of-body experiences with depersonalization and believe that NDEs are an example of depersonalization, which involves psychological separation from one's own body. In their opinion, concerning NDEs, depersonalization is a psychological defense reaction to a sense of threat [Harvey & Watt, 2009: 250; Boland, 2022: 197].
Answer: This is not a characteristic of NDE, as experiencers typically report that during a NDE, their sense of self is stronger, clearer, and even more real than in normal waking consciousness [Boland, 2022: 198].
Out-of-body experience
Out-of-body experience (OBE) is an important component of NDEs, which also has even been mentioned in medieval experiences [Zaleski, 1987: 187], but it is not necessarily unique to NDEs and may occur in a variety of other situations. A prominent example is the out-of-body experiences experienced by some mystics and divine philosophers [Suhrawardi, 1996: 111; American Psychiatric Association, 2022: 513].
Conclusion
In contrast to physicalists, some researchers and philosophers believe that one of the main requirements for believing in the authenticity of reports of NDEs is to strengthen the dualistic theory of the relationship between mind (soul) and body or the dualist perspective about the self and consciousness [Habermas, 2018: 243; Sabom, 1989: 50; Morse, 1996: 261; Long, 2015: 59; White, 2021: 155]. Therefore, NDEs that occur following cardiac arrest and simultaneously with general anesthesia are perhaps the most complete and clearest evidence for the possibility of consciousness outside the body. Based on what has been mentioned, it is obvious that such matters cannot be explained based on material and physical matters. Hence, the naturalist view is the weaker explanation here. From all that has been said, it can be concluded that NDEs imply the separation of the soul (mind) from the body and the immateriality of the soul (mind), and their denial stems from minds that believe in physicalism, naturalism, and scientism, which have no scientific or philosophical basis to prove them. Scientism is based on a blind ideological commitment or dogmatic thinking, not on demonstrable epistemological progress [Bunnin & Jiyuan, 2004: 624]. Despite the differences that exist among contemporary philosophers of mind, at least one thing stands as more or less a consensus view: the commitment to a naturalistic philosophy of mind [Gasser, 2007: 3; Horst, 2007: 11]. So, naturalism has become a kind of ideology in philosophical circles, while its basic assumptions are seldom examined or argued for. Therefore, if one sets aside mental presuppositions and prejudices in interpreting the NDEs, it seems that accepting the immaterial dimension is not so difficult for humans.
Article Type: Original Research |
Subject:
Philosophy of Mind (Analytical)
Received: 2024/11/22 | Accepted: 2025/02/10 | Published: 2025/02/12
Received: 2024/11/22 | Accepted: 2025/02/10 | Published: 2025/02/12
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