The Science of Near-Death Experiences
theatlantic.com
The Science of Near-Death Experiences
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Re: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
#2Read the first bit, then scanned some, then read the closing, so fair warning: I may have missed some important parts. (I like The Atlantic, but I do not always have time to consume it)
I think the problem in digesting all of this that the author describes is due to the fact that this is not a science -- it's philosophy. That doesn't make it any less real, it just makes the issues and questions more difficult to grasp.
I would find it odd if people traveled half-way around the world to go to a conference on NDEs and all thought the idea was hokum, so the author may be a little unfair in his observations. If you're looking for falsifiability and reproducibility in something that so far has been intermittant and subjective, then you are using the wrong tool.
What's probably going to happen -- especially with some of the suspended animation stuff going on -- is that we'll start seeing an emerging "science of death". Assuming the suspended animation stuff keeps chugging along, the AI guys start augmenting/transferring small bits of consciousness, and we gain better and better instrumentation to look at what happens at death? We're going to start seeing a really cool field of study open up in another 20-40 years. But we ain't there yet, sadly. Right now it's just a lot of fumbling around in the dark.
Re: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
#3What we can perceive collectively tells us little about our collective consciousness. Humans are more than just meat.
Re: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
#4What we can perceive collectively tells us little about our collective consciousness. Humans are more than just meat.
[deleted]
Re: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
#5What we can perceive collectively tells us little about our collective consciousness. Humans are more than just meat.
Why do you think that we are more than 'thinking meat'? Seems like there is no evidence for that at all.
[Let’s say experiments are done, and there is finally a comprehensive, scientifically rigorous, and materialist account of what causes an NDE. What then? Does it mean that all the stories people tell of seeing angels and meeting their deceased relatives are just fairy tales to be ignored?]
Yes, but that's even unrelated to NDE's.
Re: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
#6What we can perceive collectively tells us little about our collective consciousness. Humans are more than just meat.
Why do you think that we are more than 'thinking meat'? Seems like there is no evidence for that at all. [Let’s say experiments are done, and there is finally a comprehensive, scientifically rigorous, and materialist account of what causes an NDE. What then? Does it mean that all the stories people tell of seeing angels and meeting their deceased relatives are just fairy tales to be ignored?] Yes, but that's even unr…
> Why do you think that we are more than 'thinking meat'? Seems like there is no evidence for that at all.
Irrelevent
> but that's even unrelated to NDE's
Exactly
What is interesting is how NDEs share traits of the unconscious mind and its archetypes. Commonality that is shared by everyone from dreams, through to meditative states, vision quests and various states of psychosis. Even Jung started building his framework with insights from an NDE; the incorporation of eastern philosophy into our western analytical model allows for a very deep study of our psyche -- regardless of world-view -- and opens up horizons for the mind that were previously inaccessible due to a lack of sophistication in that area. NDEs are another intrigue that can be added to the list of phenomenon that allow us insight into our psyche.
Re: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
#7What we can perceive collectively tells us little about our collective consciousness. Humans are more than just meat.
Why do you think that we are more than 'thinking meat'? Seems like there is no evidence for that at all. [Let’s say experiments are done, and there is finally a comprehensive, scientifically rigorous, and materialist account of what causes an NDE. What then? Does it mean that all the stories people tell of seeing angels and meeting their deceased relatives are just fairy tales to be ignored?] Yes, but that's even unr…
'Thinking meat' is mere derogatory verbiage appropriate for an arena like HN but that's just jousting.
Re: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
#8What we can perceive collectively tells us little about our collective consciousness. Humans are more than just meat.
Why do you think that we are more than 'thinking meat'? Seems like there is no evidence for that at all. [Let’s say experiments are done, and there is finally a comprehensive, scientifically rigorous, and materialist account of what causes an NDE. What then? Does it mean that all the stories people tell of seeing angels and meeting their deceased relatives are just fairy tales to be ignored?] Yes, but that's even unr…
Self awareness differentiates us from "thinking meat".
Re: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
#9Reading this gave me a lot more respect for the god of the gaps, or, at least, the gaps themselves.
Re: The Science of Near-Death Experiences
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why do you think that we are more than 'thinking meat'? Seems like there is no evidence for that at all. [Let’s say experiments are done, and there is finally a comprehensive, scientifically rigorous, and materialist account of what causes an NDE. What then? Does it mean that all the stories people tell of seeing angels and meeting their deceased relatives are just fairy tales to be ignored?] Yes, but that's even unr…
Self awareness differentiates us from "thinking meat".
Why is self-awareness an indication of something other than "thinking meat"? Why can't it be a more abstract form of thought?