Book Review - "Science and the Near-Death Experience"

Summary:


In Science and the Near-Death Experience, Chris Carter lays out his arguments for why Near-Death Experiences constitute a powerful reason to believe that life continues after death. The book is divided into three sections, with the first section showing that while consciousness and the brain are no doubt intertwined, a 'transmitter-receiver' hypotheses for the function of the brain is at least plausible. In this first section, he discusses the implications of quantum mechanics, and discusses the 'transmitter-receiver' hypothesis alongside the implications of the more standard 'production' hypothesis. In the second section, Carter delves into the Near-Death experience. He first goes over the basic statistics of the NDE, and then the symptoms that are generally reported. He then discusses the materialistic objections to NDE's, and notes why he thinks each of these objections fail. In the final section of the book, Carter talks about Deathbed Visions, and the implications of this phenomena. 


To start off, Carter goes over the standard arguments that are used to convince someone that the 'production' hypothesis is better than the 'transmitter-receiver' hypothesis. Corliss Lamont, former president of the American Humanist Association, makes the following points:


- In the evolutionary process, the versatility of living forms increases with the development of their nervous system
- The mind matures and ages with the growth and decay of the body
- Alcohol, caffeine, and other drugs affect the mind
- Destruction of brain tissue, or a blow to the head will cause impaired, or a loss of, mind function
- One can trigger memories by exciting certain parts of the brain


In all of the above scenarios, however, the transmission hypothesis makes sense in the same way the production hypothesis does. If the brain transmits the signal produced by an immaterial mind to the body, then it makes sense that with the decay of the brain, the mind will be forced to process information slower than if it had a healthy transmitter. The same will work for most of these objections to dualism, or the transmission hypothesis - it is at least logically possible that transmission works. 


(For the last objection - the analogy of a cell-phone works well. If one triggers certain parts of the brain - one can induce past memories. But if someone presses the same digits on a cell phone repeatedly, that person could conclude (wrongly) that since the same voice is heard each time, that the cell phone actually produces that voice when a certain sequence of numbers is pressed.)


At this point, it seems reasonable to think - why would we choose the transmission hypothesis when the production one seems much more reasonable? William James talked about this in 1898, saying that the transmission hypothesis may seem fantastic, but the same could be said about the production hypothesis. It's difficult to imagine how mental states can be reduced to biochemical activity in the brain (James is speaking of Reductionist Materialism, as opposed to Eliminative Materialism, which says certain mental states simply don't exist.) James came to the conclusion that the brain is an organ for limiting the mental activity produced by the mind.  Furthermore - phenomena such as telepathy, remote viewing, clairvoyance, and Near-Death Experiences would merely be times that the limitations of the brain were lowered (or all-together removed) if the transmission hypothesis is correct - while they are inexplicable under the production hypothesis. 


Carter then discusses the implications of quantum mechanics - and how theories for a dualistic interaction have been proposed as a result. One of the main problems with dualism is imagining how an immaterial mind could interact with a material brain. But if the implications of quantum mechanics are as they seem (or at the very least - if the placebo effect is a real thing), then we can see instances of the mind effecting the body, at both the macro- and microscopic level. I gave a quick overview of Carter's quantum mechanics section in my post here.


In section two, Carter first delves into the basic symptoms related to the NDE. These are, in Western accounts, as follows in order of decreasing commonality: A feeling of peace or joy, an  out-of-body experience or OBE, encountering a light, meeting deceased relatives, entering an unearthly realm, passing through a dark tunnel, a life review. Carter then discusses each one of the above in detail - using quotes from NDE's to elaborate on how these people feel as they experience their NDE.  He also talks about some of the after effects of NDE's. Typically, those who have a NDE feel it is the most significant event of their lives. While it is somewhat controversial as to what causes the NDE, the effects a NDE has on the persons life are well known. The person having a NDE usually experiences the following afterwards: a thirst for knowledge, increased compassion for others, reduced competitiveness, reduced interest in material possessions, increased interest in spirituality, greater appreciation for life and finally a greatly decreased fear of death. It should also be noted that while the symptoms of NDE's seem to relate to principles taught by religion, such as Christianity, people typically become less dogmatic in their religious practice, but increasingly spiritual in their nature. The NDE is thought to be completely independent of race, age, culture, or gender. While the symptoms of a NDE will vary slightly from culture to culture, the core experience is typically fairly constant. 


Carter then discusses the common objections, both psychological and physiological, which i'll reiterate here:


Wishful Thinking: This would suggest that people who fear death, or have a strong religious belief would be more likely to have a NDE. The evidence doesn't support this, however. People who have never heard of NDE's report the same kinds of experiences as those who are familiar with NDE's. NDE's are reported by people who did not expect to die, leaving them no time to conjure up an imaginative scenario.  Also, children who are too young to have knowledge of NDE's, or even religious training, have reported NDE's. Furthermore, sheer numbers suggest something more than merely wishful thinking may be at play.


Dissociated States: Upon severe psychological stress, the body sometimes uses a defense mechanism where it dissociates itself with the body. There are several sub-categories of this, however, the main problem here is that many cases of NDE's involve people who were not aware they were about to die, and thus not under the psychological stress needed for this theory to work. Also, this would account for the OBE, perhaps, but it'd be hard to imagine it accounting for the other symptoms. 


Imaginative Reconstructions: Some think that the reconstructions medical persons working on their body is nothing more than recalling previous hospital experiences or medical dramas. This hypothesis would only account for the OBE, or feeling of watching one's operation. This was tested by having observers in the corner of an operation room to watch an operation, and then recalling details, compared with those who underwent a NDE and their analysis of their own operation. 80% of the subjects placed in the corner made at least one error in describing the resuscitation technique, despite physically watching it and feeling confident of what they saw. In contrast, not one of the 32 NDE survivors made a mistake in recalling their own hospital experience. 


Semiconscious Perception: This deals with the possibility that people who recall things about their operation are actually somewhat perceptive during this time. However, those who have had a NDE typically distinguish between seeing things and feeling the operation itself. People report seeing themselves jolt, but not feeling the shock itself. Also, using hypnosis, people are sometimes able to recall auditory aspects of their operation, but never visual. Third, people who have had perception during an operation, as well as a NDE, are easily able to distinguish between the two experiences. Also, people have reported NDE's when nobody else was present in the room to say anything. 


Endorphins: Endorphins have been proposed to account for the feeling of peace and painlessness during the NDE. However, pain-killers like endorphins have effects that last for twenty to seventy hours, while those have a NDE typically feel pain as soon as the experience ends. This hypothesis is difficult to test, and it's possible that small amounts could be emitted that to last only five to ten minutes, but the problem is the instantaneous pain return reported by many NDE's when they re-enter their body. Also, there is no evidence that the brain produces and secretes this chemical when near-death. 


Oxygen Starvation (anoxia): As blood flow to the brain is decreased, a set of phenomena will be experienced by the individual. Typically those who experience anoxia have mental laziness, heightened irritability, difficulties in concentrating and difficulty remembering. This is in stark contrast to the NDE, which is usually remembered vividly and accompanied by heightened perception. Also, in a study done in 2001, a blood sample was taken from those who where near-death and had a NDE, and those near-death who did not have a NDE. The study found that those who had the NDE actually had higher oxygen levels in their blood. 


Excessive Carbon Dioxide: It is argued that excessive carbon dioxide to the brain causes the NDE. Upon first examination - many of the symptoms of excessive carbon dioxide are similar with NDE's. However, there are problems with this model. First, other elements are common that are not with the NDE, such as brightly colored geometric patterns, fantasized objects like musical notes, and seeing in duplicate or triplicate. Also - carbon dioxide will cause convulsive behavior in extreme cases. Furthermore, any intensive care unit would not tolerate a build-up of carbon dioxide in the blood of a patient experiencing a heard-attack, thus ruling out NDE's experienced by those patients. Furthermore, research done has noted the same thing with anoxia - that blood samples of NDE'rs disprove this hypothesis. Cases have been noted where carbon dioxide is lower than normal in cases where the patient experiences a NDE.


Temporal Lobe Seizures: According to a study by Michael Persinger, temporal lobe seizures can account for all the experiences of a NDE, including being pulled towards a light, floating, profound meaning, and hearing beautiful music. However, it failed to admit that the most common aspects of the study found patients felt 'dizzy or odd,' 'tingling sensations,' and 'vibrations in body.' Actually, the most common things found are things not reported in NDE's, which experiences from a NDE reported less frequently. Furthermore, this research has been dealt a blow when subsequent studies attempted to recreate the data produced by Persinger have found no correlation between temporal lobe seizures and the typical symptoms of the NDE.


Ketamine: The best theory for a naturalistic explanation comes from taking the drug ketamine, where people reported feeling out of body, universal significance, and other common aspects with the NDE. This rests on two assumptions: first, that the brain produces a ketamine like chemical when dying, and second, that the experience closely resembles a NDE. Carter talks a lot about Ketamine, as many people who have done experimentation with ketamine feel that it can actually detach the mind from the brain, producing a genuine NDE. However, there are also many instances of horrific experiences while taking ketamine, and people who have had a NDE and then take ketamine will note the experiences are very different. 


Michael Sabom, who went into NDE studies to debunk reports of people genuinely feeling what they claim to experience, now thinks that no explanation brought forward can account for the experience of the NDE, and now considers them likely authentic. 


Carter wraps up his discussion on NDE's by going over what, in my opinion, is the death blow to naturalistic explanations. NDE's, by their nature, are hard to test, but there are several documented cases where people experience things otherwise impossible to experience - which is later verified by hospital personnel. He also discusses how many more people who do not have their experience verified claim to experience conversations remote from their body. These 'verdical' experiences are the best evidence towards any naturalistic explanation being implausible, and point towards the NDE being authentic. Many naturalistic explanations seek to disregard the data that seems inexplicable, and focus solely on the data that could be conceivably explained away, even though no present model can account for all symptoms.  However, if we hold that these verdical experiences are genuine, the only conclusion, it would seem, is that the mind and brain, while closely linked, become separated upon death. 


In the final section of his book, Carter goes over the Deathbed Vision, which typically consists of a person seeing deceased relatives that escort them away from their life on earth. Skeptics will claim these to be wishful thinking, but there are instances where the person does not expect to see someone, and seems surprised by what they see. Furthermore, oftentimes the dying patient will fight against his visions, not wanting to be taken away by these unwelcome visitors.


Perhaps even better evidence is the consistency in which only deceased relatives are seen. In some instances, the person will see their parents, as well as a sister or brother who they believe to be alive, and are confused by this. There are cases where this person they see is in fact dead, however, and the information is withheld from the dying patient so not to upset them. 


Carter, like many others who research the afterlife, come to the conclusion that the best, and perhaps only reasonable, hypothesis is that these instances are actually what they appear to be. He believes that no naturalistic explanation can account for the similarities experienced, much less the verdical experiences. He believes the evidence, if looked at in an unbiased manner, will be overwhelming in evidence of survival.


My take:


There are many types of arguments used to prove the existence of God, or at the very least the immortality of the soul, but I feel that aside from personal Divine Revelation, the NDE, as well as afterlife research in general, is about as close to 'knowing' as we can get. Here are some of the reasons I feel this way.


For naturalism to make sense of NDE's:


- 'Verdical' near-death experiences, or those verified by hospital personnel, need to be sheer dumb luck.
- Other cases that aren't verified, where the NDE'r experiences things remote from their body need to be fraud.
- Since almost all NDE's believe their experience to be authentic, they need to be deceived in some way, so convincingly, that they fully believe what they experienced.


I'm sure one can add more to the above list, but the evidence for the afterlife is, in my opinion, nothing less than staggering. Carter ends his book by saying that his next book will deal with evidence for mediumship and reincarnation - which he believes to be even more strong than the NDE evidence (I have trouble imagining how!). If there was no such thing as the NDE, I think I would have a hard time believing that life after death existed. Fortunately - such evidence does exist. If there is life after death, then we should expect to see exactly what we do. 


Most importantly, the information about life after death is such a comfort. People who have a NDE almost never fear death, and as a result live their life so much more stress-free. While society makes a big deal of death, people who have underwent this experience don't feel that way at all - in fact some look forward to it. Since this information is available, I think we should take it and live life unafraid of death, knowing it's just the end of life here, and the start of a much deeper existence.