Abstract

Discusses near-death experiences (NDEs) in relation to the fields of cognitive psychology and parapsychology. Many researchers have produced evidence supporting the view that the NDE, at least in Western cultures, exhibits what can be called a core experience, which includes: (1) a peaceful state of mind; (2) an out-of-body experience; and (3) traveling into darkness or through a tunnel. The search for an explanation for the NDE has been rendered much more contentious and problematic by raising the same question that is basic to parapsychology: can these experiences be incorporated within the reductionistic and biological sciences of physiology and psychology? NDEs are not simply a product of neurobiological mechanisms. While the larger issue of what is meant by the self may be the object of a philosophical debate, some issues relating to theories of the NDEs can be resolved experimentally.