Research Proposal

 Working Title: Near Death Experiences: Beyond the Brain or Because of the Brain?

Topic Description:

Near death experiences (NDE) are lucid experiences while unconscious, comatose, or clinically dead. They occur when a person is extremely close to death. However, it should be almost impossible for people to experience such intense and clear visions while they are that close to death. Nearly 1 in 10 people have had a near death experience. They have been reported by all kinds of people, from children to physicians to atheists to scientists. No near death experience is the exact same as another, but they do all share similar characteristics. Some of these similarities include a warm sensation, passing through a tunnel into a light, a lost sense of time, and an intense and positive experience. The debate over NDEs is whether or not they are actually a glimpse into the afterlife. Some of the readings I have found discuss the scientific explanations behind near death experiences; however, they do address the fact that there is still no definite explanation. No one can explain why people who have an NDE also have an out of body experience. About 45% of people who have an NDE report having an out of body experience where they can see and hear events apart from their physical body, which should be impossible. This is what science cannot explain. This topic is related to the paranormal because experiencers can sometimes see and report things that they should have no idea about. 

Research Question: 

Are near death experiences caused by explainable factors or are they evidence of the afterlife? In other words, can near death experiences be explained by psychological/ physiological reasonings or are they actually a glimpse of what happens when we die? If they are not spiritual events, then how can science explain what should be impossible?

Theoretical Frame(s):

A study conducted by Jeffery Long, a world renowned expert on near death experiences, called Near Death Experiences: Evidence for Their Reality discusses multiple pieces of evidence supporting the realness of NDEs. Long describes nine pieces of evidence that show how near death experiences cannot be medically explained. There is a large amount of out of body experiences that cannot be explained by medical reasoning or any known brain function. Also, near death experiences can occur in the blind. They report visions and images that they could have no possible way of knowing about. The study goes on to discuss many more pieces of evidence supporting the reality of NDEs. 

Also, there is a book by John Hagan called The Science of Near Death Experiences, which is a collection of papers written by researchers and physicians with varying perspectives towards near death experiences. I found this book helpful since it presented both sides of the argument and also included some of the physician’s personal experiences. The book is also very evidence based. It discusses possible reasonings behind NDEs but also explains why these reasonings might not be true or all there is to it. In addition, one of the papers in the book is written by Kevin Nelson. Nelson’s paper is titled Neuroscience Perspectives on Near Death Experiences. This paper addresses the explanations behind some of the components of NDEs, such as the feelings of warmth and oneness being caused by serotonin-2a receptors (Nelson 114). However, towards the end of his paper, Nelson points out that near death experiences should be left open to interpretation by the person who experienced it. If one believes it is a spiritual message, then that’s what it should be to them. 

Case(s) or Examples:

Due to the nature of near death experiences, it is very hard to study them objectively. It is also impossible to know whether or not the subject is telling the entire truth; however, there are still some cases that are recounted in specific detail. One example is from a 5 year old blind girl named Marta. In the study conducted by Jefferey Long, he provides a quote from Marta that states, “ I could go anywhere, even to the tops of trees, simply by my intending to go there. I was legally blind. For the first time I was able to see leaves on trees, bird’s feathers, bird’s eyes, details on telephone poles and what was in people’s back yards. I was seeing far better than 20/20 vision.” (Long) Prior to Marta’s experience, she was swimming in a lake and drowned. However, while people were trying to resuscitate her, she had an NDE where she was able to see for the first time. 

Other cases I find to be very interesting are cases dealing with children. When children experience an NDE, they may have a harder time explaining it, but there are still many similarities between their experiences and those of adults. Also, children are not exposed to pre-existing beliefs or even know about NDEs. This furthers the point that NDEs are not caused by subconscious thoughts, but something else. Ultimately, some parts of NDEs can be explained by science, but most of it cannot be medically explained. 

Bibliography

Fischer, John Martin, and Benjamin Mitchell-Yellin. Near-Death Experiences : Understanding Visions of the Afterlife, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/lib/rutgers-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4545351.

Hagan, John C.. The Science of near-Death Experiences, University of Missouri Press, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/rutgers-ebooks/detail.action?docID=4811265

Long, Jeffrey. “Near-death experience. Evidence for their reality.” Missouri medicine vol. 111,5 (2014): 372-80.

Morse, Melvin., and Paul Perry. Closer to the Light : Learning from Children’s Near-Death Experiences . Villard Books, 1990.

Murray, Craig D. Psychological Scientific Perspectives on Out-of-Body and Near-Death Experiences. Nova Science Publishers, 2009.