Argument and Counterargument

Thesis/ Argument:

Veridical OBEs, the material aspect of a near death experience, support the idea that NDEs are not caused by any science or medicine that we know of today; therefore, more research needs to be done in regards to the causes and explanations of an NDE and OBE. These are extraordinary and mystical events that blur the line between life and death as we know it

Research Question:

Can near death experiences be explained by physiological or psychological causations or are they a glimpse of what happens outside of our bodies when we die. If they are not otherworldly events, then how can science explain what should be impossible? How can events such as out of body experiences even be possible?

Counterarguments:

In a source that discusses the main case of my paper (Pam Reynolds), a NDE debunker offers his explanation of what happened to Pam during her NDE and OBE. The article states, "'This report provides absolutely no evidence for survival of any sort of consciousness outside the body during near-death experiences or any other such experiences,' he says....Woerlee says Reynolds experienced anesthesia awareness, in which a person is conscious but can't move. He figures back in 1991, that happened in 1 out of every 2,000 operations." Gerald Worlee, the NDE debunker believes that Reynolds suffered from anesthesia awareness. This is when a person is under general anesthesia but they are able to recall their surroundings or even pain. However, Worlee's explanation does not account for the speakers playing sounds as loud as a lawnmower in Pam's ears.  There is no way that Pam could have heard a conversation, a drill, and the music with the speakers on, so Worlee's explanation is not accurate.

This is just one example of the ongoing debate over the NDE phenomenon; whether or not the cause of NDEs is a medical/ scientific explanation or if there is an unexplainable aspect. Scientists tend to think that the NDE phenomenon is brought on by defense mechanisms of the brain in times of extreme danger or by a lack of oxygen in the brain and abnormal activity in the temporal lobes. Also, some researchers think that certain medications or drugs administered to patients in the hospital can cause an NDE. However, one of my other sources by Bruce Greyson discusses that medications and drugs actually tend to inhibit NDEs.

Bibliographic Information:

Greyson, Bruce. “Western Scientific Approaches to Near-Death Experiences.” Humanities (Basel), vol. 4, no. 4, MDPI AG, 2015, pp. 775–96, doi:10.3390/h4040775.

Hagerty, Barbara Bradley. “Decoding The Mystery Of Near-Death Experiences.” NPR, NPR, 22 May 2009, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104397005.