International Journal of Philosophy

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On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’

Received: 25 June 2019    Accepted: 13 August 2019    Published: 06 September 2019
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Abstract

In 1975, the physician Raymond Moody published the bestseller Life after Life. Moody introduced the term ‘near-death experience’ in his book to describe specific experiences of people who have survived a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, measuring instruments for the operationalization of near-death experiences have been developed and numerous, partly prospective, clinical studies have been conducted to investigate these experiences. While empirical research is already conducted on a high scientific level, there is still room for a systematic foundation for a philosophical and ontological interpretation of near-death experiences. Difficulties associated with the interpretation of near-death experiences are partly caused by the fact that the term ‘near-death experience’ is not used consistently in literature, but ambiguously and vaguely. Following the tradition of Analytic Philosophy, the aim of this work is to lay the linguistic foundations for a philosophical and ontological discussion of near-death experiences. In this context, we will distinguish between a near-death experience, a near-death memory and a near-death report, and present precise definitions of these terms. Finally, different ontological positions that can be formulated with the provided definitions will be presented.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13
Published in International Journal of Philosophy (Volume 7, Issue 3, September 2019)
Page(s) 113-121
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Near-Death Experience, Near-Death Memory, Near-Death Report, Near-Death Experience Scale

References
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Author Information
  • Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Catholic Theology, Paris Lodron University, Salzburg, Austria

  • Department of Educational Science, Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences, Paris Lodron University, Salzburg, Austria

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  • APA Style

    Stefan Herbert Gugerell, Gloria Maria Schneeweiss. (2019). On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’. International Journal of Philosophy, 7(3), 113-121. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

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    ACS Style

    Stefan Herbert Gugerell; Gloria Maria Schneeweiss. On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’. Int. J. Philos. 2019, 7(3), 113-121. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

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    AMA Style

    Stefan Herbert Gugerell, Gloria Maria Schneeweiss. On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’. Int J Philos. 2019;7(3):113-121. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13,
      author = {Stefan Herbert Gugerell and Gloria Maria Schneeweiss},
      title = {On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’},
      journal = {International Journal of Philosophy},
      volume = {7},
      number = {3},
      pages = {113-121},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijp.20190703.13},
      abstract = {In 1975, the physician Raymond Moody published the bestseller Life after Life. Moody introduced the term ‘near-death experience’ in his book to describe specific experiences of people who have survived a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, measuring instruments for the operationalization of near-death experiences have been developed and numerous, partly prospective, clinical studies have been conducted to investigate these experiences. While empirical research is already conducted on a high scientific level, there is still room for a systematic foundation for a philosophical and ontological interpretation of near-death experiences. Difficulties associated with the interpretation of near-death experiences are partly caused by the fact that the term ‘near-death experience’ is not used consistently in literature, but ambiguously and vaguely. Following the tradition of Analytic Philosophy, the aim of this work is to lay the linguistic foundations for a philosophical and ontological discussion of near-death experiences. In this context, we will distinguish between a near-death experience, a near-death memory and a near-death report, and present precise definitions of these terms. Finally, different ontological positions that can be formulated with the provided definitions will be presented.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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    AB  - In 1975, the physician Raymond Moody published the bestseller Life after Life. Moody introduced the term ‘near-death experience’ in his book to describe specific experiences of people who have survived a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, measuring instruments for the operationalization of near-death experiences have been developed and numerous, partly prospective, clinical studies have been conducted to investigate these experiences. While empirical research is already conducted on a high scientific level, there is still room for a systematic foundation for a philosophical and ontological interpretation of near-death experiences. Difficulties associated with the interpretation of near-death experiences are partly caused by the fact that the term ‘near-death experience’ is not used consistently in literature, but ambiguously and vaguely. Following the tradition of Analytic Philosophy, the aim of this work is to lay the linguistic foundations for a philosophical and ontological discussion of near-death experiences. In this context, we will distinguish between a near-death experience, a near-death memory and a near-death report, and present precise definitions of these terms. Finally, different ontological positions that can be formulated with the provided definitions will be presented.
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