near to death episodes: latest study (Endings)

by dhw, Friday, October 27, 2017, 14:10 (2582 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID:(2nd post): It is generally assumed that once the EEG is flat ( in 2-20 seconds) the brain is no longer receiving stimuli through consciousness. No one knows what the surge of electrical activity means other than extra electricity is recorded briefly as the brain stops receiving oxygen. Since some patients in NDE's can recognize activity around them for many minutes, the surge doesn't explain what is happening. Still evidence for dualism.

dhw: Your 2-20 seconds is irrelevant. You say “brain death is absolute” after 4-6 minutes, and so the brain is NOT dead for those minutes. That is the time when the patients recognized activity around them. If they can provide information about what happens when the brain is “absolutely” dead (and especially about events outside the operating theatre – as in many other NDEs), I’ll agree that it provides evidence for dualism.

DAVID: To explain further the brain death I'm describing after 4-6 minutes (15 minutes in very young children) is the whole cortex. The deeper structures live much longer, and it is here it is argued by some that consciousness could be hiding, but those areas are mainly fiber connections. Patients do describe events, and it is strong evidence for dualism.

The longer the physical structures live, the more evidence they provide for materialism. It is only when the materials are well and truly dead that we can say the events described – especially those outside the operating theatre and producing hitherto unknown information – provide evidence for dualism. (Such events have indeed been described, which is why I remain open-minded on the subject.)