near to death episodes: latest study (Endings)

by David Turell , Friday, October 27, 2017, 14:34 (2582 days ago) @ dhw

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.

dhw: 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.)

The area of discussion must remain the human cortex. The time limits I've given are related to postmortem examination of brains which did not survive resuscitation and showed very extensive damage to the cortex, which is very sensitive to oxygen supply. Note, heart stops, unconsciousness in 20 seconds or less. To the best of our knowledge the cortex is where consciousness is conducted.