Reconciling materialism and dualism (Endings)

by David Turell , Thursday, March 08, 2018, 19:38 (2450 days ago) @ Balance_Maintained

Tony: It seems to me that some of this is putting the cart before the horse. We can, in a way, define whether something is alive or dead. We recognize the quality, yet defining it is rather difficult. What is the moment of death? The last heartbeat? The last brainwave or the final firing of a synapse? Perhaps it is the point where we can no longer be brought back. At any rate, defining this critical moment in a way that is universally accurate has to be the first step before speaking of nde's and immortal souls.

NDE's occur while the patient has no evidence of a functional brain cortex during resuscitation or during coma. Eban Alexander's (academic neurosurgeon) coma lasted a week with no demonstrable cortical function. Yet when he woke up, against all medical expectation, he had an amazing story to tell about his guardian angel who was a real in life sister of his he had never met.