Reconciling materialism and dualism (Endings)

by dhw, Friday, March 09, 2018, 10:20 (2449 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.

DAVID: NDE's occur while the patient has no evidence of a functional brain cortex during resuscitation or during coma.

I agree with Tony regarding NDEs. How do we know that the brain is completely dead? However, one then has to explain how a patient lying in bed can acquire knowledge that he/she could not possibly have had beforehand (e.g. the death of a relative). I’m not taking sides – typical agnostic! – but I am not prepared to dismiss such psychic experiences out of hand.