Reconciling materialism and dualism (Endings)

by David Turell , Saturday, March 10, 2018, 15:10 (2232 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: 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.

DAVID: The brain is not dead in resuscitations! The cortex is stunned and inactive from loss of adequate blood supply. If that supply returns the cortex wakes up.

dhw: Agreed. I should not have used the word “dead”, and your correction makes the argument a great deal clearer. I should have said: how do we know that the brain is completely stunned and inactive? That was Tony’s point about defining death in relation to Near Death Experiences. Sceptics may argue that the brain is NOT inactive. In my post above I have also offered a counter to the sceptics.

Some recent research has found a few slow very deep EEG waves, not representing thought areas. All areas stay alive, if not really functional, when resuscitation proceeds. The key is to get the heart pumping and everything can come back, hopefully completely.