On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’

Stefan Herbert Gugerell; Gloria Maria Schneeweiss

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

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On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’

Stefan Herbert Gugerell, Gloria Maria Schneeweiss

Published in International Journal of Philosophy (Volume 7, Issue 3)

Received: 25 June 2019 Accepted: 13 August 2019 Published: 6 September 2019

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Abstract

In 1975, the physician Raymond Moody published the bestseller Life after Life. Moody introduced the term ‘near-death experience’ in his book to describe specific experiences of people who have survived a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, measuring instruments for the operationalization of near-death experiences have been developed and numerous, partly prospective, clinical studies have been conducted to investigate these experiences. While empirical research is already conducted on a high scientific level, there is still room for a systematic foundation for a philosophical and ontological interpretation of near-death experiences. Difficulties associated with the interpretation of near-death experiences are partly caused by the fact that the term ‘near-death experience’ is not used consistently in literature, but ambiguously and vaguely. Following the tradition of Analytic Philosophy, the aim of this work is to lay the linguistic foundations for a philosophical and ontological discussion of near-death experiences. In this context, we will distinguish between a near-death experience, a near-death memory and a near-death report, and present precise definitions of these terms. Finally, different ontological positions that can be formulated with the provided definitions will be presented.

Published in	International Journal of Philosophy (Volume 7, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13
Page(s)	113-121
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Near-Death Experience, Near-Death Memory, Near-Death Report, Near-Death Experience Scale

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Stefan Herbert Gugerell, Gloria Maria Schneeweiss. (2019). On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’. International Journal of Philosophy, 7(3), 113-121. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

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ACS Style

Stefan Herbert Gugerell; Gloria Maria Schneeweiss. On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’. Int. J. Philos. 2019, 7(3), 113-121. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

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AMA Style

Stefan Herbert Gugerell, Gloria Maria Schneeweiss. On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’. Int J Philos. 2019;7(3):113-121. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13,
  author = {Stefan Herbert Gugerell and Gloria Maria Schneeweiss},
  title = {On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’},
  journal = {International Journal of Philosophy},
  volume = {7},
  number = {3},
  pages = {113-121},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijp.20190703.13},
  abstract = {In 1975, the physician Raymond Moody published the bestseller Life after Life. Moody introduced the term ‘near-death experience’ in his book to describe specific experiences of people who have survived a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, measuring instruments for the operationalization of near-death experiences have been developed and numerous, partly prospective, clinical studies have been conducted to investigate these experiences. While empirical research is already conducted on a high scientific level, there is still room for a systematic foundation for a philosophical and ontological interpretation of near-death experiences. Difficulties associated with the interpretation of near-death experiences are partly caused by the fact that the term ‘near-death experience’ is not used consistently in literature, but ambiguously and vaguely. Following the tradition of Analytic Philosophy, the aim of this work is to lay the linguistic foundations for a philosophical and ontological discussion of near-death experiences. In this context, we will distinguish between a near-death experience, a near-death memory and a near-death report, and present precise definitions of these terms. Finally, different ontological positions that can be formulated with the provided definitions will be presented.},
 year = {2019}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’
AU  - Stefan Herbert Gugerell
AU  - Gloria Maria Schneeweiss
Y1  - 2019/09/06
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13
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T2  - International Journal of Philosophy
JF  - International Journal of Philosophy
JO  - International Journal of Philosophy
SP  - 113
EP  - 121
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7455
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AB  - In 1975, the physician Raymond Moody published the bestseller Life after Life. Moody introduced the term ‘near-death experience’ in his book to describe specific experiences of people who have survived a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, measuring instruments for the operationalization of near-death experiences have been developed and numerous, partly prospective, clinical studies have been conducted to investigate these experiences. While empirical research is already conducted on a high scientific level, there is still room for a systematic foundation for a philosophical and ontological interpretation of near-death experiences. Difficulties associated with the interpretation of near-death experiences are partly caused by the fact that the term ‘near-death experience’ is not used consistently in literature, but ambiguously and vaguely. Following the tradition of Analytic Philosophy, the aim of this work is to lay the linguistic foundations for a philosophical and ontological discussion of near-death experiences. In this context, we will distinguish between a near-death experience, a near-death memory and a near-death report, and present precise definitions of these terms. Finally, different ontological positions that can be formulated with the provided definitions will be presented.
VL  - 7
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Stefan Herbert Gugerell

Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Catholic Theology, Paris Lodron University, Salzburg, Austria
Gloria Maria Schneeweiss

Department of Educational Science, Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences, Paris Lodron University, Salzburg, Austria

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APA Style

Stefan Herbert Gugerell, Gloria Maria Schneeweiss. (2019). On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’. International Journal of Philosophy, 7(3), 113-121. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

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ACS Style

Stefan Herbert Gugerell; Gloria Maria Schneeweiss. On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’. Int. J. Philos. 2019, 7(3), 113-121. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

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AMA Style

Stefan Herbert Gugerell, Gloria Maria Schneeweiss. On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’. Int J Philos. 2019;7(3):113-121. doi: 10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13,
  author = {Stefan Herbert Gugerell and Gloria Maria Schneeweiss},
  title = {On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’},
  journal = {International Journal of Philosophy},
  volume = {7},
  number = {3},
  pages = {113-121},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijp.20190703.13},
  abstract = {In 1975, the physician Raymond Moody published the bestseller Life after Life. Moody introduced the term ‘near-death experience’ in his book to describe specific experiences of people who have survived a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, measuring instruments for the operationalization of near-death experiences have been developed and numerous, partly prospective, clinical studies have been conducted to investigate these experiences. While empirical research is already conducted on a high scientific level, there is still room for a systematic foundation for a philosophical and ontological interpretation of near-death experiences. Difficulties associated with the interpretation of near-death experiences are partly caused by the fact that the term ‘near-death experience’ is not used consistently in literature, but ambiguously and vaguely. Following the tradition of Analytic Philosophy, the aim of this work is to lay the linguistic foundations for a philosophical and ontological discussion of near-death experiences. In this context, we will distinguish between a near-death experience, a near-death memory and a near-death report, and present precise definitions of these terms. Finally, different ontological positions that can be formulated with the provided definitions will be presented.},
 year = {2019}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’
AU  - Stefan Herbert Gugerell
AU  - Gloria Maria Schneeweiss
Y1  - 2019/09/06
PY  - 2019
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13
T2  - International Journal of Philosophy
JF  - International Journal of Philosophy
JO  - International Journal of Philosophy
SP  - 113
EP  - 121
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7455
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijp.20190703.13
AB  - In 1975, the physician Raymond Moody published the bestseller Life after Life. Moody introduced the term ‘near-death experience’ in his book to describe specific experiences of people who have survived a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, measuring instruments for the operationalization of near-death experiences have been developed and numerous, partly prospective, clinical studies have been conducted to investigate these experiences. While empirical research is already conducted on a high scientific level, there is still room for a systematic foundation for a philosophical and ontological interpretation of near-death experiences. Difficulties associated with the interpretation of near-death experiences are partly caused by the fact that the term ‘near-death experience’ is not used consistently in literature, but ambiguously and vaguely. Following the tradition of Analytic Philosophy, the aim of this work is to lay the linguistic foundations for a philosophical and ontological discussion of near-death experiences. In this context, we will distinguish between a near-death experience, a near-death memory and a near-death report, and present precise definitions of these terms. Finally, different ontological positions that can be formulated with the provided definitions will be presented.
VL  - 7
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download