Near-Death Experiences, Religion, and Life After Death

• Main Author: Wallace, Holly
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholar Commons 2004
• Subjects: NDE; survival hypothesis; veridical evidence; corroborative NDEs; OBE; American Studies; Arts and Humanities
• Online Access: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/1288; https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2287&context=etd

This thesis investigates current scientific literature on near-death experiences (NDE), focusing on two common types of models used to explain the NDE: biological models and spiritual models. Four biological models and two spiritual models are presented and evaluated. During the evaluation, particular emphasis is placed on how these models accommodate veridical evidence. I found that, of the biological models, only one could account for veridical evidence, whereas both of the spiritual models provided explanations of these strange occurrences. From this conclusion, the implications of NDE research on human survival are explored.