The evolutionary origin of near-death experiences: a systematic investigation
C. Peinkhofer, C. Martial, H. Cassol, Steven Laureys, D. Kondziella
Brain Communications June 22, 2021 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab132 via Semantic Scholar
Summary
Near-death experiences occur across cultures, suggesting a biological basis. This work tests the hypothesis that thanatosis, or death-feigning—a last-resort defense seen in animals from insects to humans—is the evolutionary origin of near-death experiences. Thanatosis is a highly preserved survival strategy. Humans attacked by animal, human, or modern predators can exhibit both thanatosis and near-death experiences, and their phenomenology and effects overlap. The evidence indicates thanatosis is the evolutionary foundation of near-death experiences, with the shared biological purpose of survival. Language may have transformed these stereotyped death-feigning events into the rich perceptions of near-death experiences, extending them to non-predatory situations.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Preregistered Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Medicine Biology Philosophy |
| Citations | 49 |
| Key finding | Thanatosis is the evolutionary origin of near-death experiences, and their shared biological purpose is survival. |
Abstract
Abstract Near-death experiences are known from all parts of the world, various times and numerous cultural backgrounds. This universality suggests that near-death experiences may have a biological origin and purpose. Adhering to a preregistered protocol, we investigate the hypothesis that thanatosis, aka death-feigning, a last-resort defense mechanism in animals, is the evolutionary origin of near-death experiences. We first show that thanatosis is a highly preserved survival strategy occurring at all major nodes in a cladogram ranging from insects to humans. We then show that humans under attack by animal, human and ‘modern’ predators can experience both thanatosis and near-death experiences, and we further show that the phenomenology and the effects of the two overlap. In summary, we build a line of evidence suggesting that thanatosis is the evolutionary foundation of near-death experiences and that their shared biological purpose is the benefit of survival. We propose that the acquisition of language enabled humans to transform these events from relatively stereotyped death-feigning under predatory attacks into the rich perceptions that form near-death experiences and extend to non-predatory situations.