Sawing the branch of near‐death experience research: A critical analysis of Parnia et al.’s paper
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences June 21, 2022 R. Evrard, E. Pratte, Th. Rabeyron 13 citations
A critique argues that a recent proposal to relabel near-death experiences (NDEs) as “recalled experience of death” and to consider only those with objective danger as “authentic” is not well supported by data. Instead, NDEs form a continuum of varied conscious experiences arising from the separation of processes normally combined in mental activity. The claimed core phenomenology of NDEs faces multiple criticisms, and closeness to actual death is not a decisive feature. The authors’ reliance on Raymond Moody’s model creates a biased division that cannot serve as a basis for consensus.