Serial/Series Title

Guest Editorial: Setting the Record Straight: Correcting Two Recent Cases of Materialist Misrepresentation of My Research and Conclusions (open access)

Guest Editorial: Setting the Record Straight: Correcting Two Recent Cases of Materialist Misrepresentation of My Research and Conclusions

Abstract: In two recent publications, one by Dean Mobbs and Caroline Watt and the other by Kevin Nelson, I was surprised to find my and my colleagues' 2001 article in the Lancet misrepresented. In this Editorial, I attempt to correct those misrepresentations and to discuss them with regard to responsible scholarship in the ongoing debate in the professional literature about the relationship of mind and brain.
Date: Winter 2011
Creator: van Lommel, Pim
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Panoramic Memory, Affect, and Sensations of Detachment in the Dying: Discussions Published in France, 1889-1903 (open access)

Panoramic Memory, Affect, and Sensations of Detachment in the Dying: Discussions Published in France, 1889-1903

Abstract: Between 1889 and 1903, several authors published papers in the French journal "Revue Philosophique de la France et de l'Etranger" and in a few other publications in which they discussed panoramic memory, changes of affect, and a sense of detachment from the body in dying persons. With a few exceptions these publications have been ignored in modern discussion of the phenomena of the dying. Whereas philosopher Victor Egger postulated the psychological explanation that panoramic memory results from the dying person's thoughts of imminent death, physicians Paul Sollier and Charles Féré and psychologist Henri Piéron proposed that it, as well as changes in affect, result from physiological changes in the body sensibility and in the brain. Like many authors today who speculate about near-death experiences, the authors in question did not have much evidence for their explanations. These ideas, and their physiological aspects, were part of a general interest in unusual phenomena and states of consciousness during the 19th century.
Date: Winter 2011
Creator: Alvarado, Carlos S.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Spirituality Scale Ceiling Effects and Near-Death Experiences: An Exploratory Study (open access)

Spirituality Scale Ceiling Effects and Near-Death Experiences: An Exploratory Study

Abstract: A common theme noted among near-death experiencers (NDErs) is the affirmation of increased spirituality after their near-death experiences (NDEs). This study focused on the question of whether the Human Spirituality Scale (HSS), a commonly used spirituality measure, would exhibit a ceiling effect among NDErs. Thirty-seven participants from eight countries participated in the online study. HSS scores were compared with NDE Scale (Greyson, 1990) scores and demographic information. Results revealed no ceiling effect but revealed a positive correlation between the HSS and the NDE Scale. Additionally, exploratory post-hoc analysis was conducted on participant subgroups, comparing males and females and participants from India and the United States. Finally, preliminary findings regarding four NDErs self-identified as atheist/agnostic are described.
Date: Winter 2011
Creator: Rominger, Ryan A.
Object Type: Article
System: The UNT Digital Library
Book Review: The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain: A Neurologist's Search for the God Experience (open access)

Book Review: The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain: A Neurologist's Search for the God Experience

Review of a book titled "The Spiritual Doorway in the Brain: A Neurologist's Search for the God Experience" written by neurologist Kevin Nelson.
Date: Winter 2011
Creator: Smit, Rudolf H.
Object Type: Review
System: The UNT Digital Library
Editor's Foreword [Winter 2011] (open access)

Editor's Foreword [Winter 2011]

Editorial statement introducing the contents of the journal issue and providing other relevant notes.
Date: Winter 2011
Creator: Holden, Janice Miner
Object Type: Text
System: The UNT Digital Library