Dying to Live: Near Death Experiences - Hardcover

by Susan J. Blackmore (Author)

Progress in medical science has increased our understanding of what happens when the brain begins to fail. Psychology delves ever more deeply into the nature of the self. In Dying to Live, Blackmore, a leading expert in near-death experiences, explores what psychology, biology, and medicine have to say about this extraordinary aspect of death and dying.

Back Jacket

Opinion has long been divided over Near-Death Experiences, or NDEs, some presenting them as evidence for the existence of the soul and life after death, others arguing that they are merely the chemical and physiological products of a dying brain. Susan Blackmore has interviewed many people who claim to have had NDEs, and after researching hundreds of case histories she offers an absorbing and detailed review of this fascinating and controversial phenomenon. While presenting clear physical explanations for the changes that take place within the brain, Blackmore argues that true spiritual transformation comes not from searching after a spirit or soul that survives death, but from reinterpreting the concept of "self" itself. Dying to Live succeeds in bridging the gap between the scientific and the spiritual points of view and shows how an understanding of NDEs can help us live our lives in the face of death and lead the way to genuine self-knowledge.

Author Biography

Susan Blackmore is a psychologist and writer researching consciousness, memes, and anomalous experiences, and a visiting professor at the University of Plymouth. She blogs for the Guardian and Psychology Today, and often appears on radio and television. She is the author of Dying to Live (on near-death experiences, 1993); In Search of the Light (autobiography, 1996); Test Your Psychic Powers (with Adam Hart-Davis, 1997); The Meme Machine (1999); Conversations on Consciousness (2005); Zen and the Art of Consciousness (2011); and Consciousness: An Introduction.