On Defining ‘Near-Death Experience’, ‘Near-Death Memory’ and ‘Near-Death Report’

Abstract

In 1975, the physician Raymond Moody published the bestseller Life after Life. Moody introduced the term ‘near-death experience’ in his book to describe specific experiences of people who have survived a life-threatening situation. Meanwhile, measuring instruments for the operationalization of near-death experiences have been developed and numerous, partly prospective, clinical studies have been conducted to investigate these experiences. While empirical research is already conducted on a high scientific level, there is still room for a systematic foundation for a philosophical and ontological interpretation of near-death experiences. Difficulties associated with the interpretation of near-death experiences are partly caused by the fact that the term ‘near-death experience’ is not used consistently in literature, but ambiguously and vaguely. Following the tradition of Analytic Philosophy, the aim of this work is to lay the linguistic foundations for a philosophical and ontological discussion of near-death experiences. In this context, we will distinguish between a near-death experience, a near-death memory and a near-death report, and present precise definitions of these terms. Finally, different ontological positions that can be formulated with the provided definitions will be presented.