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.
Highlights
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are unique conscious, self-related emotional, spiritual and mystical unexplained experiences occurring in life-threatening situations or situations that may feel life-threatening, including cardiac arrests, traffic accidents, physical assaults and drug abuse.[1]
WP 1: We showed that thanatosis occurs at all major nodes in a National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) taxonomy-based cladogram, and is associated with a survival benefit (Fig. 2)
To confirm that NDEs originate from thanatosis, prospective studies might inquire for tonic immobility in people taking the initiative to report their NDEs and unprimed laypeople
Summary
Near-death experiences (NDEs) are unique conscious, self-related emotional, spiritual and mystical unexplained experiences occurring in life-threatening situations or situations that may feel life-threatening, including cardiac arrests, traffic accidents, physical assaults and drug abuse.[1] Typical elements of NDEs include distortion of time perception, increased speed of thoughts, life reviews, out-of-body experiences, feeling one with the universe, feeling peace and acceptance, sometimes even joy, and visual and auditory hallucinations, including seeing bright lights, being in a tunnel and meeting spirits.[1]. If this would be the case, comparative biology might allow insights into the origins of NDEs.[14,15,16]
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