Dying to Live: Near Death Experiences

Susan Blackmore once believed in Tarot, ESP, and all things wild and wonderful. Alas, for those who yearn to believe in the Wonders of the Invisible World, she is a meticulous thinker who carefully gathers and investigates the evidence. This is by far the best book on NDEs. But if what you want is some reassurance of life after death, this book will disappoint. Beautifully thought out and wonderfully written.

This is an excellent, well written, thought-provoking book. Susan Blackmore started her research career hunting for evidence of the supernatural. When most people would have given up, she persisted, tracking down other people's experiences and doing her own experiments. One track of that journey took her into "Near Death Experiences", which is partly what this book is about. While we can never really know what happens during death, no one has tried harder or with greater honesty to find out. Her account of that journey and where it took her makes fascinating reading, and while her conclusions may take some digestion, at least they are reassuringly rational.

I thought this book was already important in itself because it discusses perhaps the most important subject - death and the afterlife, thru a skeptical examination of NDEs. Indeed, Blackmore discusses the various characteristics of NDEs with studies on hand and exemplary scholarship. Just on that alone it would be well worth its price.But this book is truly groundbreaking where Susan Blackmore discusses her idea of the self as a mental construct, in the last chapters. Basically, she discusses how the NDE experience exists as a consequence of the breakdown of the sense of self, and the brain tries desperately to reconstitute a comprehensible model of reality. From this, she concludes that the very idea of a priviledged sense of self is nothing but a construct of the brain.There are just too many things to recommend in this book to not sound fawning over it - as trite as this probably sounds, I think "Dying to Live" is nothing short of revolutionary.

Susan Blackmore beautifully demonstrates how the scientific method can be applied to the mystically charged subject of Near Death Experience (NDE). Her analysis of existing data and review of current theories is meticulously thorough, but engaging and insightful. Most researchers in this field, when faced with its more difficult mysteries, simply chalk it all up as ghostly round trips to heaven, or ask us to swallow whole universes of improbabilities in parallel planes of existence. Instead, Ms. Blackmore seeks the answers using a wide range of related studies and established theories in human physiology and psychology. This is how scientific research ought to be done -- by the book -- with exhaustive examination of the information, consistent application of scientific principles, and without slanting the conclusions toward one's own cosmic agenda. The rewards for such due diligence are verifiable theories explaining many aspects of the NDE. These are thoughtfully presented, carefully supported, and far more plausible than most competing theories. Blackmore's enlightening examinations of the human mind reveal its remarkable mechanisms for supporting our survival, our sanity, and our self-delusion. It's science without seance; research without a religion; facts without fabrications. A masterpiece in the art of clear, critical, and rational thought.

Although "believers" in the spiritual interpretation of the NDE will not be convinced by Blackmore's dying-brain theory, this is by far the best book on the subject I've seen. Blackmore is not out to "debunk" the believers, but to show that her theory better explains the data in almost every respect. Her standard for what constitutes a good scientific theory is particularly valid in showing how alternate explanations (even non-spiritual) are not useful, if not outright mistaken.It's interesting to note that even in his latest book Kenneth Ring still says the "unbelievers'" explanations claim that the NDE is pointless, or not meaningful, or that it belittles experiencers. Anyone who reads Blackmore's intelligent, compassionate book, which is even tinged by eastern philosophy (though from a neurological standpoint), know that Ring is fooling himself.I call Blackmore's theory a "prototheory" because it is not comprehensive. But she admits outright that the evidence for this or that point would not yet excuse speculation; she doesn't cop out on issues, she simply says that neither she nor the believers can say one way or the other yet without further research. All in all, _Dying to Live_ is more of a foundation for future research and theorizing on the meaning of the NDE, but as such it is invaluable.