Do out-of-body and near-death experiences point towards the reality of nonlocal consciousness? A critical evaluation

Abstract

In recent years there was a steady flow of academic studies claiming that the mind or consciousness can function independently from a working brain. Such research is presented with great confidence as a scientific breakthrough and one that will alter received views on both humanity and the meaning of life as well as medical science in general and neuroscience in particular. In this article the three major streams of evidence for the existence of nonlocal consciousness are critically evaluated. Neither the testimonies of thousands of experients nor research on cardiac arrest patients or experimental research on veridical perception during out-of-body experiences at this stage provide sufficient evidence for such claims about nonlocal consciousness. Extraordinary claims about paradigm chances in the scientific world should be supported by uncontroversial and high quality evidence, which is currently not available.