We have argued that the best available evidence for the survival of human consciousness after permanent bodily death is, in fact, a collection of different types of evidence and accompanying arguments, each doing different work. In combination, they defend the plausibility of the survival hypothesis as an interpretation of the evidence.
Veridical cardiac arrest NDEs demonstrate convincingly that there is a phenomenon in need of explanation, and the NDEs of pre-verbal children render the living agent psi hypothesis implausible. Peak-in-Darien NDEs under cardiac arrest reinforce the case for investigating a dualistic model of long-term survival.
We drew on the broader NDE evidence to formulate a more detailed survival hypothesis to be evaluated in the light of the guiderails of science. This raises questions in response to which we added more detailed sub-hypotheses. We turned again to the broader NDE research for clues as to how we could formulate these sub-hypotheses in a way that respects the data while staying within the boundaries of science.
Next we turned to science itself for evidence to support the plausibility of these more detailed sub-hypotheses. At this point, the evidence we used might be surprising. Quasi-crystals, radar systems and autism have no obvious connection to survival, but here they provide useful evidence in support of our contention that the survival hypothesis can be understood within science. In fact, every question we have investigated has resulted in evidence and arguments supporting a naturalistic conception of dualism. This evidence greatly increases the plausibility of our scientific dualistic survival hypothesis.
Along the way, we have identified evidence that suggests that certain qualities normally associated with socially constructed values such as goodness may be an objective feature of reality, and thus that our current cosmological understanding of the nature of persons and their place in the scheme of things may be radically incomplete.
Our analysis suggests that all of the evidence that we used is comprehensible within a scientific and hence naturalistic framework, raising the hope that science can expand our worldview to accommodate the phenomena suggestive of survival in a non-dismissive way.
There are many aspects of NDE experiences that bear deeper thought. For example, not all NDE experiences are positive, and not all entities encountered are benevolent. We have discussed the evidence for resource limits and evolutionary pressures in the psychonic world, which might suggest that the hierarchy of psychonic beings forms a complex ecosystem. Understanding this better would help us to understand our own nature and future potential.
For us, this is the real potential of survival research, going far beyond the survival question itself. Every time that science has asked “What would have to be true about the world?”, and had the answer trigger the addition of a concept that is really new and fundamental, the impact has been tremendous. Such discoveries often lead to insights far beyond the starting problem as well as wildly unforeseen technological opportunities.
Beyond that, this research holds out the promise of a deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in the natural world. Trying to understand the survival data in the context of a scientific model has already led us to some surprising discoveries. We have come to realize that we have perceptual abilities that we have not remarked on because they are so much a part of our everyday experience. These seem to relate to our spirituality and the authenticity of our moral intuitions. Investigating these capabilities could significantly improve the way we engage with each other and with the natural world. One could hardly hope for a more worthwhile goal for science to pursue.
David Rousseau & Julie Billingham, “On evidence for the Possibility of Consciousness survival.” Footnotes have been deleted for these excerpts, but a full paper is available at https://bigelowinstitute.org/contest_winners3.php. David Rousseau is a British systems philosopher, Director of the Centre for Systems Philosophy, chair of the Board of Trustees of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, a Past President of the ISSS, and the Company Secretary of the British Association for the Study of Spirituality. Julie Billingham is Strategy Director for the Centre for Systems Philosophy.
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