Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-xtgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T19:15:25.325Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Six feet over: Out-of-body experiences and their relevance to the folk psychology of souls

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 December 2006

David Kemmerer*
Affiliation:
Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN47907http://www.cla.purdue.edu/slhs/Pages/fac_staff/faculty/kemmerer.html
Rupa Gupta*
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN47907

Abstract:

During an out-of-body experience (OBE), one sees the world and one's own body from an extracorporeal visuospatial perspective. OBEs reflect disturbances in brain systems dedicated to multisensory integration and self-processing. However, they have traditionally been interpreted as providing evidence for a soul that can depart the body after death. This mystical view is consistent with Bering's proposal that psychological immortality is the cognitive default.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)