Research Into the Evidence of Manʼs Survival After Death

Historical perspectives on near-death phenomena

“…In the 1950s, Hornell Hart noted recurrent similarities within a large number of reported cases of apparitions and out-of-body experiences (Hart, 1956;Stevenson, 1977). Many of these characteristics paralleled Raymond Moody's (1975Moody's ( , 1977 later findings regarding NDEs.…”

“…It is believed that the indirect influence of the Darwinian theory during this era created ideological conflicts concerning belief in the existence of the human soul and its potential for surviving physical death (Stevenson, 1977). An example of this conflict is evident in the fact that Alfred Russel Wallace, who together with Charles Darwin developed and publicly advocated the theory of natural selection, was privately an ardent proponent of spiritualism (Stevenson, 1977).…”

“…That attitude toward paranormal phenomena served as the foundation from which the multiple personality theories of psychological study began (Ross, 1979;Stevenson, 1977). Myers con tended that man possessed a subliminal level of cognition, a theory that won acceptance from many scientists and was used to support the spiritualist and nonspiritualist views alike (Ross, 1979).…”

“…As a result of the poor reception such research received prior to this period, many parapsychologists lost interest, believing this area of study to be "premature at best and hopeless at worst" (Stevenson, 1977). The field turned its attention toward the study of extrasensory perception with living persons.…”

“…The near-death accounts of such well known people as Ernest Hemingway, Richard E. Byrd, and Carl Jung during this era rejuvenated some public and scientific attention, but the attention was basically short-lived (Audette, 1982;Ross, 1979;Stevenson, 1977).…”