Summary: <a href="http://skeptiko.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/please-share-skeptiko3.jpg"></a><br> Dr. Michael Shermer isn’t swayed by near death experience science, but has he read the literature?<br> <br> photo by: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/petitshoo/28698421/in/photolist-3x63n-8ke7q4-7wtqE-8ezCXk-bApV6-9UVwMP-EvjsyN-36XDez-8Pd7z3-8PdjLN-9va3LZ-fvKLb-56YHQg-8PakGc-3x6em-36XDok-4ad7q1-3x5Yq-8Pa1QR-8PdjMq-3x66D-8Pakyv-573Tq3-3x6b2-8Pa24B-8PdjqJ-q7CYf-pLtzm-pLuBc-3x6ou-94UNN-pLtHW-8Pdrbu-8PdjJq-8Pae2p-pLubc-3x6eZ-3x625-36kiLs-6rRAL-3x6fz-8PdjGY-3x688-8PakAF-8PadNr-8Pa1Uk-8Pa1Pz-3x5Xd-8Pa21r-8Pd7rG">Skeptiko</a><br> Today we welcome <a style="font-weight: 400;" href="https://michaelshermer.com/bio/">Dr. Michael Shermer</a> back to Skeptiko. Dr. Shermer is a bestselling author and creator of <a href="https://www.skeptic.com/">Skeptic Magazine</a>. His latest book on consciousness and the afterlife is, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heavens-Earth-Scientific-Afterlife-Immortality/dp/1627798579/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1525189597&sr=1-2&keywords=skeptic+shermer">Heavens on Earth</a>:<br> Alex Tsakiris: A couple of years ago I interviewed Jan Holden from the University of North Texas, who, along with Dr. Bruce Greyson from the University of Virginia, two of the most prominent names in near-death experience research, they compiled the book, “The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences,” mainly for people in the medical community, so that when they encounter someone who comes up out of a cardiac arrest and says, “Hey, I had this incredible experience,” they can be, at least, familiar with what they tell them. <br> At the time they published this book Michael, in 2009, they had over a hundred peer-reviewed papers they included in their book. By now, there’s over 200 peer-reviewed papers. I don’t see any of that in your book.<br> Michael Shermer: I think it’s important to make it… Well, look, I don’t have to cite everybody that’s ever written on the subject. <br> Alex Tsakiris: But you don’t cite any of them.<br> Michael Shermer: Yes, I do, oh yes, I do.<br> Alex Tsakiris: Pim van Lommel, Sam Parnia, who else?<br> Michael Shermer: Yeah, yeah.<br> Alex Tsakiris: You misrepresented both of them, but you at least cited them.<br> Michael Shermer: But anyway, let’s back up for a second and…<br> Alex Tsakiris: And I’d have to say, Eben Alexander, I want to talk about him, but technically he’s not a near-death experience researcher, he’s a Harvard neurosurgeon who had a near-death experience and wrote a book about it, right?<br> Michael Shermer: That’s right, but he knows a lot about it, he knows as much as you do, as much as I do, because he’s…<br> Alex Tsakiris: But he hasn’t published peer-reviewed papers on looking at the science.<br> Michael Shermer: A peer-reviewed paper thing, that’s a red herring. I’m not denying that people have real experiences. You’re treating this as if the experiences represent some other dimension, a heaven, a place to go, and that is not at all what these peer-reviewed papers indicate. All they say is that the people that have the experiences, have very real experiences, which I agree. The experiences these people have are very real. <br> The question is, is do they represent just neural activity or neural activity and something else, and I claim that none of the research I’ve read, none of the stories, none of the papers are evidence of an afterlife.<br> (continued below)<br> <br> <a href="http://www.skeptiko-forum.com/threads/dr-michael-shermer-on-near-death-experience-science-379.4147/">Click here for forum discussion</a><br> <a href="https://michaelshermer.com/bio/">Click here for Dr. Michael Shermer’s website</a><br> Read Excerpts:<br> <br> <a href="http://www.skeptiko-forum.com/threads/dr-michael-shermer-on-near-death-experience-science-379.4147/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>Alex Tsakiris:...
