This book was co-edited by my own PhD supervisor, Prof. Paul Badham, a well-known British theologian and philosopher on afterlife beliefs and near-death experiences.
When “defecting” from archaeology to religious studies, two things drew me to Prof. Badham. First is that he takes seriously the evidence of near-death experiences. Second is his understanding of the importance of looking at the beliefs of different cultures around the world in making claims about human spiritual realities.
These traits are evident in the selection of contributions to this book. A series of chapters cover death and immortality in African traditional religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, though the book also features sections on the philosophy and parapsychology of the afterlife. Even disbelief is covered, in an article by Linda Badham which has become a classic.
The book is essential reading for anyone interested in world religions or the afterlife.
Yulia Ustinova is a scholar of ancient Greek religion whose work deserves wider recognition, not only in classics but in religious studies and even parapsychology.
Divine Mania is a follow-up to her equally recommended 2008 book, Caves and the Ancient Greek Mind: Descending Underground in the Search for Ultimate Truth. In both books, Ustinova takes seriously reports of mystical, out-of-body, and near-death experiences in the ancient Greek world.
Such descriptions are usually seen as purely literary, imaginative inventions that have no meaning beyond their own cultural contexts. But Ustinova acknowledges what the evidence itself tells us: that extraordinary experiences impact religious or spiritual beliefs.
The book has been incredibly valuable to my current project focusing on near-death experience in classical antiquity more broadly. Though solidly academic, it is written in an engaging, unpretentious style.
'Our greatest blessings come to us by way of mania, provided it is given us by divine gift,' - says Socrates in Plato's Phaedrus. Certain forms of alteration of consciousness, considered to be inspired by supernatural forces, were actively sought in ancient Greece. Divine mania comprises a fascinating array of diverse experiences: numerous initiates underwent some kind of alteration of consciousness during mystery rites; sacred officials and inquirers attained revelations in major oracular centres; possession states were actively sought; finally, some thinkers, such as Pythagoras and Socrates, probably practiced manipulation of consciousness. These experiences, which could be voluntary or involuntary,…
The title of this book, Philosophical Possibilities Beyond Death, only partly reveals its focus. Its deeper purpose is to be found in the subtitle: Exploring the Evidence from Psychical Research.
Though the author, Prof. Brooke Moore, provides an excellent summary of the Western philosophical debates for and against an afterlife, it’s merely to set the stage for the main event: an in-depth analysis of the philosophical implications of afterlife-related extraordinary phenomena.
Moore, who is co-author of the standard book on critical thinking (now in its 13th edition!), considers the evidence from mediumship, apparitions, near-death and out-of-body experiences, reincarnation, electronic voice phenomena, and xenoglossy (the spontaneous ability to speak in languages not previously known).
It’s quite a feat and the result is one of the best books on parapsychology and the afterlife – whether you agree with his conclusions or not.
In this engaging and comprehensive book, the philosopher Brooke Noel Moore provides a unique synthesis of the philosophical and parapsychological aspects of belief in life after death. He explains the various theories of personal survival after physical death, discusses the mind-brain relationship, personal identity, the possibility of disembodied existence, reidentification of spirits, and alternative concepts of self. By exploring the theoretical philosophical approaches to life after death alongside a critical examination of the accumulated empirical evidence of 100 years of psychical research, Moore explains, critiques, and integrates both areas of study into a complete assessment of the possibilities beyond death.…
In my award-winning second book, I explore the relationships between near-death experiences, shamanism, and afterlife beliefs in traditional indigenous societies in Africa, North America, and Oceania.
Drawing on historical accounts of the earliest explorers, missionaries, and ethnologists, I address questions such as: Do ideas about the afterlife commonly originate in NDEs? What role does culture play in how people experience and interpret NDEs? Do NDEs account for cross-cultural similarities and differences between afterlife beliefs?
The book has been praised as a valuable contribution to our knowledge about the origins of afterlife beliefs around the world and the significance of related experiences in human history.
