Life after Death? Experiential Themes in Afterlife Narratives

A talk, with slides by Fiona Bowie, given at the Emmanuel Centre, University of Leeds, on 20th March 2015. The event was a public symposium organised by Dr Mikel Burley as part of the Immortality and Human Finitude project, funded by the John Templeton Foundation. The title of the day was Life after Death? Perspectives from Philosophy, Theology, Anthropology and Literature. The other speakers were Revd Dr Michael Armstrong, Dr Mikel Burley, Jack Hunter and Dr Matthew Treherne. The sessions were chaired by Dr Mikel Burley, Dr Tasia Scrutton, Professor Robin Le Poidevin, and Dr Fiona Bowie. 

Abstract: In this talk I discuss a methodology for studying the afterlife that bridges both scepticism based on a positive materialism and methodological agnosticism on the one hand, and complete relativism and uncritical acceptance on the other. It is based on cognitive, empathetic engagement, and can be seen as a kind of thought experiment in which the ethnographer acts 'as if' what she or she learns is true. I then sketch out some of the areas in which universal experiences of the supernatural or non-ordinary reality (from the perspective of Western science)  seem to underly religious and popular belief systems. This includes near-death experiences, shamanism and mediumship, reincarnation and after-death contacts.

Audio recording of talk

Slides

Immortality and Human Finitude