/lit/ - Literature

>>20993454
>spooky otherworldly realm
Calling heaven and paradise "spooky" really shows how afraid you are of the paranormal, which in turn just highlights your inherent bias against it.
>that is completely at odds with all scientific knowledge
What? Literally what? What scientific knowledge do we have to abandon if we accept that there's an afterlife?
>not to mention the philosophical and logical absurdities of dualism - do just the barest reading on this
You don't actually have to be a substance dualist to accept the reality of NDEs, as most who do I think are idealists, that is, we are all one consciousness etc and there is only the idea of matter within the mind.
>or that the brain (an extremely complex organ which we are only just beginning to understand) fires off in ways we don't currently understand shortly before death?
You do know that you can believe both these things simultaneously, right? There can be an otherwordly realm, and the brain goes crazy before death, which it clearly does. That does not mean that the brain is responsible for the perceived idea of the other realm though.
>The fact that some people have weird sensations
It's not a "weird sensation", it's an ultrareal experience, far more real than what you experience as you are getting upset reading what I write here. Trying to belittle or ridicule the experience again just highlights your bias and dogma.
>The fact that some people are convinced in the reality of these sensations means literally nothing. (Schizos and people who take certain kinds of hallucinogens can be just as convinced in being god.)
So your argument is essentially "Some people sometimes hallucinate. Therefore, everyone who has an alternative experience to sober reality must be hallucinating." Again, it does not follow.
>You need to completely rewrite everything we know about the universe and resolve every single metaphysical contradiction.
Nope. You can just say, "everything we know about the universe remains true, plus there's an afterlife when we die." Whew, that was easy!
>
I know believing in an "afterlife" is an emotional need for you
And remaining a materialist is CLEARLY an emotional need for you. Afraid of thinking for yourself? Of the infinite love in the afterlife? Of everyone there knowing your secrets? Of believing in the supernatural and being ridiculed for it? Of changing your worldview?
See, everyone can be an armchair psychologist.

Also, finally, your entire post reeks of somehow who not only has not read this book, but who has never read any book on NDEs.