Abstract :
[en] Near-death experiences are known from all parts of the world, various times and numerous cultural backgrounds. This universality suggests that near-death experiences may have a biological origin and purpose. Adhering to a preregistered protocol, we investigate the hypothesis that thanatosis, aka death-feigning, a last-resort defense mechanism in animals, is the evolutionary origin of near-death experiences. We first show that thanatosis is a highly preserved survival strategy occurring at all major nodes in a cladogram ranging from insects to humans. We then show that humans under attack by animal, human and 'modern' predators can experience both thanatosis and near-death experiences, and we further show that the phenomenology and the effects of the two overlap. In summary, we build a line of evidence suggesting that thanatosis is the evolutionary foundation of near-death experiences and that their shared biological purpose is the benefit of survival. We propose that the acquisition of language enabled humans to transform these events from relatively stereotyped death-feigning under predatory attacks into the rich perceptions that form near-death experiences and extend to non-predatory situations.
Funders :
Lundbeck Foundation [DK]
Rigshospitalet [DK]
Region Hovedstaden
Jens Juhl Fonden
Jascha Fonden (D.K.)
ULiège - Université de Liège [BE]
CHU Liège - Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège [BE]
F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique [BE]
the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation
Bial Foundation [PT]
MSF - Mind Science Foundation [US-TX] [US-TX]
EC - European Commission [BE]
Fund Generet
FRB - Fondation Roi Baudouin [BE]
Mind Care Foundation [BE]
Scopus citations®
without self-citations
9