1. Clarification of Terms
Survival
• In a scientific context survival means the hypothesis that human personality or elements of it may in some form, and at least temporarily, survive bodily death. The most essential elements of personality in this respect are volition and memory.
• As we lack a theoretical model to conceive postmortem survival, a pragmatic approach is advisable. In some respect survival research is similar to the assessment of a lost person’s identity who suddenly calls on the phone. Identification will depend on the content and style of the person’s speech (specific memories and motivations, linguistic or artistic skills, typical temper and humour, etc.).
• We are not interested in abusing science to propagate private beliefs. Unlike many popular authors we hold that the question of survival – just as inquiries relating to biological life – bears no explicit religious connotations (even if the possibility cannot dismissed beforehand). Neither is the problem of immortality addressed in survival research, since we do not know if hypothetical survival is necessarily eternal. Survival and immortality are therefore not be used as synonyms.
Research
Research means critically and self-critically, dispassionately, and systematically collecting and questioning evidence and counter-evidence to either verify or falsify a hypothesis. Science is defined by its method, not by its object (e.g. what is being researched).
Methodological issues
Before accepting reports of exceptional experiences and phenomena suggestive of survival (e.g. near-death experiences, apparitions, alleged past life memories, etc.) as empirical evidence, the following questions have to be clarified:
• How reliable is human testimony, on which most of the alleged evidence is based?
• Which methods are mandatory in order to document spontaneous cases reliably?
• What rules have to be applied when interpreting data from spontaneous cases?
Facing the scarce reception of empirical findings of survival research to date, aspects of the philosophy and sociology of science are also crucial points to assess.
Survival research and the philosophy and sociology of science
Before making any a priori statements as to the plausibility of survival, scientists should be able to responsibly and reasonably answer questions as follows:
• Which are the strengths and weaknesses of the popular scientific worldview, according to which mind is a mere by-product of neurological processes, and how did this worldview come about?
• Why assume that the weight of evidence should be proportional to the strangeness of the facts examined?
• Which influence may personal biography and world view of both pessimistic and optimistic researchers have on their findings?
2. State of the Art
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