Shermer and Junger discuss: his near-death experience and his curent beliefs • NDEs and OBEs • hallucinations • altered states of consciousness • sensed presence effect • sleep paralysis • why there is no “proof” of an afterlife • living forever • belief in life after death • empirical truths vs. mythic truths • longevity and how to live longer.
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afterlife
Sebastian Junger — Death and the Search for Meaning in the Afterlife
Bart Ehrman — Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife
Nearly everyone wonders about what, if anything, comes after death. In Science Salon # 110 Michael Shermer speaks with Bart Ehrman about his book Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife in which Ehrman investigates the powerful instincts that gave rise to the common ideas of heaven and hell and that help them endure.
eSkeptic for March 31, 2020
Nearly everyone wonders about what, if anything, comes after death. In Science Salon # 110 Michael Shermer speaks with Bart Ehrman about his book Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife in which Ehrman investigates the powerful instincts that gave rise to the common ideas of heaven and hell and that help them endure. PLUS, save 40% on new digital subscriptions to Skeptic magazine now through April 12, 2020.
John Martin Fischer — Death, Immortality and Meaning in Life
In Science Salon # 95 Michael Shermer speaks with Distinguished Professor of Philosophy John Martin Fischer about his book Death, Immortality, and Meaning in Life — a brief yet in-depth introduction to the key philosophical issues and problems concerning death and immortality.
eSkeptic for December 17, 2019
In Science Salon # 95 Michael Shermer speaks with Distinguished Professor of Philosophy John Martin Fischer about his book Death, Immortality, and Meaning in Life — a brief yet in-depth introduction to the key philosophical issues and problems concerning death and immortality. PLUS: Skeptic Magazine 24.4 is available today. Find out who says the Earth is flat, and why.
eSkeptic for December 12, 2018
In his December 2018 ‘Skeptic’ column for Scientific American Michael Shermer discusses how to avert a looming crisis among today’s youth.
Dr. Bart Ehrman — How a Forbidden Religion (Christianity) Swept the World
How did a tiny sect of just 20 people at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion in 30 CE became 25 to 35 million Christians by 400 CE? In this remote Science Salon Dr. Shermer converses with the great bible scholar and historian Dr. Bart D. Ehrman, the Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Heavens on Earth—the New Book by Michael Shermer, Available Now!
In his most ambitious work yet—a scientific exploration into humanity’s obsession with the afterlife and quest for immortality—bestselling author and skeptic, Michael Shermer, sets out to discover what drives humans’ belief in life after death, focusing on recent scientific attempts to achieve immortality along with utopian attempts to create heaven on earth.
eSkeptic for July 6, 2016
In this week’s eSkeptic, Sebastian Dieguez, cognitive neuroscientist at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, reviews The Myth of an Afterlife: The Case against Life after Death, edited by M. Martin and K. Augustine.
Heaven is Not for Real
Given the current success of neuroscience in establishing the neural basis of consciousness and thought, is it still honest to claim that we simply don’t know “what comes after”? Cognitive neuroscientist, Sebastian Dieguez, of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, reviews The Myth of an Afterlife: The Case against Life after Death, edited by M. Martin and K. Augustine.
The Top 10 Weirdest Things
Ever since Michael Shermer wrote Why People Believe Weird Things he has been asked to list the strangest beliefs he’s come across in his quarter century as a professional skeptic. We have compiled this list into The Top 10 Weirdest Things… DOWNLOAD the free PDF
13-11-13
In this week’s eSkeptic, Ingrid Hansen Smythe wittily dissects the farcical visions of the afterlife presented by James Van Praagh in his book Growing up in Heaven.
What happens after we die?
Michael Shermer discusses the belief in life after death.
13-03-20
The majority of Americans believe that the soul lives on after the body dies. How can we know whether consciousness can survive bodily death? In this week’s eSkeptic, Stephen Cave takes a look at the belief that souls exist, and reminds us that modern brain imaging technology provides scientific evidence to strengthen the case against such fuzzy notions.
The Eternally Boring Hereafter: A review of Clint Eastwood’s film Hereafter
Michael Shermer reviews Clint Eastwood’s film Hereafter.
Talking Twaddle With the Dead
Michael Shermer exposes James Van Praagh and discusses some of the techniques ‘psychics’ use to ‘talk’ to the dead.
10-08-11
In this week’s eSkeptic: upcoming Lectures at Caltech: Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, more… feature article: Broadcasting from the Great Beyond podcast double header: Skepticality and MonsterTalk follow Michael Shermer: Our Neandertal Brethren follow Daniel Loxton: The Value of Vertigo Announcing the New Seasonof Lectures at Caltech Mark your calendar! The Skeptics Society is pleased to […]
The Great Afterlife
This debate between Deepak Chopra and Michael Shermer came about after the widely read and referenced debate the two had last year on the virtues and value of skepticism. Deepak and Michael thought it would be stimulating to have a debate on the topic. Michael read Deepak’s book and goes first in the debate, offering his assessment of the “proofs” presented in Deepak’s book, then Deepak responds.
07-01-04
In this week’s eSkeptic, Michael Shermer and Deepak Chopra debate about science, spirituality, the afterlife, and the meaning of life; Skepticality presents the Sam Harris lecture at Caltech.
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