Wednesday, 3 November 2021

Competition for the best essay on the evidence for an afterlife

The results of a competition for the best essay on the evidence for the existence of an afterlife.

 Announcement BICS EssayContest November 1, 2021

1st PrizeJeffrey Mishlove Ph.D.$500,000
2nd Prize Pim van Lommel M.D. $300,000
3rd Prize Leo Ruickbie Ph.D. $150,000

Michael Tymn $  50,000

Stephen Braude Ph.D. $  50,000

Nicolas Rouleau Ph.D. $  50,000

Bernardo Kastrup Ph.D. $  50,000

Elizabeth Krohn $  50,000

Sharon Rawlette Ph.D. $  50,000

Jeffrey Long M.D. $  50,000

Michael Nahm Ph.D. $  50,000

Julie Beischel Ph.D. $  50,000

Alexandre Rocha Ph.D. et al. $  50,000

David Rousseau Ph.D. et al. $  50,000

Robert Mays et al $  20,000

Chris Carter $  20,000

Steve Taylor Ph.D. $  20,000

Christopher Kerr M.D., Ph.D. $  20,000

Bruce Leininger $  20,000

Vernon Neppe M.D., Ph.D. $  20,000

Helane Wahbeh N.D. et al. $  20,000

Chris Roe Ph.D. et al $  20,000

Peter Fenwick M.D. et al $  20,000

Walter Meyer zu Erpen $  20,000

Akila Weerasekera Ph.D. $  20,000

Greg Taylor $  20,000

Nick Cook $  20,000

Andreas Sommer Ph.D. $  20,000

Sam Parnia M.D. Ph.D. et al $  20,000

I don't know why in our culture there is this obsessive focus on evidence.  We live in a science obsessed culture that doesn't seem to understand that evidence is often viewed through the lens of certain metaphysical suppositions about the world, and certainly this is the case with the question of whether there is an afterlife.

The sticking point for acceptance of an afterlife is the widespread belief that an afterlife is an extraordinary claim. Just looking at the evidence does nothing to address this.  In particular, people are convinced that the fact a damaged brain leads to a damaged mind entails that the brain must somehow produce the mind. So the philosophical considerations are crucial. It doesn't seem that these people understand this though.  

I also note that most of these people that have won a prize I've heard of, and most have a  Ph.D after their name. If they really were looking for the best essay, it seems kind of coincidental that all these people are already renowned for writing about this sort of stuff. Which suggests that whether or not you win a prize is more dependent on who you are than how impressive the essay is.

My other blog has many essays addressing the philosophical issues.

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