A Critical Examination of Zaleski's Interpretation of Near Death Experiences

Carol Zaleski's interpretation of near death experiences in her The Other worldly Journeys: Accounts of Near Death Experiences in the Middle Ages and Modern Times has been one of the controversial issues in this regard. According to her, the near death experiences are symbolic descriptions, which go beyond empirical observation and objective conceptualization. She maintains that the descriptions of religious experiences are symbolic, since they represent their reality through language and cultural forms, making the use of symbols inevitable. Thus, she regards theology as a scientific discipline, which should be mainly concerned with the analysis of symbols and narrations, which develop religious imagery. This writing is an attempt to critically examine Zaleski's interpretation of near death experience by considering her The Other worldly Journeys: Accounts of Near Death Experiences in the Middle Ages and Modern Times. Therefore, Zaleski's main idea is first considered. According to her, near death experiences have no common core; thus, she proposes to take a middle way in interpreting this kind of experiences, which combines William Jame's pragmatist method with his own method; it is concerned with cultural influences upon the formulation of such experiences. Finally, the implications and criticisms of Zaleski's view are dealt with.