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| ===Criticism=== | ===Criticism=== | ||
| Alexander’s book and publicity campaign have been criticized by scientists, including ] ], who described Alexander’s NDE account (chronicled in ''Newsweek'', October 2012) as “alarmingly unscientific,” and that “everything — ''absolutely everything'' — in Alexander’s account rests on repeated assertions that his visions of heaven occurred while his ] was 'shut down,' 'inactivated,' 'completely shut down,' 'totally offline,' and 'stunned to complete inactivity.' The evidence he provides for this claim is not only inadequate — it suggests that he doesn’t know anything about the relevant brain science.”<ref>Harris, Sam (12 Oct 2012), @ SamHarris.com.</ref> “Even in cases where the brain is alleged to have shut down, its activity must return if the subject is to survive and describe the experience. In such cases, there is generally no way to establish that the NDE occurred while the brain was offline.”<ref>{{cite web |author=Sam Harris |title=Science on the Brink of Death |url=http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/science-on-the-brink-of-death |date=November 11, 2012 |accessdate=2012-11-26}}</ref> ] and writer ] agreed with Harris, saying that "to deny the possibility of any natural explanation for an NDE, as Dr. Alexander does, is more than unscientific — it is antiscientific."..."The one most plausible hypothesis in Dr. Alexander's case...is that his NDE occurred not during his coma, but as he was surfacing from the coma and his cortex was returning to full function. It is curious that he does not allow this obvious and natural explanation, but instead insists on a supernatural one."<ref>Sacks, Oliver, , '']'' (12 December 2012).</ref> | |||
| In November 2012, Alexander responded to critics in a second ''Newsweek'' article: "My synapses—the spaces between the neurons of the brain that support the electrochemical activity that makes the brain function — were not simply compromised during my experience. They were stopped. Only isolated pockets of deep cortical neurons were still sputtering, but no broad networks capable of generating anything like what we call 'consciousness.' The E. coli bacteria that flooded my brain during my illness made sure of that. My doctors have told me that according to all the brain tests they were doing, there was no way that any of the functions including vision, hearing, emotion, memory, language, or logic could possibly have been intact."<ref>{{cite news |author=Eben Alexander |title=The Science of Heaven: Can consciousness exist when the body fails? One neurosurgeon says he has seen it firsthand—and takes on critics who vehemently disagree. |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/11/18/the-science-of-heaven.html |publisher=''Newsweek'' |date=November 18, 2012 |accessdate=2012-11-26}}</ref> | In November 2012, Alexander responded to critics in a second ''Newsweek'' article: "My synapses—the spaces between the neurons of the brain that support the electrochemical activity that makes the brain function — were not simply compromised during my experience. They were stopped. Only isolated pockets of deep cortical neurons were still sputtering, but no broad networks capable of generating anything like what we call 'consciousness.' The E. coli bacteria that flooded my brain during my illness made sure of that. My doctors have told me that according to all the brain tests they were doing, there was no way that any of the functions including vision, hearing, emotion, memory, language, or logic could possibly have been intact."<ref>{{cite news |author=Eben Alexander |title=The Science of Heaven: Can consciousness exist when the body fails? One neurosurgeon says he has seen it firsthand—and takes on critics who vehemently disagree. |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/11/18/the-science-of-heaven.html |publisher=''Newsweek'' |date=November 18, 2012 |accessdate=2012-11-26}}</ref> | ||
Revision as of 19:41, 15 August 2013
This article is about the neurosurgeon and author. For his great-grandfather, see Eben Alexander.| Eben Alexander III | |
|---|---|
| Born | December, 1953 Charlotte, North Carolina, USA |
| Nationality | USA |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, neurosurgeon |
| Website | http://www.lifebeyonddeath.net |
Eben Alexander III (born December, 1953 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is an American neurosurgeon and the author of the best-selling Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife, in which he describes his 2008 near-death experience and asserts that science can and will determine that heaven really does exist.
Biography
Education and training
Alexander attended Phillips Exeter Academy (class of 1972), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (A.B., 1975), and the Duke University School of Medicine (M.D., 1980).
Alexander was an Intern in General Surgery at Duke University Medical Center, a resident at Duke, Newcastle (U.K.) General Hospital. He was a resident and research fellow at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital and is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and the American College of Surgeons (F.A.C.S.).
Academic and clinical appointments
Alexander has taught at Duke University Medical Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the University of Virginia Medical School.
He has had hospital appointments at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, and Lynchburg (Virginia) General Hospital-CentraHealth. He is currently an attending neurosurgeon.
Professional activities
Alexander is a member of the American Medical Association and various other professional societies. He has been on the editorial boards of various journals.
Proof of Heaven (2012)
Content
Alexander is the author of the autobiographical book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife (2012) in which he asserts that his out of body and near death experience (NDE) while in a meningitis-induced coma in 2008 proves that consciousness is independent of the brain, that death is an illusion, and that an eternity of perfect splendor awaits us beyond the grave — complete with angels, clouds, and departed relatives, but also including butterflies and a beautiful girl in peasant dress who Alexander finds out later was his departed sister. According to him, the current understanding of the mind “now lies broken at our feet ”— for “What happened to me destroyed it, and I intend to spend the rest of my life investigating the true nature of consciousness and making the fact that we are more, much more, than our physical brains as clear as I can, both to my fellow scientists and to people at large.” Alexander’s book was excerpted in a Newsweek magazine cover story in October 2012. (In May 2012, Alexander had provided a slightly more technical account of the events described in his book in an article, "My Experience in Coma", in AANS Neurosurgeon, the trade publication of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.)
As of July 3, 2013, Proof of Heaven has been on the The New York Times Best Seller list for 35 weeks.
Criticism
In November 2012, Alexander responded to critics in a second Newsweek article: "My synapses—the spaces between the neurons of the brain that support the electrochemical activity that makes the brain function — were not simply compromised during my experience. They were stopped. Only isolated pockets of deep cortical neurons were still sputtering, but no broad networks capable of generating anything like what we call 'consciousness.' The E. coli bacteria that flooded my brain during my illness made sure of that. My doctors have told me that according to all the brain tests they were doing, there was no way that any of the functions including vision, hearing, emotion, memory, language, or logic could possibly have been intact."
In a wider-ranging investigation of Alexander's story and medical background, Esquire magazine reported (August 2013 issue) that prior to the publication of Proof of Heaven, Alexander had been terminated or suspended from multiple hospital positions, and had been the subject of several malpractice lawsuits, including at least one involving the alteration of medical records to cover up a medical error. The magazine also found what it claimed were discrepencies with regard to Alexander's version of events in the book.
Alexander issued a statement after the Esquire article's publication:
I wrote a truthful account of my experiences in PROOF OF HEAVEN and have acknowledged in the book both my professional and personal accomplishments and my setbacks. I stand by every word in this book and have made its message the purpose of my life. Esquire's cynical article distorts the facts of my 25-year career as a neurosurgeon and is a textbook example of how unsupported assertions and cherry-picked information can be assembled at the expense of the truth.
— Dr. Eben Alexander, July 2013.
References
- Alexander, Eben (2012), Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife, Simon & Schuster, pg 169.
- Alexander, Eben (2012), Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife, Simon & Schuster, pg 40.
- Alexander, Eben (8 Oct 2012), “Heaven Is Real: A Doctor’s Experience With the Afterlife”, Newsweek.
- Eben Alexander III (2012). "My Experience in Coma". AANS Neurosurgeon. 21 (2). Retrieved 2012-11-23.
- "Best Sellers". Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction. The New York Times. July 7, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
- Eben Alexander (November 18, 2012). "The Science of Heaven: Can consciousness exist when the body fails? One neurosurgeon says he has seen it firsthand—and takes on critics who vehemently disagree". Newsweek. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^
Dittrich, Luke (August 2013). "The Prophet: An Investigation of Eben ALexander, Author of the Blockbuster "Proof of Heaven"". Esquire. New York City: Hearst Communications, Inc.: pp 88–95, 125–126, 128.
{{cite journal}}:|pages=has extra text (help) This is the original U.S. edition, on newsstands at the beginning of July 2013. Page 95: "On August 6, 2008, the patient filed a $3 million lawsuit against Alexander, accusing him of negligence, battery, spoliation, and fraud. The purported cover-up, the changes Alexander had made to the surgical report, was a major aspect of the suit. Once again, a lawyer was accusing Alexander of altering the historical record when the historical record didn't fit the story he wanted to tell." Online at Esquire.com (fee required). - ^ "Was 'Proof of Heaven' author hallucinating?". Retrieved July 13, 2013. Daily Mail Online, Published July 2, 2013. Includes photos of the Esquire magazine August 2013 cover and the article's author, contributing editor Luke Dittrich, and a response from Alexander on the controversy.
- ^ Jeff Bercovici. "Esquire Unearths 'Proof Of Heaven' Author's Credibility Problems". Forbes. Retrieved July 13, 2013.