165. Dr. Caroline Watt Defends, There is Nothing Paranormal About Near-Death Experiences

Summary: Interview with Parapsychology researcher Dr. Caroline Watt explains why, despite criticism, she maintains, “there is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences.” Join Skeptiko host Alex Tsakiris for an interview with University of Edinburgh professor Dr. Caroline Watt, co-author of, There is nothing paranormal about near-death experiences: how neuroscience can explain seeing bright lights, meeting the dead, or being convinced you are one of them. During the interview Watt discusses her research into near-death experiences: Alex Tsakiris: The other thing that upset me about the paper was the way it was picked up by so many science publications; Scientific America, NPR, BBC, Discovery, Discovery News. It’s not a strong paper. Yet, it gets echoed back through the mainstream science media as some kind of breakthrough about near-death experiences. Even though it directly contradicts all the leading researchers in the NDE field. Dr. Caroline Watt: The leading researchers in the NDE field may publish their papers and have them reported as well. It’s an open forum. If it says something interesting, then it will be reported.  Everybody can have a say. It’s not like I have some kind of privileged access. Alex Tsakiris: I’m not suggesting that. I’m saying that what gets picked up and perpetuated through the science media is reflective of the current position, even if that position isn’t supported by the best data. I’m saying your paper got traction even though there’s not a lot behind it. I’m saying you cited references incorrectly.  And you referenced skeptics like Dr. Susan Blackmore who admits to not being current in the field. Dr. Caroline Watt: As I said, it was intended to be a provocative piece. It’s not claiming to be balanced. The paper, if it wasn’t limited to two or three pages, I could have dealt more thoroughly with many different aspects because there’s more to near-death experiences then the dying brain hypothesis. It would have been a longer and more in-depth paper, but that wasn’t the paper that we wrote. Dr. Caroline Watt Play It: Download MP3 (64:00 min.) Read It: Alex Tsakiris: Today we welcome Dr. Caroline Watt to Skeptiko. Dr. Watt is a founding member of the Parapsychology Unit at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and has taught and researched parapsychology for 25 years. She is well published in the field, many peer review journals, and is also the author of the most popular textbook in parapsychology, An Introduction to Parapsychology. If we can add to all that, we can also mention that she has also served as a president and board member of the Parapsychological Association. Dr. Watt, it’s a great pleasure to have you on Skeptiko. Thanks for joining me today. Dr. Caroline Watt: Thanks, very much, for inviting me Alex. Alex Tsakiris: Caroline, you are well known within the parapsychology community. For those folks who don’t know much about your background, can you tell us a little about how you got started in the field, and maybe some of the highlights of your research, if you will? Dr. Caroline Watt: Sure. I did my undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. There we had no teaching at all in parapsychology, but we had a final exam called Contemporary Issues where in the degree exam, we were supposed to answer questions about new developments in the field of psychology. That was way back in 1984, just when the Koestler Chair was starting up in Edinburgh. Because there had been a lot of press interest in the Koestler Chair, one of my teachers set a question in the exam about the Koestler Chair, and I answered it. That was my first formal contact with parapsychology. The question was: You are applying to be the new professor at the Koestler Chair of Parapsychology at Edinburgh University. Outline what research program you might follow. Alex Tsakiris: There’s some foreshadowing. Dr. Caroline Watt: Yes, indeed.