2021-07-14, 09:23 AM
I just started re-reading this book from 1974 by Lyall Watson. The theme is that it doesn't make any sense at the biological level to distinguish between life and death. The two states blend almost imperceptibly into one another. I find this interesting as although this book was written nearly fifty years ago, it sounds remarkably similar to some of the statements from Dr Sam Parnia, who has argued strongly that the idea of a 'moment of death' is a misunderstanding, there is no particular instant, but rather in Parnia's context, death is a process.
I'm pretty sure I read the Watson book as a borrowed library copy sometime in the late 1970s, but it still seems highly relevant. The book begins rather jauntily recounting various historical cases where a person pronounced dead later unexpectedly came back to life. I was particularly struck by a couple of these,
Lyall Watson's writing at least tends not to be dull.
Lyall Watson Wrote:As a biologist, I find this kind of ambiguity embarrassing. It may be old-fashioned, but I believe that a student of life should know where it starts and have some idea of how it ends. Hence this book.
Quote:This is not an answer book. It is not even really a question book, but an attempt to establish some sort of solid scientific foundation which will help to formulate the right kinds of questions.
I'm pretty sure I read the Watson book as a borrowed library copy sometime in the late 1970s, but it still seems highly relevant. The book begins rather jauntily recounting various historical cases where a person pronounced dead later unexpectedly came back to life. I was particularly struck by a couple of these,
Quote:The Reverend Schwartz, an early oriental missionary, was aroused from apparent death in Delhi by the sound of his favourite hymn. The congregation celebrating the last rites became aware of their error when a voice from the coffin joined in the chorus.
Quote:In 1964, the post-mortem operation at a New York mortuary was disrupted just as the first cut was being made, when the patient leaped up and seized the surgeon by his throat. This doctor paid for the error with his life - he died of shock.
Lyall Watson's writing at least tends not to be dull.