Father Spitzer's Argument Analysis

Father Spitzer presents an argument for the existence of the physical soul, and examines the possibility of the body being merely physical. Through the presentation of veridical data and a sound argument, Father Spitzer asserts that accounts of veridical experiences during clinical death help prove the human soul’s existence. Father Spitzer’s argument relies on veridical data and accounts provided by patients in multiple case studies. His argument, ultimately, falls to the amount of data gathered by the dead during clinical death, which can later be reported accurately. This argument is inductive, and provides many reasons to believe the ultimate conclusion, that the body is not merely physical, and there must be a presence of a type of soul.

Father Spitzer provides multiple fragments of evidence, as well as premises and a sound conclusion. The first premises concerns those who are clinically deceased reporting veridical data which was later verified by others. Many of these reports are things such as a woman identifying a type of shoe on the roof of the hospital which she “flew out to see” and this was later verified by a nurse who had to climb onto the ledge to find the shoe. This indicates that veridical experiences during clinical death are possible. These experience could not be possible if our beings were merely physical, limiting us to what is possible during brain function. There is evidence that 80% of people blind from birth report having sight for the first time during clinical death. “Congenitally blind people don’t even have a concept of sight; they only dream in audio. Many of these people had flat brain waves and were in cardiac arrest in hospitals. Five of them saw things that could be verified independently.” (New Evidence). Without functioning eyes, and with no brain activity, how are these patients able to