Peter Fenwick (neuropsychologist)

Peter Fenwick
Born
Peter Brooke Cadogan Fenwick

(1935-05-25)25 May 1935
Nairobi, Kenya Colony
Died22 November 2024(2024-11-22) (aged 89)
London, England
Alma materUniversity of Cambridge
Known forNear-death studies
SpouseElizabeth Roberts
Children3
Scientific career
FieldsNeuropsychiatry, neurophysiology
InstitutionsMaudsley Hospital

Peter Brooke Cadogan Fenwick (25 May 1935 – 22 November 2024) was a British neuropsychiatrist and neurophysiologist who is known for his studies of epilepsy and end-of-life phenomena.

Background

Fenwick was born in Nairobi in 1935, where his family was living at the time.[1] His English father was working on a coffee farm, and his Australian mother was a doctor.[1] He attended the Stowe School and was a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge,[2] where he studied Natural Science.[1] He obtained his clinical experience at St Thomas' Hospital.[3]

Career

Fenwick was a senior lecturer at King's College, London, where he worked as a consultant at the Institute of Psychiatry.[4][5][6] He was the Consultant Neuropsychologist at both the Maudsley,[7] and John Radcliffe hospitals, and also provided services for Broadmoor Hospital.[8] He worked with the Mental Health Group at the University of Southampton, and held a visiting professorship at the Riken Neurosciences Institute in Japan.[6][9]

Fenwick was the president of the Horizon Research Foundation,[10] an organisation that supports research into end-of-life experiences. He was the President of the British branch of the International Association for Near-Death Studies.[8] As of 2008 Fenwick was a part of the Human Consciousness Project.[11] The first study from the project was called The AWARE (AWAreness during REsuscitation) study and was published in 2014.[12]

Fenwick was part of the editorial board for a number of journals, including the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, the Journal of Consciousness Studies and the Journal of Epilepsy and Behaviour.[2]

Near-death research

Fenwick's interest in near-death experiences was piqued when he read Raymond Moody's book Life After Life. Initially skeptical of Moody's anecdotal evidence, Fenwick reassessed his opinion after a discussion with one of his own patients, who described a near-death experience very similar to that of Moody's subjects.[13] Since then, he collected and analysed more than 300 examples of near-death experiences.[14]

He was criticised by some in the medical community for arguing that human consciousness can survive bodily death.[15] Fenwick argues that human consciousness may be more than just a function of the brain.[9][16]

The plain fact is that none of us understands these phenomena. As for the soul and life after death, they are still open questions, though I myself suspect that NDEs are part of the same continuum as mystical experiences.[17]

Fenwick and his wife are co-authors of The Art of Dying, a study of the spiritual needs of near-death patients. The Fenwicks argue that modern medical practices have devalued end-of-life experiences, and call for a more holistic approach to death and dying.[18] In 2003, Fenwick and Sam Parnia appeared in the BBC documentary "The Day I Died". In the documentary Parnia and Fenwick discussed their belief that research from near-death experiences indicates the mind is independent of the brain. According to psychologist and lecturer Susan Blackmore the documentary misled viewers with beliefs that are rejected by the majority of scientists. Blackmore criticized the documentary for biased and "dishonest reporting".[19]

Fenwick and Parnia have claimed that research from NDEs may show the "mind is still there after the brain is dead". The neurologist Michael O'Brien wrote "most people would not find it necessary to postulate such a separation between mind and brain to explain the events," and suggested that further research is likely to provide a physical explanation for near-death experiences.[20] Robert Todd Carroll wrote that Fenwick has made metaphysical assumptions and dismissed possible psychological and physiological explanations for near-death experiences.[21]

Personal life and death

Fenwick's interests included hill-walking and fishing.[22] He was married to Elizabeth (née Roberts) Fenwick, who co-authored many of his books.[1] The couple had three children.[1] Fenwick died at home in London on 22 November 2024, at the age of 89.[1][23]

Selected bibliography

With Elizabeth Fenwick

  • The Art of Dying (Continuum, 2008)
  • Past Lives: An Investigation into Reincarnation Memories (Berkley, 2001)
  • The Hidden Door: Understanding and Controlling Dreams (Berkley Publishing Group, 1999)
  • The Truth in the Light: An Investigation of Over 300 Near-Death Experiences (Berkley Trade, 1997)
  • Living with Epilepsy (Bloomsbury, 1996)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Rosenwald, Michael S. (9 January 2025). "Peter Fenwick, Leading Expert on Near-Death Experiences, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Profile at The London Sleep Centre". Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  3. ^ "Contributors list" (PDF). Imprint Academic Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Visions of a dying brain, review of a lecture given by Drs Sam Parnia and Peter Fenwick at the University of Southampton". 15 May 2001. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  5. ^ Susan Blackmore. "Physics on the Brain". New Scientist Issue 1750. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  6. ^ a b "The Bruce Greyson Lecture from the International Association for Near-Death Studies 2004 Annual Conference". IANDS. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  7. ^ Bhugra, Dinesh (1997). Psychiatry and Religion: Context, Consensus and Controversies. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-16512-9.
  8. ^ a b "Author biography". White Crow Books. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  9. ^ a b Royal College of Psychiatrists: Spirituality and Psychiatry Special Interest Group. "Consciousness and the Extended Mind: Programme notes" (PDF). Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  10. ^ "People of The Horizon Research Foundation". Horizon Research Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 November 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  11. ^ University of Southampton. "World's Largest-ever Study Of Near-Death Experiences." ScienceDaily, 10 September 2008. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080910090829.htm. Accessed 19 June 2022
  12. ^ Parnia S, et al. AWARE—AWAreness during REsuscitation—A prospective study. Resuscitation, Vol. 85, Issue 12, P 1799-1805, 1 December 2014 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.resuscitation.2014.09.004
  13. ^ Atwater, P. M. H. (2007). The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences. Hampton Roads Publishing. ISBN 978-1-57174-547-7.
  14. ^ "Peter Fenwick: Biography & Resources". Enlightenment Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  15. ^ Wheatley, Jane (6 October 2006). "Life goes on... but even after death?". Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  16. ^ "The Art of Dying: A Journey to Elsewhere". Book Review. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  17. ^ Peter Roennfeldt. "Near Death Experiences". Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  18. ^ Grice, Elizabeth (23 June 2008). "How to give death a good name". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 22 April 2009. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  19. ^ Susan Blackmore. (2004). "Near-Death Experiences on TV". Sceptic Magazine 17. pp. 8-10. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  20. ^ Michael O'Brien. (2003). "The Day I Died". British Medical Journal. 326(7383): 288. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  21. ^ Robert Todd Carroll. (2001). "Mass Media Bunk". The Skeptic's Dictionary.
  22. ^ "Debrett's entry: Dr Peter Fenwick". Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  23. ^ "Prof. Peter Fenwick". bialfoundation.com. Retrieved 27 November 2024.