Tesi Johnson, Gleaner Writer
Hon. Dr. Oswald Harding (left) extends a warm greeting to French Ambassador Francis Hurtut. They exchanged pleasantries at the launch of Dr. Harding's new book, 'Near Death Experience, A Holographic Explanation', held at the Mona Visitors', Lodge, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus on December 8th.
THE ISSUE of consciousness in the materialistic and non-materialistic world has long been a topic of debate among members of the philosophical and scientific community. In his new book, Near Death Experience A Holographic Explanation, Hon. Dr. Oswald Harding tackles this question head-on, zoning in on a particular phenomenon, the near death experience (NDE).
The book, which is published by LMH Publishers, was officially launched on Thursday, December 8th, at the Mona Visitors' Lodge, at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus. The book explores an area of the human experience that has remained relatively unexplored.
"Dr. Harding has brought to the fore that which many think about, in this provocative book," said Professor Aggrey Brown of the University of the West Indies.
INTEREST IN PHILOSOPHY
Notably, Dr. Tunde Bewaji,
a lecturer at the University, said he was surprised when a former minister of government, and Charge D'Affairs, expressed an interest in
the area of Philosophy Nonetheless, he was pleasantly surprised as he discovered
Dr. Harding's deep-seated
fascination with the subject.
The keynote speaker for the evening was Professor George Graham of Wake Forest University, in North Carolina. Professor Graham was Dr. Harding's supervisor for his Doctor of Philosophy degree and had only good things to say of about his protégé's work. "Very rarely has the concept of near death experience (NDE) been treated in book length, as it is an immensely difficult experience to interpret". He confirmed Dr. Harding's sentiment that NDE and the debate of the materialistic and non-mate-
rialistic world, needs deeper and more extensive investi-gation. Dr. Harding responded to all the kind words with humility and gratitude.
Among those who appeared at the launch to show their support for Dr. Harding were: Senator Anthony Johnson, the Principal of UWI, Kenneth O. Hall, the President of the Senate, Syringa Marshall-Burnett, the Leader
of the Opposition, the Hon. Bruce Golding, the French Ambassador, Francis Hurtut, and the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Dennis Francis.
