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The Last Laugh: A New Philosophy of Near-Death Experiences, Apparitions, and the Paranormal
The psychologist revists his work in near-death experience to examine the treatment given his research by parapsychologists, professional skeptics, and Christian fundamentalists
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
12 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Raymond A. Moody Jr.
98 books241 followersRaymond Moody, M.D., Ph.D. is the bestselling author of eleven books which have sold over 20 million copies. His seminal work, Life After Life, has completely changed the way we view death and dying and has sold over 13 million copies worldwide. His latest book is GLIMPSES OF ETERNITY: Sharing a Loved One's Passage from this Life to the Next.
Dr. Moody is the leading authority on the "near-death experience"--a phrase he coined in the late seventies. He is best known for his ground-breaking work on the near-death experience and what happens when we die. The New York Times calls Dr. Moody "the father of the near-death experience."
Dr. Moody has enlightened and entertained audiences all over the world for over three decades. He lectures on such topics as: Near Death Experiences, Death With Dignity, Life After Loss, Surviving Grief & Finding Hope, Reunions: Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved Ones, The Healing Power of Humor, The Loss of Children, The Logic of Nonsense, and Catastrophic Tragedies & Events causing collective grief response.
In addition to his writing and lecturing, he is in the private practice of philosophical counseling and consulting on dying. Dr. Moody also trains hospice workers, clergy, psychologists, nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals on matters of grief recovery and dying. He helps people to identify systems of support and to cope with their anxiety, grief, and loss through better understanding of mourning and bereavement.
Dr. Moody received his medical degree from the College of Georgia and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Virginia where he also received his M.A. and B.A.
He is the recipient of many awards including the World Humanitarian Award and a bronze medal in the Human Relations category at the New York Film Festival for the movie version of Life After Life.
Dr. Moody is a frequent media guest and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show three times, as well as on hundreds of other local and nationally syndicated programs such as MSNBC: Grief Recovery, Today, ABC's Turning Point, and hundreds more.
Dr. Moody is the leading authority on the "near-death experience"--a phrase he coined in the late seventies. He is best known for his ground-breaking work on the near-death experience and what happens when we die. The New York Times calls Dr. Moody "the father of the near-death experience."
Dr. Moody has enlightened and entertained audiences all over the world for over three decades. He lectures on such topics as: Near Death Experiences, Death With Dignity, Life After Loss, Surviving Grief & Finding Hope, Reunions: Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved Ones, The Healing Power of Humor, The Loss of Children, The Logic of Nonsense, and Catastrophic Tragedies & Events causing collective grief response.
In addition to his writing and lecturing, he is in the private practice of philosophical counseling and consulting on dying. Dr. Moody also trains hospice workers, clergy, psychologists, nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals on matters of grief recovery and dying. He helps people to identify systems of support and to cope with their anxiety, grief, and loss through better understanding of mourning and bereavement.
Dr. Moody received his medical degree from the College of Georgia and his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Virginia where he also received his M.A. and B.A.
He is the recipient of many awards including the World Humanitarian Award and a bronze medal in the Human Relations category at the New York Film Festival for the movie version of Life After Life.
Dr. Moody is a frequent media guest and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show three times, as well as on hundreds of other local and nationally syndicated programs such as MSNBC: Grief Recovery, Today, ABC's Turning Point, and hundreds more.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 27, 2018
In the early 2000s, I stumbled on a book that radically changed the way I thought about ghost stories and the paranormal. That book was The Last Laugh (1999) by Raymond Moody, Jr. Today, it is only available in digital format on Amazon Kindle. After all these years, I still recommend it to my readers interested in having a more well-rounded perspective on this subject. You might be surprised at what you discover about yourself and what it means to be human.
Raymond Moody, Jr. is the doctor who first publicized the phenomenon of near-death experiences in his groundbreaking book, Life After Life (1975). Much to his chagrin, his work re-invigorated the New Age movement and he was thrust into the limelight as someone who had “proven” the existence of life after death.
This misconception, he reveals in The Last Laugh, came as a result of his publisher’s deletion of a crucial final chapter in Life After Life in which he argues that these personal experiences, though incredibly meaningful and sometimes life changing, actually do not prove the existence of life after death. They just “moved the goalpost.”
The Last Laugh was meant not only to be a post-script to Life After Life, but to also serve as that final missing piece. The premise of The Last Laugh is simple but deeply insightful. Throughout recent history, there have been three main players in the discussion of the paranormal: parapsychologists, professional skeptics, and Christian fundamentalists.
Not only have these three perspectives not advanced our knowledge very much on the issue, but Moody contends that neither actually wants to resolve the debate, because in resolving the controversy they would eliminate their reason for being in the spotlight and also lose a source of fun and entertainment in the process.
That the paranormal is, fundamentally, about fun and entertainment seems to be Moody’s deepest insight. His solution to our intellectual logjam on the subject is to propose a new perspective: “playful paranormalism.” Playful paranormalism sheds a more pragmatic light on the subject and declares that there is nothing “true” or “false” to be found in the subject, only experiences both interesting and meaningful.
Most people’s attitude toward the paranormal is similar to their attitude toward professional wrestling. Everyone loves to watch but no one takes questions about its reality very seriously. Only the “big three” perspectives take paranormal phenomena literally, insisting on a set vocabulary and a rigid interpretation of events.
By viewing the paranormal as a form of entertainment, we open it up as a meaningful field of study. What is the history of the paranormal? How do we experience it? How do we talk about it? What is paranormal? All of these questions have been left out of the debate by the “big three.” Playful paranormalism removes the logjam that has kept discussions of the paranormal mired in endless, circular debate.
“I believe that readers who follow my arguments through to their conclusions will arrive at what is, ultimately, a more comprehensive, useful, and satisfying solution of the mysteries of the paranormal than is offered by any of the ready-to-wear theories that dominate the market,” he concludes.
I believe that Moody more than accomplishes his goal. In addition to its central thesis, The Last Laugh contains a number of surprising insights, including Moody’s efforts at recreating an ancient Greek technique for causing participants to experience aspects of the near-death experience.
Do not let the negative reviews dissuade you—many are from readers angry that Moody “changed his mind” about near death experiences, even though he explains how his publisher manipulated his original work on page one. They are the same close-minded ideologues that Moody does such an effective job of exposing.
Raymond Moody, Jr. is the doctor who first publicized the phenomenon of near-death experiences in his groundbreaking book, Life After Life (1975). Much to his chagrin, his work re-invigorated the New Age movement and he was thrust into the limelight as someone who had “proven” the existence of life after death.
This misconception, he reveals in The Last Laugh, came as a result of his publisher’s deletion of a crucial final chapter in Life After Life in which he argues that these personal experiences, though incredibly meaningful and sometimes life changing, actually do not prove the existence of life after death. They just “moved the goalpost.”
The Last Laugh was meant not only to be a post-script to Life After Life, but to also serve as that final missing piece. The premise of The Last Laugh is simple but deeply insightful. Throughout recent history, there have been three main players in the discussion of the paranormal: parapsychologists, professional skeptics, and Christian fundamentalists.
Not only have these three perspectives not advanced our knowledge very much on the issue, but Moody contends that neither actually wants to resolve the debate, because in resolving the controversy they would eliminate their reason for being in the spotlight and also lose a source of fun and entertainment in the process.
That the paranormal is, fundamentally, about fun and entertainment seems to be Moody’s deepest insight. His solution to our intellectual logjam on the subject is to propose a new perspective: “playful paranormalism.” Playful paranormalism sheds a more pragmatic light on the subject and declares that there is nothing “true” or “false” to be found in the subject, only experiences both interesting and meaningful.
Most people’s attitude toward the paranormal is similar to their attitude toward professional wrestling. Everyone loves to watch but no one takes questions about its reality very seriously. Only the “big three” perspectives take paranormal phenomena literally, insisting on a set vocabulary and a rigid interpretation of events.
By viewing the paranormal as a form of entertainment, we open it up as a meaningful field of study. What is the history of the paranormal? How do we experience it? How do we talk about it? What is paranormal? All of these questions have been left out of the debate by the “big three.” Playful paranormalism removes the logjam that has kept discussions of the paranormal mired in endless, circular debate.
“I believe that readers who follow my arguments through to their conclusions will arrive at what is, ultimately, a more comprehensive, useful, and satisfying solution of the mysteries of the paranormal than is offered by any of the ready-to-wear theories that dominate the market,” he concludes.
I believe that Moody more than accomplishes his goal. In addition to its central thesis, The Last Laugh contains a number of surprising insights, including Moody’s efforts at recreating an ancient Greek technique for causing participants to experience aspects of the near-death experience.
Do not let the negative reviews dissuade you—many are from readers angry that Moody “changed his mind” about near death experiences, even though he explains how his publisher manipulated his original work on page one. They are the same close-minded ideologues that Moody does such an effective job of exposing.
July 15, 2014
If you've enjoyed Raymond Moody's early works and have an appreciation for his scientific approach to NDE's or his look at the healing aspects of mirror gazing, you will not like this book.
Although I don't disagree with Moody's desire to take back his own name and his own destiny from the hands of editors who are more interested in selling the "paranormal" than providing dignity to Moody's findings, "The Last Laugh" makes it apparent that Moody is not philosopher-enough to carry out his intentions to go beyond the current paranormal paradigm. He has no vocabulary for it and fails to create one in this book.
Writers change. Their voices take left turns sometimes. I'm not sure where Moody went, but he stepped way out of his depth here.
Although I don't disagree with Moody's desire to take back his own name and his own destiny from the hands of editors who are more interested in selling the "paranormal" than providing dignity to Moody's findings, "The Last Laugh" makes it apparent that Moody is not philosopher-enough to carry out his intentions to go beyond the current paranormal paradigm. He has no vocabulary for it and fails to create one in this book.
Writers change. Their voices take left turns sometimes. I'm not sure where Moody went, but he stepped way out of his depth here.
August 14, 2024
A VERY SURPRISING (AND BAD-TEMPERED) BOOK FROM THE "LIFE AFTER LIFE" AUTHOR
Raymond A. Moody, Jr. (born 1944) is both a philosopher and psychiatrist. He has written many other books, such as: 'Life After Life,' 'Reflections on Life After Life,' 'The Light Beyond,' 'Coming Back,' 'Reunions: Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved Ones,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, "This obligatory addendum to 'Life After Life' consists of the thoughts commercial publishers edited out of my works during a twenty-year period. The truth is, in their pursuit of riches and for the sake of sensationalism, publisher-editors hacked so much out of what I wrote that for a long time I haven't recognized myself in those books... The publishers rake in the cash, and I'm the one left to answer the critics' objections---the very objections I had anticipated and resolved in the passages editors either altered or cut out of what I wrote. You can know that publishers haven't tampered with these words, though, because with 'The Last Laugh,' I'm taking my identity back... I'll accept responsibility for 'Life After Life' only insofar as it is read and interpreted in the broader context provided by this new, required supplement." (Pg. viii-ix)
He states, "'Life After Life' was printed just as I wrote it, except that my publisher deleted the lengthy section at the end in which I explained in greater detail why near-death experiences can't be counted as scientific evidence of life after death. The publisher worried that the appendix would go over the public's head... I didn't put up as much of a fight as I should have..." (Pg. 7) He boldly admits, "there may be no such thing as life after death... I'm afraid I have helped to make people feel 'certain' about the existence of life after death ... This is ironic, since I have never been certain... I simply meant to report the experiences of people who were 'near death.' I never assumed myself to be reporting the experiences of people AFTER death, nor have I ever reached the conclusion that ... an ongoing 'life' after death had now been proven beyond question. The purpose of my first book, in fact, was to RAISE the question, not to ANSWER it." (Pg. 8)
He is strongly critical of the "funda-Christians" such as Maurice Rawlings (author of Beyond Death's Door and other books; Moody calls him "Dr. Ravings"; pg. xi) and Douglas Groothuis (author of books such as Confronting the New Age: How to Resist a Growing Religious Movement; Moody calls him "Professor Grootish"; pg. xii). He calls Dannion Brinkley and Neale Donald Walsh "showmen of the first rank" (pg. 31), and calls Brinkley's professed psychic abilities into question (Pg. 171-173), and suggests that he and Betty Eadie present "NDEntertainment" (Pg. 177).
He admits, "I am a playful paranormalist. It is from that place that I have always been coming... My interest in the whole subject of life after death... [came] from a place of childlike willingness to explore everything playfully, but with intention to look closely and with respect at what my explorations revealed." (Pg. 159)
Many fans of Moody's earlier books will possibly be shocked by this one; yet, as he says, it should be read by anyone wanting to more accurately understand his actual position.
Raymond A. Moody, Jr. (born 1944) is both a philosopher and psychiatrist. He has written many other books, such as: 'Life After Life,' 'Reflections on Life After Life,' 'The Light Beyond,' 'Coming Back,' 'Reunions: Visionary Encounters With Departed Loved Ones,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 1999 book, "This obligatory addendum to 'Life After Life' consists of the thoughts commercial publishers edited out of my works during a twenty-year period. The truth is, in their pursuit of riches and for the sake of sensationalism, publisher-editors hacked so much out of what I wrote that for a long time I haven't recognized myself in those books... The publishers rake in the cash, and I'm the one left to answer the critics' objections---the very objections I had anticipated and resolved in the passages editors either altered or cut out of what I wrote. You can know that publishers haven't tampered with these words, though, because with 'The Last Laugh,' I'm taking my identity back... I'll accept responsibility for 'Life After Life' only insofar as it is read and interpreted in the broader context provided by this new, required supplement." (Pg. viii-ix)
He states, "'Life After Life' was printed just as I wrote it, except that my publisher deleted the lengthy section at the end in which I explained in greater detail why near-death experiences can't be counted as scientific evidence of life after death. The publisher worried that the appendix would go over the public's head... I didn't put up as much of a fight as I should have..." (Pg. 7) He boldly admits, "there may be no such thing as life after death... I'm afraid I have helped to make people feel 'certain' about the existence of life after death ... This is ironic, since I have never been certain... I simply meant to report the experiences of people who were 'near death.' I never assumed myself to be reporting the experiences of people AFTER death, nor have I ever reached the conclusion that ... an ongoing 'life' after death had now been proven beyond question. The purpose of my first book, in fact, was to RAISE the question, not to ANSWER it." (Pg. 8)
He is strongly critical of the "funda-Christians" such as Maurice Rawlings (author of Beyond Death's Door and other books; Moody calls him "Dr. Ravings"; pg. xi) and Douglas Groothuis (author of books such as Confronting the New Age: How to Resist a Growing Religious Movement; Moody calls him "Professor Grootish"; pg. xii). He calls Dannion Brinkley and Neale Donald Walsh "showmen of the first rank" (pg. 31), and calls Brinkley's professed psychic abilities into question (Pg. 171-173), and suggests that he and Betty Eadie present "NDEntertainment" (Pg. 177).
He admits, "I am a playful paranormalist. It is from that place that I have always been coming... My interest in the whole subject of life after death... [came] from a place of childlike willingness to explore everything playfully, but with intention to look closely and with respect at what my explorations revealed." (Pg. 159)
Many fans of Moody's earlier books will possibly be shocked by this one; yet, as he says, it should be read by anyone wanting to more accurately understand his actual position.
June 16, 2016
Always fun to read about this stuff, but there's just nothing to see here; nothing new, maybe 'cause it was written in 1999. Too much sediment has fallen above this one to retain my interest in any measure.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews