During "Out-of-Body" Experiences, People's Consciousness Don't Leaves Their Bodies

This is also my first debate on this site. Let me make it clear that no semantics are allowed. I do not see what is wrong with the definition of consciousness I provided. My opponent should not try to change the definitions. Especially not when his definition assumes the question at hand. Con: “I believe that Pro should have to show that the consciousness leaves the body” No, I will argue that it is more plausible that the consciousness does not leave the body then that the consciousness indeed leaves the body. This being said let’s move on to the debate. In my opening I will lay out 3 arguments: Argument 1: There is no good evidence for that the consciousness leaves the body during an Out of Body experience (OBE). Argument 2: There is good evidence for a naturalistic explanation. Argument 3: Dualism is false. A1-1: Anecdotal evidence There are many stories known of people who reported an OBE, they are indeed surprisingly common. It is known that people who report OBEs are also prone to fantasize during the day, report hallucinations and perceptual distortions [1]. One objection is that the evidence is anecdotal in nature. Moreover, it turns out that similar findings are a lot less impressive after thorough investigation. The hypothesis that the conscious leaves the body during the OBE is actually easily tested, by testing if one can observe something at a remote location during the OBE. Yet, the results turn out to be almost always inaccurate. When the OBE is researched in highly systematic controlled experiments, results seem to be always negative. A1-2: Not scientific There are some known cases in which a positive finding was reported. However, one of the main principles of the scientific method is replication. This requirement is not met. At best, the results could be described as good guesses in the rare instances that they have been accurate [2]. So if the consciousness does not actually leave the body during the OBE, what best explains the experience? A2-1: Lucid dreams theory Levitan en LaBerge found a relationship between lucid dreams and the OBE [3]. They theorized that the OBE is a projection of the mind and is formed when awake during REM sleep. Although the body is inactive during this period, the consciousness is in that period active. The brain fills in the absence of sensory information by fantasy and because the consciousness is in alert state, these experiences seem evocative. And indeed a correlation of 0.20 is found between having lucid dreams and OBEs [1]. A2-2: The lack of oxygen theory When the brains do not get enough oxygen, this can lead to disinhibition by which the brain activity does increase and may cause hallucination [4]. Furthermore, if the angular gyrus, an area on the border where the temporal lobe and parietal lobe meet and which is also very sensitive to oxygen deficiency, is being stimulated, OBEs can be generated [5]. A2-3: Hallucination theory Olaf Blanke found that through electrical stimulation of the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) the area where the temporal lobe and parietal lobe meet, OBEs can be generated. Participants in one study reported the feeling of escaping their own bodies and watch them from a position outside their bodies, when this area in the brains is stimulated electrically. Moreover, research shows that people with epilepsy who regularly report OBEs often have injuries to the TPJ [5]. It appears that the TPJ is crucial for the body and self- perception. This brain structure is the center of visual information and information related to positional equilibrium and self-perception. Conflict arises when the brain wrongly integrates the information and comes to conclude that the body is standing at two different locations, which may lead to the illusion to see oneself [6]. A3-1: Biological development For the consciousness to be able to leave the body it has to be immaterial. But because we are evolved out of material matter, ever since no immaterial substance is known to be added. A3-2: Physical dependence of consciousness Certain injures to the brain make it impossible for a person to have any mental state at all. Also brain states and mental states are highly correlated. Nothing mental happens without something physical happens. This strongly implies that consciousness cannot exist independently of the physical brain. A3-3: Parsimony As we have seen, an explanation of the OBE does not require the postulation of an additional entity. Thus, when it is not necessary to assume an extra term, the simplest hypothesis is preferred. Conclusion My opponent has to show that not only it is possible that the consciousness is able to leave the restriction of the physical body and can operate without the brain, but that it is furthermore more plausible than the theories I have suggested. [Sources can be found in the comment section]