Cup of Nirvana Philosophical and Contemplative Explorations

Sudduth’s Work in Progress

Fiction Writing

Since January 2016 Sudduth has been exploring philosophical themes through fiction writing. In June 2017 he completed Sylvia’s Shadow, a dark fiction story centered on the apparent discovery of poet Sylvia Plath’s unfinished, lost novel Double Exposure. Sudduth’s story reflects his long-standing interests in abnormal psychology, horror fiction, and the prospects for life after death. As of July 2019 a revised version of the novel is undergoing editorial and beta-reader evaluation.

Sudduth has two other psychological thriller novels in different stages of progress, The Intention and A Person You May Know. See Blogs on Fiction for his discussions related to fiction.

Philosophical Work

Screen Shot 2015-11-19 at 7.50.04 AMSudduth’s recent philosophical writing has focused on the topic of postmortem survival, the survival of the self or consciousness after biological death. Although long interested in religious conceptions of survival and the afterlife, Sudduth’s primary interest is the philosophical exploration of survival and its relation to empirical research into the question of survival, for example, the critical examination of data drawn from near-death experiences, mediumistic communications, and ostensible past-life memories (and other data allegedly suggestive of reincarnation). In addition to recent publications, his current discussions on the topic may be found in his blog. Recent posts include: “In Defense of Sam Harris on Near-Death Experiences,” “Unmasking Survivalist Presumptions,” and “What’s Wrong with Survival Literature.”  As part of his continuing work in epistemology, Sudduth is also currently working on an invited article on “defeaters” for the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Publications on Survival

“Undercutting Explanatory Survival Arguments” (TBA)

A Philosophical Critique of Empirical Arguments for Postmortem Survival (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). (For further details, visit Facebook – Philosophy of Postmortem Survival, or read Book Overview or sample chapter.)

“Is Survival the Best Explanation of the Data of Mediumship?” In The Survival Hypothesis: Essays on Mediumship, ed. Adam Rock (McFarland, 2014)

“A Critical Response to David Lund’s Argument for Postmortem Survival”, Journal of Scientific Exploration (2013), 27: 283-322

“Review of Chris Carter, Science and the Near-Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death,” Journal of Parapsychology, 75 (2011)

“Super-Psi and the Survivalist Interpretation of Mediumship,” Journal of Scientific Exploration (2009),  23: 167-193.

Archive of blog posts on the topic of postmortem survival

Complete List of Sudduth Publications (1994 – Present)