FORGIVENESS, FREEDOM, AND NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES:

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOANALYTIC INQUIRY INTO ETHICAL AND METAPHYSICAL TRANSFORMATION

Abstract

This article investigates forgiveness as a psychological, philosophical, ethical, and metaphysical phenomenon, integrating psychoanalysis, philosophical hermeneutics, and empirical research on near-death experiences (NDEs). It initially examines resentment, guilt, and the symbolic elaboration of suffering through psychoanalytic perspectives, establishing a dialogue with Paul Ricoeur’s reflections on narrative identity, the logic of the gift, and the non-coercive character of forgiveness. It subsequently explores the phenomenological dimensions of NDEs, particularly panoramic life reviews, encounters with a “being of light,” heightened reflective awareness, radical empathy, and subsequent existential transformations. The analysis considers how experiences of self-forgiveness, reconciliation, and unconditional acceptance may foster ethical and affective reorientation. It argues that such experiences raise significant questions for reductionist physicalist interpretations of consciousness without necessarily providing conclusive evidence against them. The article concludes that NDEs offer a relevant interdisciplinary framework for understanding forgiveness as a transformative event capable of reinterpreting memory, reconfiguring narrative identity, and expanding human possibilities for recognition, freedom, and existential renewal.