$2 million, please.

"We Talk To The Philosopher Who Will Receive $5 Million To Study Immortality":

...We’ll look at near death experiences both in western cultures and throughout the world and really look at what they’re all about and ask the question — do they indicate something about an afterlife...?

No.

...But then there’s a lot of analytical work where we can ask philosophical questions about the meaning of the experiences. Do they indicate glimpses of an afterlife

No.

...or are they delusions?

Yes.

(As this is a subset of the "research questions," I'll settle for a mere $1 million.)

***

First I would say the Templeton Foundation is doing very important philanthropic work because they are stepping into a big void. There’s very little money for the humanities provided by governments. Who else has the money and the interest to support these great questions of human interest? I might even say it’s inappropriate for governments to ask citizens to support this kind of research.

It's totally appropriate for a private foundation with a rightwing, religious agenda, though. What could go wrong?

Further I should say that in my experience [Fischer sits on the board of the Templeton Foundation] I have seen no pressure by Templeton to go in one direction or another or to tilt results.

LOL. Don't ever change, Templeton.