The Literature of the Reincarnation

 
 
 
 
The purpose of this research is to examine the literature of reincarnation. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which reincarnation has entered the popular and scholarly discourse and then to discuss its meaning in various religious and spiritual traditions, as well as how it has been treated in scientific investigations.

The topic of reincarnation is almost a commonplace of popular culture, even though its origins as a concept can be located in various religious traditions around the world. For the reason that the pop-culture associations of reincarnation may be most familiar to the majority of people and because the concept may be misunderstood by reason of its popularization, it is appropriate to review ways it resonates in various traditions, with a view toward arriving at a more precise understanding of it.

In a wide array of cultures and religious traditions, the concept of reincarnation is associated with concepts of human nature, the meaning of life, and the notion of the fusion and separateness of material and immaterial reality, or the body and soul. Equally, it enters the discourse of the certain consciousness of life and the certainty that the span of human life also involves death. Just how reincarnation is conceptualized helps explain attributes of the culture in which it achieves relevance. Typically, it is associated with religious traditions. Rosen's brief treatment of reincarnation as both doctrine and controversy in the major reli


     
 
 
 
    

 

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.D., has been collecting data for several decades, and over the years he appears to have increasingly adopted the view that he has documented cases of reincarnation through children. He does not so much argue the truth of reincarnation from a moral perspective as trust reports and observations of physical coincidences that tally with what are said to be unprompted stories of the children. But that approach has sparked controversy over his work in the professional psychological and practitioner community. That is because of what is perceived as his haphazard application of the scientific method. One review of his 2000 text accuses him of nonscientific "backward reasoning," i.e., accepting the validity of claims about past lives in the absence of material evidence (Angel, 2002). Another skeptical review says that the real value of Stevenson's work is that it provides a window onto the issue of children's credibility, highlighting "an interesting transcultural topic--reincarnation-and the role of young children in perpetuating this belief in many parts of the world," and providing a provocative explanation of personality and physical anomalies if reincarnation were true. All of these issues touch on concerns in the mainstream child-

Category: Philosophy - T
 
 
 
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