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| '''Reincarnation''', also called "transmigration", is the idea that after physical death, some critical part of a person's personality or spirit is reborn in a different body. This is a central tenet of ], ], some forms of ], and African religions, as well as other ] and philosophies. | '''Reincarnation''', also called "transmigration", is the idea that after physical death, some critical part of a person's personality or spirit is reborn in a different body. This is a central tenet of ], ], some forms of ], and African religions, as well as other ] and philosophies. | ||
Revision as of 13:14, 6 March 2003
Reincarnation, also called "transmigration", is the idea that after physical death, some critical part of a person's personality or spirit is reborn in a different body. This is a central tenet of Hinduism, Jainism, some forms of Buddhism, and African religions, as well as other religions and philosophies.
Although reincarnation shares certain common features across these belief systems - a continuation of the self usually associated with some karmic task - there are often differing descriptions of the actual mechanism by which reincarnation occurs, as well as the details of what aspect of the person is being continued.
For example, reincarnation is a basic tenet of Hinduism and also of Buddhism. Hindus believe that the soul, or atman is what is preserved from one life to the next. Buddhists (or at least Theravada Buddhists) believe in what they call anatman, or the non-existence of the soul. The person is nothing more than an aggregate of material and mental components that separate upon death. However, when they separate, they normally cause a new aggregate to be formed, and thus reincarnation is carried out. Many Buddhists use the term rebirth rather than reincarnation, because they claim that reincarnation implies that there must be a separate soul incarnate in a physical body.
Reincarnation has a history in western culture as well. Some ancient Greek philosophers believed in reincarnation; see for example Plato's Phaedo and The Republic. Pythagoras was probably the first Greek philosopher to advance the idea.
Many Gnostic groups believed in reincarnation. The Gnostics also believed that the material body was evil, and that they would be better off if they could eventually avoid having their 'good' souls reincarnated in 'evil' bodies.
Although the great majority of Christian groups today deny reincarnartion, some sects, such as the Liberal Catholic Church, include the concept of reincarnation in their doctrine.
Some Hasidic Jews also include this doctrine.
Today belief in reincarnation is popular in New Age and Neopagan circles. It is an important tenet of Theosophy, and central to Spiritism, founded by Allan Kardec.
Evidence of reincarnation
Although anecdotal evidence abounds, the scientific evidence for reincarnation is currently fairly weak. The most detailed collections of personal reports in favor of reincarnation have been published by Dr. Ian Stevenson in works such as Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects , which documents thousands of detailed cases where claims of injuries received in past lives sometimes correlate with atyptical physical birthmarks or birth defects. Perhaps the most significant anecdotal evidence in this regard is the phenomenon of young children spontaneously sharing what appear to be memories of past lives, a phenomenon which has been reported even in cultures that do not hold to a belief in reincarnation. Upon investigating these claims, Stevenson and others have identified individuals who had died a few years before the child was born who seem to meet the descriptions the children provided. In the most compelling cases, autopsy photographs reveal that the deceased individuals have fatal injuries that correspond to the unusual marks or birth defects of the child; for example, marks on the chest and back of a child line up precisely with the bullet entry and exit wounds on the body of an individual who has been shot. However, Stevenson cautions that such evidence is suggestive of reincarnation, but that more research must be conducted.
Skeptics such as Paul Edwards have analyzed many of these and other anecdotal accounts, and claim that further research into the individuals involved provides sufficient background to weaken the conclusion that these cases are credible examples of reincarnation.
Critics who claim that reincarnation is impossible often espouse the alternate theory that a large number of mental phenomena such as memory and ability are already accounted for by physiological processes; and may point to moral and practical inconsistencies in the various theories of reincarnation. Occam's Razor would then seem to dictate that the critical view is to be preferred, as it demands no extraordinary new evidence beyond what is already known to science.
A more skeptical claim is that without some evidence showing that reincarnation exists (regardless of the current state of science), the theory of reincarnation cannot be considered to be a scientific theory of the real world. Claims of evidence of reincarnation are not uncommon, often presented in an appealing manner. Skeptics counsel that because people fear death and are eager to find alternative theories to personal extinction, it is therefore wise to consider any such claim with caution, and to consider the possibility that the claimer has something to gain by the listener's acceptance of the claim.
See also: Karma, Metempsychosis
References
- Ian Stevenson, Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects ISBN 0275952835
- Paul Edwards, Reincarnation: A Critical Examination ISBN 1573929212