cooper@pbsvax.DEC (Topher Cooper HLO2-3/M08 DTN225-5819) (10/03/85)
Actually, to complicate the issue somewhat, there IS objective evidence
(I said evidence, NOT proof) for reincarnation. The most complete body
of such evidence that I know of can be found in the following books. All
are by Dr. Ian Stevenson, all are published by the University Press of Virginia.
_Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation_, 1980
_Cases of the Reincarnation Type_ ...
_Vol. 1: Ten Cases in India_, 1975
_Vol. 2: Ten Cases in Sri Lanka_, 1978
_Vol. 3: Twelve Cases in Lebanon & Turkey_, 1980
_Vol. 4: Twelve Cases in Thailand & Burma_, 1983
I must admit that I have only skimmed these books, and read papers which
discussed them. What they deal with are cases where a small child appears to
have memories which "belong" to some deceased person. Such stories are, of
course, common and are very poor evidence. These cases have, however, been
carefully investigated: extensive interviews with everyone involved, claims
checked and compared, possible ways the child could have learned the relevant
facts investigated.
The result is a body of case reports, the "simplest", most straight-forward
explanation for which is reincarnation. The problem is, of course, that there
are other, more complex explanations. If reincarnation is considered a priori
"not unlikely", then this would probably be good enough evidence to establish
it as "scientific fact."
This is relevant to the discussion of Occam's razor: which is multiplying
the number of entities more; reincarnation, which seems to contradict a
number of successful metaphysical world-views (Materialism and variants); or
the materialist alternate theories which involve assuming, without independent
evidence, such entities as widespread, complex conspiracies, created for no
noticeable gain?
My own belief? Thank you for asking. I am a materialist who believes that
there are certain as yet unexplained, but ultimately physically explainable,
phenomena which are referred to as psi. I think that these cases illustrate
an aspect of psi (specifically ESP), which is, that under completely unknown
conditions, it manifests at a level much higher than has ever been demonstrated
in the laboratory. This is known in parapsychology as the "super-psi"
hypothesis.
Topher Cooper
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Disclaimer: This contains my own opinions, and I am solely responsible for
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