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For most
people, reincarnation is a matter of faith. Millions of
Hindus believe in it, and some polls show that over 20%
of Americans who self-identify as Christians do too, despite
Christian doctrine's repudiation of the idea.
What fewer people know is that reincarnation is actually
being studied scientifically. The research falls into three
categories:
1. Children's Claims of Past Life
Memories
Some feel
that persuasive evidence for reincarnation is found in the
work of psychiatrist Dr. Ian Stevenson, who recently retired
from his post in the
Division of Personality Studies at the University of
Virginia. Stevenson spent four decades traveling the globe,
following up on thousands of cases of very young children
who reported intricate memories of past lives. According
to Stevenson's documentation, these children spontaneously
recalled names, locations, and intimate details of people
they could not possibly know.
Sample case: A five-year-old Indian boy, Parmod Sharma,
remembered specific details about a man named Parmanand,
including street directions in Parmanand's city and the
man's "special seat." The boy also visited the factory Parmanand
owned and gave directions for repairing complicated machinery
in it.
Read his story.
Proponents say: Stevenson's work follows the scientific
method; his controlled studies rule out connections between
the child's family and the "past life" family. In 1975,
in a review of Stevenson's "Cases of the Reincarnation Type"
in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr.
Lester S. King concluded that Stevenson had "painstakingly
and unemotionally collected a detailed series of cases in
India, cases in which the evidence for reincarnation is
difficult to understand on any other grounds....[H]e has
placed on record a large amount of data that cannot be ignored."
Skeptics say: Most of Stevenson's cases occurred
in countries where a belief in reincarnation is a cultural
given, such as Thailand or India. In such cultures, children
might be predisposed to make up stories about past lives--stories
that are then positively reinforced or conditioned by family
members. Stevenson himself says his studies are merely "suggestive"
of reincarnation and declines to state positively whether
reincarnation is real.
An additional source of concern is the fact that few other
researchers have studied children's claims. A skeptic deconstructs
several of Stevenson's famous cases
here.
More about Children's
Past Lives:
The Case of Shanti Devi
"My Five-Year-Old Remembers the Civil War"
Stevenson's Work: Essays, Interviews, and More (pro-reincarnation)
Stevenson's Methods: Interview with Stevenson's colleague
Debunking Children's "Past Lives" (Indian Rationalist
Association)
2. Birthmark Matches
Dr. Stevenson has also pioneered the
study of birthmarks as a possible window into a person's
past life. His work draws connections between birthmarks
and injuries from past lives. For example, one of his cases
refers to a pronounced birthmark on the scalp of a Thai
child; the child remembers the life of a man who was killed
by a knife wound to the head. In some cases, Dr. Stevenson
has collected medical records (such as X-rays) from the
person believed to have reincarnated.
Sample case: An Indian boy with
an unusually patterned birthmark on his chest says he remembers
the life of a man, Maha Ram, who was killed with a shotgun
fired at close range. An autopsy report of Maha Ram showed
the principal shotgun wounds, which appear to be in a similar
pattern.
See photos.
Proponents say: It's statistically
improbable that the birthmarks are coincidences, given their
location and patterns; in addition, in some cases Stevenson
has identified two separate birthmarks on one person, corresponding
to two different traumas undergone by the deceased person.
Stevenson documented the case of Necip Ünlütaskiran of
Turkey, who had seven birthmarks, six of which corresponded
to wounds described in a medical report. Necip also claimed
that he had stabbed his wife of a previous life in the leg;
her scar was verified when she was identified.
Skeptics say: The location and
pattern of birthmarks is simply a matter of chance.
More about Birthmark Studies
The Most Unusual Birthmarks
Review of Stevenson's "Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect"
3. Past
Life Regression by Adults
Some believe
that memories which surface during hypnotherapy sessions
offer evidence of a person's past life. While hypnotized,
adults have related details about past lives as Middle Eastern
warriors, European peasants, and more.
Sample case: In one famous but
oft-disputed case, a Colorado woman was hypnotized and subsequently
remembered the life of Bridey Murphy, a 19th-century woman
from Cork, Ireland. While under hypnosis, she talked in
an Irish brogue, sang Irish songs, and remembered being
held as she bent to kiss the Blarney Stone. Recordings of
the hypnotic sessions were made and translated into more
than a dozen languages.
In a more recent case, previously skeptical
psychiatrist Dr. Brian Weiss had been treating a young woman
with traditional "talk therapy" for over a year. Failing
to identify the source of her chronic fears, he decided
to use hypnotherapy. While under hypnosis, his patient recalled
her life in the year 1863 B.C.E., when she was a 25-year-old
named Aronda.
Proponents say: Some psychiatrists
have found the level of detail and plausibility in their
patients' accounts very persuasive. In Dr. Weiss' case,
his patient had visited him for eighteen months before recalling
the past life. Weiss argues that if the patient had simply
wanted to make the memories up, she would not have waited
so long to do so.
Skeptics say: One skeptics' study
states that a belief in reincarnation is the greatest predictor
of whether a subject has a past-life memory while undergoing
hypnotherapy, and that therefore a subject's memories are
most likely self-fulfilling prophecies. Dr. Jim Tucker,
who has continued Dr. Stevenson's work at the University
of Virginia, says: "In general, past-life regression work
has lacked the scientific rigor of Dr. Stevenson's work.
A subject may describe a life in ancient times with great
emotion, but since the statements cannot be verified as
accurate for a particular individual who actually lived,
the evidenciary value of such a case is very limited at
best."
More on Past-Life Regression:
Website of Dr. Brian Weiss
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