Research Of Whether A Recall Of Past Lives Is Evidence For Reincarnation

Introduction

The meaning of reincarnation differs across individuals but in essence, includes the idea that at death, the physical body perishes but the soul may persist and may later become associated with another physical body. Its literal meaning is 'to take on the flesh again'. Reincarnation remained a mind boggling mystery until the year 2000, when Dr. Ian Stevenson made large contributions in shedding light on the subject. His life work is best known and most respected in providing evidence for reincarnation. Instead of forms of extrasensory perception such as hypnosis, he collected thousands of cases of children who could spontaneously recall past lives. Religion plays a huge role in this mystery as civilizations evolve. This essay aims at explaining the journey of a soul in the afterlife, weighs the claim that recollection of past lives is evidence of reincarnation, and the alternative hypothesis, simulation theory. There has not been much existing literature on simulation theory, hence, this essay attempts to draw a connection between simulation theory and reincarnation. These hypotheses will then be rated using the criteria of adequacy which aids the evaluation whether a suggested explanation has the potential to fulfill this purpose.

Hypothesis

In the past, doctors viewed recollection of past lives as peculiarities and blamed it on a lack or surplus of certain hormones. However, in recent days, despite the geographical boundaries and cross cultural differences, reincarnation is believed by many religions. For example, Hinduism and ancient Greek philosophy both share similar ideas on reincarnation despite their demographic differences. There have been many instances of children having memories from past lives. There are certain religions which believe that regardless of whether you remember your past lives, essentially everyone is reborn. Reports of reincarnation have been published since the late 1980s. Most cases of reincarnation happen in countries which believe in the idea, such as India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Lebanon which has led to some believing that it is nothing more than myths shaped by expectations of the culture. However, reincarnation also occurs in areas of the world whose people find the idea of reincarnation uncongenial or even heretical. Typically, a case of reincarnation begins in childhood from ages two to four, when children start to talk about remembering living a life before birth. This is almost always accompanied by behaviour which is unusual in the child’s family.

Reincarnation claims are more prevalent and common among children, where unusual forms of behaviour are displayed. 35% of the cases that Ian Stevenson investigated had children who died of unnatural deaths and developed phobias in which their parents cannot account for. These phobias harmonize with the cause of death of the deceased person whom the child was claiming to remember. For instance, if children had drowned in their past life, they might develop phobias related to water. If they had died in an airplane accident, they tend to have fears of flying. Another frequently observed behavior in children who believe they have been reincarnated are philias. Philias concern children who express the wish to do something which is out of their culture such as eat different kinds of foods or to wear clothes inconsistent with their environment. If a child had developed an alcohol, tobacco or drug addiction as an adult in a previous incarnation he may express a need for these substances and develop cravings at an early age.

Arguments and Fallacies

Different religions and cultures have different beliefs. For those with strong beliefs of reincarnation, this hypothesis may be an appeal to tradition. This becomes apparent when we consider that Eskimos are also strong believers in reincarnation despite the lack of evidence presented to them. To illustrate, the gentleness and abstention from punishing their children stems from their belief that their children were, in their previous lives, one of their parents or deceased relative although there are no claims of their children ever recalling past life memories. The fallacy of false cause consists of supposing that two events are causally connected when they are not. Some believe that the recall of past lives always and only points to reincarnation. Such reasoning is fallacious and in fact, in certain cases, recall of past lives memories is actually due to genetics where fearful experiences, such as trauma from being in a war zone, may be passed on from parent to child.

Criteria of Adequacy

Despite the number of cases of people remembering past lives, it is still quite rare, even in south East Asian countries where reincarnation is believed to occur more frequently than elsewhere. The total number of cases investigated is small and hence cannot be generalized to the larger population. Accumulated evidence of reincarnation is testable only under certain assumptions. In one such case in India, a boy who had a birthmark on his throat claimed he was shot in his throat in his previous life. Assuming birthmarks was evidence of reincarnation, Dr. Stevenson tested this hypothesis by shaving his head to find an exit wound birthmark. Conservatism is how well this claim fits with one’s established beliefs and would depend largely on the culture of which that particular case came from. In cultures such as India, reincarnation is so common it is not a hope but an expectation. Reincarnation is definitely fruitful as it offers explanations to phenomena otherwise unexplainable and testing this hypothesis has led to novel discoveries. Additionally, it causes people whose religion does not believe in reincarnation start to concede and believe in it as they cannot make sense of these bizarre happenings. This hypothesis lacks scope as it does not prove other phenomena and fails the simplicity criterion as there are many assumptions being made.

Alternative Hypothesis

There are many alternative views of recall of past lives such as hidden memory, altered states of consciousness, paramnesia where memories of this life are misinterpreted as those pertaining to another, and even possession of the child by a discarnate personality. Another view however is perplexing. Could we all be living in a simulation? Contrary to reincarnation beliefs where there is a soul and an afterlife jounrey, leading to being reborn, the simulation theory posits current life being part of a future experiment. Known as the simulation hypothesis, the argument here is that all reality is actually an artificial simulation, most likely one run by an advanced supercomputer. It is effortless to discount the simulation hypothesis as some kind of science fiction like The Matrix. However, in recent years, this hypothesis has regained traction. With a newfound vigor from technological industries, the simulation hypothesis has been making headlines, with technological entrepreneur Elon Musk and scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson and Thomas Campbell expressing their support.

Bostrom (2013) argues that the end of the world will likely be the end of our simulation. This directly oposes the concept of reincarnation where souls are reborn. Simulation theory proves otherwise, where souls are not recycled but are created, in a simulation. The theory puts fourth that the curren human population are actually a simulation of people from 1000 years of the future who wanted to see what it was like to live in the past.

Another argument for the simulation hypothesis comes from Nick Bostrum, a philosopher and James Gates, theoretical physicist. Advanced civilizations with massive computing power might decide to run simulations of their ancestors, which is our current lives. Science fiction and futurologists predict that these enormous amounts of computing powers will be available in the future. Given the remarkable leap and sophistication of recent technology, we would not know that we are nothing more than computer programs. Gates, meanwhile, found “error-correcting codes”, similar in principle to those used in web browsers while studying equations about electrons and quarks. Something even more thought provoking and concerning, it is almost impossible to prove we are in a real universe because any “evidence” could all well be part of the simulated program.

Elon Musk is a technology entrepreneur, CEO of Tesla, who promotes that we are in a simulation, causing more people to believe him as well. This is appeal to the masses and also a bandwagon fallacy is an appeal to popularity, as people start to believe in the simulation theory just because others believe it. Popularity is not a reliable indication either of reality or of value.

This hypothesis is in no way testable as there are no ways to determine whether this theory is true other than to prove the hypothesis, and that would require evidence that backs up the claim. Since evidence of the simulation theory would be extremely difficult to gather, it is seemingly impossible to prove. It does not predict anything other than what it was introduced to explain. It is not simple because it requires postulating the existence of any mysterious entities and massive assumptions. Simulation hypothesis is definitely fruitful as it gives a different perspective and the theory in its short span of life has garnered many believers. There is not much existing information about how simulation theory links to reincarnation and hence might be a novel discovery, unearthing numerous phenomena. This theory does not fit with our established beliefs; it directly contradicts what the majority of rational people believe. It also does not meet the scope and conservatism criteria.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although simulation theory is a plausible hypothesis in which many believe in, reincarnation shows more concrete evidence. Many critics of reincarnation have pointed out that reincarnation is in itself an irrefutable hypothesis. Many cases investigated of course share its fair share of flaws, however, they provide instead a body of evidence suggestive of reincarnation that appears to be accumulating in amount and quality. There seems to be more compelling evidence supporting the theory of reincarnation.

We all have an engrained bias that urges us to latch onto a favorite hypothesis and ignore or resist all alternatives. We may believe that we need not look at other explanations since we know that our own perception is correct. This tendency may make us happy (at least for a while), but is also a good recipe for delusion. We must work to counteract this bias. Having an open mind means being willing to consider any possibility and changing your view in light of good reasons.

References

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