Persons, Souls and Death
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-0-7864-3487-9 (ISBN)
Awareness of mortality is the price of intelligent consciousness. This book argues that a person is essentially an immaterial subject of conscious states who, though intimately linked by causal ties to the body, is nevertheless distinct from it. The book also examines apparently paranormal occurrences supporting the belief that some persons have survived bodily death. Cases of near-death experiences, apparitions, reincarnation experiences and mediumship phenomena are presented and discussed.
Though it might seem contrary to natural law for a person to exist apart from a body and properly functioning brain, these cases suggest otherwise. Critical evaluation of alternative interpretations is provided.
David H. Lund is professor emeritus of philosophy at Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota. He is enjoying his retirement on his farm in northern Minnesota.
Table of Contents
Preface
INTRODUCTION
The Perennial Question
A Philosophical Approach
The Influence and Scope of Science
The Coherence of the Idea of Post-Mortem Existence
The Relevance of the Case for Theism
The Nature of Persons and the Laws of Nature
Part I: Persons, Bodies, and the Possibility of Post-Mortem Existence
THE CASE AGAINST POST-MORTEM EXISTENCE
Antecedent Probability of Extinction
Empirically-Grounded Support of Extinction
Theory-Based Arguments for Extinction
MINDS, SOULS AND PERSONS
Materialist-Reductionist Accounts of the Mental
Materialist Theories of Personal Identity
The Immateriality of the Mental
Psychological Theories of the Person
The Person as Subject of Conscious States
MENTAL-PHYSICAL RELATIONS
The Causality Problem
Mind-Brain Interaction
Causation Conceived as Reducible
Causation Conceived as Irreducible
Deep Causation
The Directionality of Causation
Intentional Causation
Dualistic Causation and the Causal Closure Hypothesis
Mental-Mental Causation
Paranormal Causation
The Causal Independence of the Conscious Self
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS SUPPORTIVE OF POST-MORTEM EXISTENCE
Theism and Revelation Accounts
The Deep Unity of the Self
Non-Intentional Consciousness and the Self
Part II. Ostensible Evidence of Post-Mortem Existence
OUR INVESTIGATION SO FAR
NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES
Death-Bed Visions
Non-Terminal Near-Death Experiences
Naturalistic Explanation of NDEs
Paranormal Theories: ESP and Super-ESP
APPARITIONS
Reciprocal Apparitions
The Naturalistic Interpretation
Paranormal Interpretations of Apparitions of the Dead
Collective and Iterative Apparitional Experiences
The Super-Psi Hypothesis
The Telepathic Theory
The Objectivist Theory
The Survivalist Explanation
REINCARNATION
Reincarnation vs. Possession Interpretations
Cases of Responsive Xenoglossy
Spontaneous Recall of Ostensible Former Lives
The Shanti Devi Case
The Case of Jasbir Jat
The Case of Swarnlata Mishra
Naturalistic Explanations
The Fraud Hypothesis
Cryptomnesia
Paramnesia
Inherited Memory
Paranormal Explanations
The Psi Hypothesis
ESP Plus Impersonation
Reincarnation and Survival
Reincarnation and the Subject of Conscious States
MENTAL MEDIUMSHIP
The Mediumship of Mrs. Piper
Mrs. Willett’s Mediumship
Proxy Sittings
“Drop-In” Communicators
The Cross-Correspondences
CONCLUSION: ASSESSMENT OF THE CASE FOR POST-MORTEM EXISTENCE
Overview of Our Investigation into the Essence of Persons
Dispositions and the Self
Sensory Experience in an Afterworld
Discarnate Communication
The Significance of the Ostensible Evidence of Survival
Super-Psi or Survival?
The Balance of Probabilities
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 30.4.2009 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | notes, bibliography, index |
| Verlagsort | Jefferson, NC |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 152 x 229 mm |
| Gewicht | 331 g |
| Themenwelt | Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Gesundheit / Leben / Psychologie ► Esoterik / Spiritualität |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Erkenntnistheorie / Wissenschaftstheorie | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-7864-3487-2 / 0786434872 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-7864-3487-9 / 9780786434879 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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