From: wsadjw@rw6.urc.tue.nl (Jan Willem Nienhuys)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Re: Reincarnation
Date: 15 Sep 92 14:29:17 GMT
Reply-To: wsadjw@urc.tue.nl
Organization: Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands

In article <5439@tuegate.tue.nl> wsadjw@urc.tue.nl writes:
>In article <92Sep14.220642.34835@acs.ucalgary.ca> hexham@acs.ucalgary.ca (Irving Hexham) writes:
>>
>>	An otherwise sane friend of mine, actually a professor of
>>philosophy, has been hooked by books on reincarnation which claim
>>to factually report past life regression.  Does anyone know a
>>good response to this type of ....!?
>>Thanks.
>
>references for literature on reincarnation in general.

Here they are.  When your friend has worked him/herself through
these (I've read most of it), I would be delighted to exchange
opinions with him/her.

Alcock, J.E.,  Psychology and Near-Death Experiences ,  Skeptical Inquirer ,
vol. 3-3, (Spring 1979), p.25-41.
 
Baker, Robert A.,  Aliens Among Us: Hypnotic Regression Revisited .
 Skeptical Inquirer , vol. 12-2 (Winter 1987-88), p.147-162.
 
Barker, D.R.,  Correspondence .  
The Journal of Parapsychology , 43 (1979), p.268-269
[about a personally investigated case of reincarnation Rakesh Gaur]
 
Susan Blackmore,  Visions of the dying brain ,  New Scientist , 5 May 1988a,
p.36-46.
[about the side issue of life after death, or the veridicality of NDE's]
 
Susan Blackmore,  Out of the Body . In:  Not
Necessarily the New Age. Critical Essays . Robert Basil (ed.), Prometheus
Books, Buffalo, New York, 1988b, p. 165-184.
 
Brandon, S.G.F.,  The Judgement of the Dead; the Idea of Life 
After Death in the Major Religions . Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1967.
 
Chada, N.K. and I. Stevenson,  Two correlates of violent death in cases
of the reincarnation type .
 Journal of the Society for Psychical Research , vol. 55 (1988), p.71-78.
 
Chari, C.T.K.,  Reincarnation: New light on an old doctrine. An essay
review .  International Journal of Parapsychology , vol. 9 (1967), p.217-222.
 
Chari, C.T.K.,  Reincarnation research: Method and interpretation . In:
 The Signet Handbook of Parapsychology , Martin Ebon (Ed.).  
The New American Library, New York, 1978, p.313-324.
 
Chari, C.T.K.,  A new look at reincarnation .  
The Christian Parapsycholgist , vol. 4 (1981), p.221-229.
 
 
Chari, C.T.K.,  Review of Ian Stevenson's Cases of the Reincarnation Type,
volume IV: Twelve cases in Thailand and Burma .
 Journal of the Society for Psychical Research , vol. 53, (1986), p.325-331.
 
Cook, Emily W., S. Pasricha, G. Samararatne, U Wing Maung, 
I. Stevenson,  A review and 
analysis of `unsolved' cases of the reincarnation type. I. Introduction 
and illustrative case reports .  Journal of the 
American Society for Psychical research , vol. 77 (1983a), p.45-62.
 
Cook, Emily W., S. Pasricha, G. Samararatne, U Wing Maung, 
I. Stevenson,  A review and 
analysis of `unsolved' cases of the reincarnation type. I. Comparison of
features of solved and unsolved cases .
 Journal of the American Society for Psychical research , 
vol. 77 (1983b), p.115-136.
 
 Correspondence ,  Free Inquiry , vol. 7-4 (Fall 1987).

Ducasse, C.J.,  A critical examination of the Belief in a Life after Death .
Thomas, Springfield Ill., 1961.
 
Edwards, P.,  The Case against Reincarnation , Part 1-4,  Free Inquiry , 
vol. 6-4, 7-1, 7-2, 7-3 (Fall 1986 - Summer 1987).
 
Edwards, P.,  The case against Karma and reincarnation . In:  Not
Necessarily the New Age. Critical Essays . Robert Basil (ed.), Prometheus
Books, Buffalo, New York, 1988, p.87-129. [is Part 1 & 2 of above].
 
Gardner, M.,  Fads and Fallacies in
the Name of Science, Dover, New York 1957
(Note: the rendering of the Bridey Murphy affair in this book is
rather one sided; compare Ducasse)
 
Gardner, M., Glossolalia.   Free Inquiry , vol. 9 (2), (Spring 1989), p.46-48.
 
Haraldsson, E.,  Representative National Surveys of Psychic Phenomena:
Iceland, Great Britain, Sweden, USA and Gallup's Multinational Survey .
 Journal of the Society for Psychical Research , vol. 53, (1985), p.145-158.
 
Harris, M.  Investigating the unexplained . Prometheus Books, Buffalo,
New York, 1986a.  (Three chapters that more or less are same as next ref.)
 
Harris, M.,  Are Past-Life Regressions evidence of Reincarnation? 
 Free Inquiry , vol. 6-4 (Fall 1986b).
 
Harris, M.,  Past life regression: the grand illusion . In:  Not
Necessarily the New Age. Critical Essays . Robert Basil (ed.), Prometheus
Books, Buffalo, New York, 1988, p. 130-144.
(More or less same as previous reference)
 
Head, Joseph and S.L. Cranston.  Reincarnation. An East-West Anthology.
Including quotations from the world's religions and from over 400 western
thinkers .  The Theosophical Publishing House.  Wheaton, Ill., U.S.A./
Madras, India/ London, England, 1981. (first edition published by the
Julian Press, 1961.)
 
Head, Joseph, S.L. Cranston (ed.),  Reincarnation: The Phoenix Fire Mystery.
An East-West Dialogue on Death and rebirth from the Worlds of Religion, 
Science, Psychology, Philosophy, Art, and Literature and from Great Thinkers
of the Past and Present .  Julian Press/Crown Publishers, New York, 1977.
 
Hilgard, E.R.,  Hypnosis Gives Rise to Fantasy and Is Not a Truth Serum .
 Skeptical Inquirer , vol. 5-3 (Spring 1981), p.25.
 
Kampman, Reima,  Hypnotically induced multiple personality: an experimental
study .  The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis ,
vol. 24 (1976), p. 215-227.
 
Kovoor, A.,  Gods, Demons & Spirits . Jaico Publishing House, Bombay, 1980.
 
McCarthy, Rosaleen A., E.K. Warrington,  Evidence for modality-specific
meaning systems in the brain .  Nature , vol. 334 (1988), p.428-430.
 
Matlock, J.G.,  Review of D. Scott Rogo's The Search for Yesterday: A 
critical Examination of the Evidence for Reincarnation .
 Journal of the Society for Psychical Research , vol. 53, (1986), p. 229-232.
 
(Reference to literature on mutiple personality suppressed.  Since the
appearance of Wilson's book much more about multiple personality has
been published.  In a sense, past life regressions are also often
fantasies like the fantasies of multiple personalities; another 
similarity is that both are more or less provoked by therapists)

Nicol, J.Fraser,  Review of Stevenson's Cases of the Reincarnation Type.
Volume I: Ten cases in India .  Parapsychology Review , vol. 7 (1976) (5),
p.12-15.
 
Nicol, J.Fraser,  Correspondence .
 Parapsychology Review , vol. 8 (1977a) (3), p.18-19.
 
Nicol, J.Fraser,  Correspondence .
 Parapsychology Review , vol.8 (1977b) (5), p.21-22.
 
 
Ornstein, Robert and David Sobel,  The Healing Brain. Breakthrough discoveries
about how the brain keeps us healthy . Simon & Schuster, New York, 1988.
(side issue about the functioning of the brain, the nature of illusions
and so on)
 
Pasricha, S. en I. Stevenson,  A partly independent replication of 
investigations of cases suggestive of reincarnation . 
 European Journal of Parapsychology , vol. 3 (1), (Nov. 1979), p.51-65.
 
Pasricha, S.K. en D.R. Barker,  A case of the reincarnation type in
India. The case of Rakesh Gaur .
 European Journal of Parapsychology , vol. 3 (4), May 1981, p.381-408.
 
Pasricha, S.,  Correspondence .  The Journal of Parapsychology , vol. 43 (1979),
p. 267-268. 
 
Reveen, P.J.,   Fantasizing under hypnosis: some experimental evidence .
 Skeptical Inquirer , vol. 12-2 (Winter 1987/88).
 
Scott Rogo, D.,  Life after Death. The case for survival of bodily death .
The Aquarian Press, Wellingborough, 1986.
 
Scott Rogo, D.,  The Search for Yesterday. A critical examination of the 
evidence for reincarnation .  Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1985.
 
Scott Rogo, D., C.T.C. Chari, M.M. Fuller, I. Stevenson, J.G. Matlock,
 Correspondence [Letters and Replies] .
 Journal of the Society for Psychical Research , vol. 53, (1986), p.468-478.
 
Spanos, N.,  Past-Life Hypnotic Suggestion: A critical review .
 Skeptical Inquirer , vol. 12-2 (Winter 1987/88).
 
Stevenson, I.  Characteristics of cases of the reincarnation type in
Turkey and their comparison with cases in two other cultures .
 Journal of Comparative Sociology , vol. 11 (1970), p.1-17.
 
Stevenson, I.,  Cases of the reincarnation type. Vol I. Ten cases in India . University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1975. 
 
Stevenson, I.,  Cases of the reincarnation type. Vol II. Ten cases in Sri Lanka . University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1977a.
 
Stevenson, I.,  Reply to Fraser Nicol .   Parapsychology Review , vol. 8 (1977b) (5), p.19.
 
Stevenson, I.,  Correspondence .   Parapsychology Review , vol. 8 (1977c)(5), p.21.
 
Stevenson, I.,  Reincarnation: Field studies and theoretical issues . In:
 Handbook of Parapsychology , Wolman, B.B. (Ed.).  Van Nostrand Reinhold,
New York, 1977d, p.631-663.
 
Stevenson, I.,  American Children who claim to remember previous lives .
 Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease , vol. 164 (1977e), p.305-326.
 
Stevenson, I.,  Cases of the reincarnation type. Vol III. Twelve cases in Lebanon and Turkey . University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1980.
 
Stevenson, I.,  
Twenty Cases suggestive of Reincarnation, 2nd edition. 1973).
 
Stevenson, I.,  Cases of the reincarnation type. Vol IV. Twelve cases in 
Thailand and Burma . University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1983a.
 
Stevenson, I.  American children who claim to remember previous lives .
 Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease , vol. 171 (1983) p.742-748.
 
Stevenson, I.,  Unlearned Language, New Studies in Xenoglossy . 
University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1984.
 
 Stevenson, Comments by Ian ,
 Journal of the Society for Psychical Research , vol. 53, (1986), p. 232-239.
 
Stevenson, I., S. Pasricha and G. Samararatne,  Deception and Self-Deception
in Cases of the Re:incarnation Type: Seven Illustrative Cases in Asia .
 The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research , 
vol. 82 (1988), p.1-31.
 
Stevenson, I and C.T.K. Chari,  Criteria of reincarnation research.
An exchange of letters .   International Journal of Parapsychology , vol. 4
(1962) (4), p.90-98.
 
Thomason, S.G.,  Do you remember your previous life's language in your
present incarnation?    American Speech , 59 (1984), p. 340-350.
 
Thomason, S.G.,  Past Tongues Remembered?    
Skeptical Inquirer , vol. 10-4 (Summer 1987).
 
Torrey, E. Fuller,  The Mind Game. Witchdoctors and Psychiatrists .
Emerson Hall Publishers, New York, 1972.
(I believe a new edition of this book has appeared.  It is a very
interesting view on psychotherapy.  Terence Hines summarizes it by
saying that Fuller basically explains how the placebo effect works)
 
Venn, J.,  Hypnosis and reincarnation .
 Skeptical Inquirer , vol. 12-4 (Summer 1988).
 
Walker, B.,  Masks of the Soul.  The facts behind reincarnation .
The Aquarian Press, Wellingborough, Northampshire, 1986.
 
Wilson, Ian,  Mind out of Time .  Gollancz, London, 1981.




To this I might add that the Indian president of the rationalist 
association, B. Premanand, thinks that Stevenson has been more
or less hoodwinked by assistants.  One of these was a self-made
psychologist, ardent believer in reincarnation.  He collected 
much of Stevenson's material.  Most of Stevenson's cases are 
collected long after the facts that lead to acceptance of the case
took place.  Moreover, Stevenson doesn't speak any Indian language,
so he had to rely completely on the "translations" of this assistant.
This assistant was later found to have fraudulently obtained a 
university position (he had none of the qualifications he claimed
to have).

Since I collected this literature list, I obtained (from Stevenson)
the original documents in the Shanti Devi case.  This case dates
back to 1936 (about).  After Shanti Devi became famous, it was found 
that as a little girl she had been playing around when the husband 
of her previous life visited the sweets shop next doors, and that
she even had once excitedly said "he's there again" (or something
like that), indicating to a skeptic that she recognized him, and 
probably overheard lots of his conversation, including lamentations
about his dear deceased wife, but indicating to a believer that she
recognized him from her former life.


The philosophy professor friend will after some time find that the
litterature on reincarnation, at least the more popular kind, 
suffers from lots of misrepresentations.   The books in question
often seem to have been written by people who just vaguely 
remember the cases in question, quote out of context, and even seem
rather inept in copying correctly.


JWN
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic