Is the Reincarnation Hypothesis Advanced by Stevenson for Spontaneous Past-life Experiences Relevant for the Understanding of the Ontology of Past-life Phenomena?

Authors

Sergei Slavoutski, Sofia University

DOI

10.24972/ijts.2012.31.1.83

Abstract

A significant volume of scientific evidence, uncovered by reincarnation research in the last

50 years, supports the reincarnation hypothesis advanced by Ian Stevenson for spontaneous

past-life experiences (PLEs). However, at this time this evidence cannot provide an

unquestionable proof of the existence of past-life phenomena, nor can it assert that

reincarnation is not possible. This paper suggests that the reincarnation hypothesis, being

reasonably parsimonious and relatively exhaustive, may provide a plausible explanation for

spontaneous PLEs. Also, based on the probability of the same ontology of spontaneous and

hypnotic PLEs, it may be argued that this hypothesis might also be relevant for the hypnotic

PLEs, as well as for the understanding of the ontology of past-life phenomena in general.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Slavoutski, S. (2012). Slavoutski, S. (2012). Is the reincarnation hypothesis advanced by Stevenson for spontaneous past-life experiences relevant for the understanding of the ontology of past-life phenomena? International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 31(1), 83–96.. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 31 (1). https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2012.31.1.83