__NOTOC__ ''Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children's Memories of Previous Lives'' is a 2005 book written by psychiatrist Jim B. Tucker, which presents an overview of more than 40 years of

reincarnation research Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is a ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, into children's reports of past-life memories. The book also discusses "birthmarks and birth defects that match those of a deceased person who is identified by the child". The foreword to the book is written by

Ian Stevenson Ian Pretyman Stevenson (October 31, 1918 – February 8, 2007) was a Canadian-born American psychiatrist, the founder and director of the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He was a professor at th ...

. This book claims that

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

can be considered separately from the brain, which provides a basis for claims of

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

. Tucker discusses objections to reincarnation: the paucity of persons who actually claim to remember a past life, the fragility of memories, the

population explosion Overpopulation or overabundance is a phenomenon in which a species' population becomes larger than the carrying capacity of its environment. This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale m ...

, the mind—body problem, fraud, and others. Tucker states that none of the cases examined are perfect, and that "faulty memory by informants" is seen to be the "best normal explanation for many of the cases" reviewed in the book. The version of reincarnation discussed is typically incompatible with common religious beliefs around reincarnation, specifically in relation to

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

. ''Life Before Life'' has been reviewed in ''Philosophical Practice'', and ''

PsycCRITIQUES ''PsycCRITIQUES'' was a database of reviews of books, videos, and popular films published by the American Psychological Association. It replaced the print journal ''Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books'', which was published from 1956 to 20 ...

''.

References

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Book Reviews
{{Reincarnation research 2005 non-fiction books American non-fiction books Books about reincarnation Reincarnation research

See also

References

External links