Is There Life After Death?

People have believed in the existence of life after death throughout human history and in all regions of the world. Mere belief, however, does not make it true. What is the empirical evidence for life after death? Has any significant research been conducted, and if so, what conclusions does it suggest? In fact there exists a large body of research on topics relevant to the question of life after death. This book objectively examines that research, drawing together the observations of social science regarding such phenomena as reincarnation, near-death experiences, deathbed visions, cases of possession by dead spirits, and apparitions of the deceased. It considers possibilities including survival of consciousness and survival of personality, and reflects on the logical problems inherent in any model of postmortem survival. An extensive bibliography lists hundreds of studies of life-after-death phenomena.

David Lester is a professor of psychology at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. He lives in Felton, Delaware.

David Lester

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 256
Bibliographic Info: tables, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2005
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2116-9
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0935-5
Imprint: McFarland

Preface      1

PART ONE: VIEWS ON LIFE AFTER DEATH

1. Religious Views on Life After Death      11

2. Who Believes in Life After Death?      18

PART TWO: NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES

3. Near-Death Experiences: Descriptions, Frequency and Types      27

4. Critical Research on Near-Death Experiences      40

5. Other Research on Near-Death Experiences      57

6. The Impact of Near-Death Experiences      62

7. Explanations for Near-Death Experiences      70

8. Does This Show There Is Life After Death?      90

PART THREE: REINCARNATION

9. Introduction to Reincarnation      101

10. Research on Reincarnation      113

11. Reincarnation and Hypnosis      132

12. Phenomena That the Theory of Reincarnation Can Explain      141

13. Conclusions About Reincarnation      147

PART FOUR: OTHER PHENOMENA

14. Apparitions of the Dead      157

15. Widow Hallucinations      174

16. Deathbed Visions      178

17. Possession      183

18. Mediums      194

19. Poltergeists      201

PART FIVE: CONCLUSIONS

20. Is There Life After Death?      207

Notes      215

Bibliography      221

Index      239