In Encyclopedia Of Psychology And Religion - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the InEncyclopaedia Of Psychology And Religion. Answer: One of the most important theoretical aspects in psychology is the concept of reincarnation. The reincarnation is one of the most debated topics in the fields of psychology and philosophy. There are no perfect ways to prove it but there are no ways to disapprove its existence either given the modern technology. There are a number of cases that are thought to be the cases of reincarnation. Reincarnation is held in a high regard among a number of societies and religions (Jones, 2017). The Egyptians to the Hindus there have been a number of references to the concept of reincarnation in the religious text. In the modern scientific world, it exists, but as an anomaly and a hypothesis, not believed, until proven. The hypothesis is majorly dependent on the cases of children having a memory and a detailed knowledge of their past life. Throughout history, there have been a number of cases of people giving vivid details of their past life with intricate detail. There are number of cases in history and mythology portrayed as stories ascertaining the ancient belief in reincarnation. The Hindus take reincarnation and life as a chance to do good deeds and the destiny of their present life depends of the deeds of the past life (Bailey, 2014). Among a number of psychologists, this is seen as a conclusive proof of the existence of a number of lives and they have been passing as phases. There are a number of theories, which have been trying to explain the existence of such memories among children. Still, like every supernatural explanation in the present time the theory remains as a context of debate and a hypothetical entity. The existence of such memories in children is very much an anomaly as they cannot be explained and the justified explanation of such incidents are not available. The different situations are taken int o accounts that have led to the belief in these stories. Firstly, children who have no personal motive behind such actions and often suffer in the process of remembering these memories tell them. Secondly, the intricate details that are often included in the complete stories of these children without any prior knowledge of the person they are talking about is surprising. Thirdly, the vast expanse of the distance that is often there between the children telling the stories and the locations of their previous existence show that they might not have any credible knowledge of the person beforehand, making the stories believable. There have been a number of active psychiatrists studying this phenomenon for a long time and are often shocked by the incidents reported to them. The proof of reincarnation cannot be refuted because there are no scientific explanations of the knowledge that the children possess. There are various theories though put forward by the psychiatrists who refute the presence of any such anomalies in the cycle of human existence (White, 2015). There are various scientific theories too that try to explain the reason behind the children remembering the details of the past life. Few of the theories that deserve mention are the past life regression theory, the genetic memory theory and the theory of linear time. The hypothesis of reincarnation is not dependent on a single case study, there are examples of a number of cases reported throughout the world where the children remember the details of their past life. The people refuting reincarnation and not believing the examples of the children put forward a simple question, why does not everyone remember their past life? One of the major proponents of the reincarnation theory, Dr Brian Weiss explains in his book about a patient who recalled a number of past life incident during a hypnotism session. The doctor wanted to address the issues of a number of phobias she faced and suffered throughout her childhood but was astounded when the root of the phobias led him to a number of past lives during the hypnosis sessions. This concept if any true explains a lot about a number of inexplicable emotions felt by people. A number of emotions like hatred and anger towards someone or something can be alluded to its experience during the past life (Jones, 2017). There is another facet of this theory and any other theory of reincarnation; they all ascertain the existence of soul. There are a number of examples throughout history of people claiming to be reincarnations but a few have stood up to the tests of certainty. Therefore, in this essay, the cases studied by renowned psychiatrist Jim Tucker are portrayed as examples of reincarnation. One of the best examples is the case of James Leininger, a young kid claiming to be a fighter pilot who had been killed in action. Initially, even his family was skeptic about the claims he was making but the amount of knowledge he had about the aircrafts of World War II made his claims irrefutable. Firstly, it is not possible for a kid as young as 4 to know the difference between the bomb in the plane and the drop tank. Secondly he vividly remembered the name of the ship from which he flew, and it was not such a renowned one that the people would remember. Thirdly, and the most important of them all was that he could correct the name of the plane shown in a documentary which only a veteran would remember. Moreover, the nam e he claimed he had in his past life was enrolled as a martyr serving on the aircraft carrier (Tucker, 2016). Though very convincing, this is far from being the only case where a person has claimed to be reincarnated. There is another case of a child named Ryan, who would claim of meeting stars like Rita Hayworth and living in Hollywood. This was a very weird claim and what turned out was even more unbelievable. The claims that the child had made were of being the reincarnation of Marty Martyn who had been a side actor and an agent of a number of stars. The claims could have been questionable and learnt or taught by someone but the details he knew surprised everyone. Ryan claiming to know the number of marriages Marty Martyn had and most important fact that Ryan disclosed was that Marty had two sisters. This claim astonished everyone since Martys own daughters did not know about this (Mills Tucker, 2015). Jim Tucker not only studied these cases but formulated a theory of what might be causing the reincarnations and hoe the children might be having these memories. His theory depends on the fact that consciousness has led to the formation of material world and not the other way round. This shows that the consciousness does not require a brain to exist and it can exist and flow to the consciousness of another person giving them memories of the previous person. Despite the theory looking believable mostly, the counter to this claim of Tucker lies in one of the case studies conducted by him. The case of Kendra Carter is the one which shows a great disparity from this theory shown by Jim Tucker. When asked for the reason for being extremely attached to her swimming teacher, Kendra told that she was her mother who had aborted Kendra in her past life. This was a very weird claim but when it was verified, the swimming teacher indeed had an abortion nine years ago (Drewes, 2005). This is also c onsidered a case of reincarnation but the attachment of the consciousness to the fetus, which was yet to be born to a girl remembering the face of woman born to remains questionable. The consciousness can feel attached to the person who was their parent but a person remembering a face that they had not seen puts the claim in question. There are a number of theories in science, which try to prove these memories. One of the most important theories are relating to time. There are claims that some distortions in time which had led to the formation of such memories among children. The distortion in the time space continuum is said to cause these memories to be formed, but like the reincarnation theory, this too is hypotheses. Despite whatever claims are made by the different psychiatrists supporting reincarnation there is no way to refute the claim. One of the major drawbacks to the theory of reincarnation is that there is no scientific way to understand the link of the memories between the two existential time spans of the individuals (Irwin, 2017). Therefore, in this essay it is seen that the claims of past life memories cannot be refuted or be scientifically proven by anyone. The claims of reincarnations have been coming time and again in the history, and may continue to do so but any argument about them is like an argument about the ghost or gods. These entities exist for those who believe in it and do not exist for those who do not. The truth of these entities cannot be proven and is subjective to individual belief system at present. References Bailey, L. W. (2014). Reincarnation. InEncyclopedia of Psychology and Religion(pp. 1484-1487). Springer US. Drewes, A. A. (2005). Life Before Life: A Scientific Investigation of Children's Memories of Previous Lives.The Journal of Parapsychology,69(1), 188-195. Irwin, L. (2017). Reincarnation in America: A Brief Historical Overview.Religions,8(10), 222. Jones, H. A. (2017). Reincarnation.Journal for Spiritual Consciousness Studies,40(2). Mills, A., Tucker, J. B. (2015). Field Studies and Theoretical Issues Today.Parapsychology: A Handbook for the 21st Century, 314. Tucker, J. B. (2016). The Case of James Leininger: An American Case of the Reincarnation Type.Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing,12(3), 200-207. White, J. J. (2015).Mythology in the modern novel: a study of prefigurative techniques. Princeton University Press.