Theos-Talk Archives (July 2005 Message tt00031)

>>-- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, "Daniel H. Caldwell" wrote:

> The philosopher John Hick writes the following
> concerning one hypothesis other than "reincarnation" 

> that after bodily death a mental 'husk' or 'mask' of 
> the deceased person is left behind and is 
> telepathically accessible under certain conditions 
> to living persons.

This is very old theory, first laid out probably by the christians to 
refute reincarnation in general. The problem is that almost all 
undeniable cases (i.e. edvdences of unprejudiced children, got without 
hypnotic influence from outside or some yogic or other psychic 
practices from the side of subject himself) are exactly of that kind.
If this theory was true, it would probably refute most evidences of 
reincarnation, because we simply scarcely have any others.
The "telepathic" theory no way justifies the reincarnation based on 
the higher self and lower personality, it just dismisses 
reincarnation, if we approach scientifically take reliable evidences 
only.

But fortunately the telepatic theory is very unscientific, and it is 
quite obvious that those "philosophers" who hold it, are quite 
inexperienced in psychical research, or ignoring the facts by 
religious considerations.
It is well-known that those who are in telepathic contact never 
identify themselves with the persons contacted. On the contrary, 
sometimes the information form one's subconscious mind is attributed 
to external sources.
Sometimes happens that a sprirt or a husk obscesses a medium's body, 
but in this case all his thinking and sometimes even voice is changed, 
and two different personalities never get intermingled, they are just 
switching.
The children described as a rule have no telepatic or mediumistic 
faculties and have no other connections, while psychics and mediums 
generally can have many.
Also it is not likely that the empty shell could survive in a good 
condition for more than 50 years, as in the case under consideration. 
It is strange that not only lower but also noble qualities survive, 
what doesn't conform the theosophical view about such shells.
Some of these arguments were already used by Stevenson himself or by 
some of his followers.