Rebirth and the Stream of Life: A Philosophical Study of Reincarnation, Karma and Ethics

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abstractblurb FC Half title Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction
Thinking about Rebirth ‘Stream of Life’ Terminological Matters An Expanded Conception of Philosophy of Religion Chapter Summaries Chapter 1 Varieties of Rebirth Soteriological Orientations Retributive Correlations Affinitive and Consanguineous Continuities Concluding Remarks Chapter 2 Remembering Having Lived Before? ‘Infamous Puzzle Cases’ Rebirth and Remembering Remembering and Merely Seeming to Remember Lived Examples Concluding Remarks Chapter 3 Finding Meaning in Multiple Lives Allegedly Fatal Objections to a Belief in Rebirth The Ethical Significance of ‘Same Person’ Simultaneous Multiplicity Rebirth and the Spirit World Concluding Remarks Chapter 4 Integrating Rebirth and Ethics Transmigration and Moral Outlooks in Ancient Greece Eschatologies and ‘Ethicization’ Instances of Non-Karmic Ethical Integration Concluding Remarks Chapter 5 Demythologizing Rebirth? ‘Demythologizing’ in Theology and the Study of Religions Karma and Rebirth without Personal Continuation Critical Discussion Concluding Remarks Chapter 6 Karma and Evil Karma as a Principle of Moral Guidance Is the Doctrine of Karma Incoherent? The Problem of ‘Blaming the Victim’ A Deep Disagreement Alternative Aspects of Karma Concluding Remarks Chapter 7 Conclusions Disrupting Assumptions Diversity and Dispute Methodological Reflections Bibliography Index