Rebirth and the Stream of Life: A Philosophical Study of Reincarnation, Karma and Ethics
Ebook
Rebirth and the Stream of Life explores the diversity as well as the ethical and religious significance of rebirth beliefs, focusing especially on Hindu and Buddhist traditions but also discussing indigenous religions and ancient Greek thought. Utilizing resources from religious studies, anthropology and theology, an expanded conception of philosophy of religion is exemplified, which takes seriously lived experience rather than treating religious beliefs in isolation from their place in believers' lives. Drawing upon his expertise in interdisciplinary working and Wittgenstein-influenced approaches, Mikel Burley examines several interrelated phenomena, including purported past-life memories, the relationship between metaphysics and ethics, efforts to 'demythologize' rebirth, and moral critiques of the doctrine of karma. This range of topics, with rebirth as a unifying theme, makes the book of value to anyone interested in philosophy, the study of religions, and what it means to believe that we undergo multiple lives.
A philosophical exploration of the meaning, diversity, and ethical and religious significance of beliefs in reincarnation or rebirth.
Provides a sustained philosophical exploration of rebirth beliefs in a variety of forms
Closely examines the relation between rebirth beliefs and ethical values and practices
Promotes and exemplifies an expanded conception of philosophy of religion that incorporates a genuinely interdisciplinary approach
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction: Thinking about Rebirth
'Stream of life'
Terminological matters
An expanded conception of philosophy of religion
Chapter summaries
1) Varieties of Rebirth
Soteriological orientations
Retributive correlations
Affinitive and consanguineous continuities
Concluding remarks
2) Remembering Having Lived Before?
'Infamous puzzle cases'
Rebirth and remembering
Remembering and merely seeming to remember
Lived examples
Concluding remarks
3) Finding Meaning in Multiple Lives
Allegedly fatal objections to rebirth
The ethical significance of 'same person'
Simultaneous multiplicity
Rebirth and the spirit world
Concluding remarks
4) Integrating Rebirth and Ethics
Transmigration and moral outlooks in ancient Greece
Eschatologies and 'ethicization'
Instances of non-karmic ethical integration
Concluding remarks
5) Demythologizing Rebirth?
'Demythologizing' in theology and the study of religions
Karma and rebirth without personal continuation
Critical discussion
Concluding remarks
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
7) Conclusions
Disrupting assumptions
Diversity and dispute
Methodological reflections
Bibliography
Index
Mikel Burley has written a profound and intriguing study of reincarnation and its relation to karma and ethics using his depth of knowledge of religious traditions and discussions by philosophers, religious studies experts, and anthropologists of the ethical and experiential meaning of rebirth … Burley not only shares an immense knowledge of Western, Hindu, and Buddhist scholarship on all dimensions of rebirth, he also uses his words very artfully and insightfully.
[A]n original, fascinating, and deeply informed book. It gives a detailed understanding of what it means to believe that we undergo multiple lives with the adequate use of resources from religious studies, anthropology, and theology. ... The author's reference to various interrelated phenomena such as memories, metaphysics, ethics, demythologize, and the doctrine of Karma makes the book an invaluable one. ... [A] masterpiece ... recommended for every category of people, especially scholars and students of philosophy of religions.
With clarity and erudition, Burley shows how the many varieties of belief in rebirth are intelligible only in relation to the cultural and moral practices in which a society's concepts, like that of personhood, are embedded. The sympathetic understanding of rebirth and karma that Burley himself displays is a welcome change from the brusque dismissal of these notions by critics still in the grip of the distorting 'pictures' he exposes.
Burley's book is an original and incisive contribution to the philosophy of religion. In an exemplary manner, it pays careful attention to possibilities of meaning in order to bring out the sense of rebirth beliefs within the 'stream of life' of a believing community. It is a first-rate piece of work and deserves to have a very large readership.
- Title: Rebirth and the Stream of Life: A Philosophical Study of Reincarnation, Karma and Ethics
- Author: Mikel Burley
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2016
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781628922271, 9781628922264, 1628922265, 1628922273
- Resource ID: LLS:9781628922271
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-04-12T01:25:11Z
Mikel Burley is Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy at the University of Leeds, UK. He is the author of three previous books, including Contemplating Religious Forms of Life: Wittgenstein and D. Z. Phillips (2012). He is also a co-editor of Language, Ethics and Animal Life: Wittgenstein and Beyond (2012).