I’m studying for my Philosophy class and don’t understand how to answer this. Can you help me study?
Is resurrection a more plausible view of the afterlife than reincarnation? Why or why not? [You should focus on whether your identity is better preserved in the physical body, or the mind.] (complete after reading 4.2)
Reply 1 in 3 people
Yen Nguyen
Discussion 4
COLLAPSE
Doubt about man’s life after death is still an issue that all humanity wants to understand. It is hard for many people to decide whether resurrection or reincarnation is a more plausible view of the afterlife. Each individual has different points of view due to what they were taught, which religion they practice, and their belief. As a person was raised without any religion and living in a civilized and scientific world, it seems like a myth to the resurrected dead when it comes to the reanimated dead. Resurrection is the act of rising from the dead or returning to life and is a belief held mainly by Christians. On the other hand, according to Webster’s New World Encylopedia (1992), the theory of reincarnation implies that after death, the souls of humans, as well as animals and even plants, will reincarnate from one body to another, and this past depending on what types caused while alive. Reincarnation is the rebirth of a soul in a new body, which is believed primarily by most Hindus, and it is more likely to be supported by dualists as it accounts for both a soul and a body. There is a biblical example of resurrection; millions of people believe the story of Jesus’s resurrection. However, there is an example of people who remember events in the previous life that they would not understand. The reason people think that there is no afterlife because they do not see it with their own eyes and therefore do not believe. But it can be seen that there are not many things that we cannot see in our daily life, but it always exists. In my opinion, reincarnation seems likely reasonable to me because of what I have heard and experienced. Human life is extremely short. My belief gives me an idea that does my best to use the time living to pursue my passion or live with all the love and ambition in my soul, and don’t let myself regret not being able to do what I want while alive.
Jeffrey Neal
Discussion #4
COLLAPSE
The topic of life after death has always been intriguing to me. In fact, I have a piece of art from Tibet that depicts the cycle of life through reincarnation – it hangs in my living room. It is difficult for me to compare the concepts of resurrection and reincarnation because they have little in common. There have been very few examples of resurrection in the bible, with the only two coming to my mind being Jesus and Lazarus. Many believe that Jesus was resurrected from death on the third day after his crucification. However, even those who saw him when he returned didn’t recognize him – he appeared in another form that even his closest friends didn’t know. In the case of Lazarus, Jesus himself brought him back from the dead after several days and his body was decaying. Modern medicine allows for reviving people who have been technically dead for minutes or hours – is this resurrection? those who have experienced the return to the same body after having been dead seem to be changed by their experiences – they are not who they were before the experience. Reincarnation indicates that our soul is indestructible – as one body becomes uninhabitable, we choose immortality and leave – only to return to occupy another body at another point in history. If we believe in String Theory, then time is fluid and we can go forward or backward in time and drop into another era. It seems most likely to me that our soul is imprinted with our memories – our experiences, beliefs, values, and attitudes and that some of this information is accessible to us – either directly or accidentally – in the next lives. In each life our experiences move us to some better understanding of our existence and purpose. Researches have been successful in disproving the accuracy of many of these recalled memories, but for me reincarnation is the only logical explanation for our progression.
Clara Hutcherson
Discussion 4
COLLAPSE
Religion as I have stated before to be a very important part of my life will have a major influence on my answer to this question. Although this is the case, I would like to keep an open mind as much as possible. Jesus Christ as the bible explains to us was resurrected after 3 days, this has been taught to me since I was a young girl and is such a big part of my beliefs. Plausibility would put resurrection before reincarnation because it has physical proof of existence. To my knowledge, reincarnation lacks support. Now, to get into the most important part of the discussion, in my opinion, we identify more through our physical body than we do in our minds. Our physical body is our own and has its own unique markings, shapes, and facial structures. Our minds would be more specific to reincarnation I would assume based on my readings. The problem I am not able to understand and really effects my choice, is that reincarnation states any form can be us after death. A tree or plant can be the replacement of our mind as Martin Luther King explained but how is or even could that be supported?
Assuming this is the case, what would that mean for the next living thing that may or may not have a mind? I am not a botanist but do plants and trees have minds at all? It is very hard to relate this belief to real life. There are a lot of things we do not know until death but if I can find something that from my point of view that debunks reincarnation so easily then it does not really terminate any doubts of plausibility. In conclusion as compared to the prior discussions, tangible proof would be a start such as a bible.
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