Customer Reviews

Afterlife: An Investigation

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_When Colin Wilson started the research for this book he was still a skeptic on the subject, by the time he finished it he was convinced in the reality of life after death. He isn't alone, for as this book shows over and over, even researchers that wish that there was no survival after death, who can see no logical reason for it, have been forced to conclude on the basis of the evidence that it is a fact. In his introduction to this second edition the author points out that after rereading his work he is more struck than ever by the consistency of the evidence. Case after case reveals a consistent pattern. All I can say is that after rereading it after five years, I still think that it is one of the best-written, most comprehensive books on the subject.

_There is an incredible amount of evidence packed into this book. Swedenborg and Steiner (two scientific converts) are examined early on. They keep popping up since there is so much independent verification of their teachings by others. The entire 19th century phenomenon of Spiritualism is carefully reexamined (the Fox sisters, Daniel David Hume, Andrew Jackson Davis, etc.) Then the history and files of the Society for Psychical Research are also covered. This is also true for the Theosophical Society. This continues on to modern day research in out-of-body phenomenon and the near death experience. Actually, there is just so much information here, much of which even I was unfamiliar with, that this list doesn't do it justice. Some might say that he is just rehashing the old material. NO, that is not the case- he is re-examining the old material with a fresh and objective eye. You will be surprised at how much you thought you knew about these cases that is just plain wrong.

_The evidence presented in this book should convince any reasonable person.

"I didn't say it was possible- I said it was true." Sir William Crookes

Wilson's writing style is quite lively, which makes for enjoyable, fast-paced reading. Wilson's greatest strength in this book is his ability to describe, explain, and summarize many classic psychical cases, research, and other writings (ranging from the early 19th century to mid-to-late-20th century), including many of the most important ground-breaking works by key members of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). Wilson's research is extensive, and his analysis is convincing. His characterization of historical materials is even-handed and accurate, which should be readily apparent to those who have read the original cited works. (His writing encourages the reader to seek and absorb the classics he cites.) Whether you are just beginning to read "life after death" (or other psychic or paranormal) literature, or whether you are already well-versed in this field of study, you will enjoy Wilson's engaging style and exhaustive examination of a multitude of outstanding primary sources.

_Afterlife: An Investigation of the Evidence for Life After Death_, published in 1985, by British researcher and author Colin Wilson provides an interesting study of evidence for life after death and the rise of spiritualism as an occult phenomena. Colin Wilson (1931 - ) has previously written on the occult and existentialist philosophy and has maintained that there is a separate imaginative faculty within the human mind that he calls Faculty X. This book provides a fairly detailed study that makes a compelling case for life after death and examines various phenomena that have occurred as part of spiritualism and that were largely investigated by such organizations as the Society for Psychical Research in the last century. Wilson considers arguments of both skeptics such as the late philosopher Bertrand Russell and the infamous atheist Richard Dawkins as well as arguments made by believers in life after death. I should add that while this book does not provide a religious focus, in the sense of religion as traditionally understood such as orthodox Christianity, it nevertheless provides a useful source of evidence for life after death and makes a compelling case for such evidence that may be interpreted through the lens of traditional belief and faith.

The first chapter of this book is entitled "Voices in the Head" and examines the near ubiquitous phenomenon of auditory hallucinations which frequently arise even in normal people during stressful situations. Wilson examines for example the case of Dr. Adam Crabtree, a psychotherapist who dealt extensively with patients who experienced auditory hallucinations. Wilson then considers the theories of maverick psychologist Julian Jaynes regarding the bicameral mind and the role of auditory hallucinations in the breakdown of the bicameral mind. Jaynes had hypothesized that primitive man experienced voices of command frequently but that as man evolved he came to use his brain in a new way and thus became fully conscious. Wilson also considers results of split-brain research showing how both hemispheres work in tandem but that frequently individuals whose brain has been severed for whatever reason exhibit certain peculiarities. Wilson then considers the theories of Dr. Wilson Van Dusen examining auditory hallucinations in patients and showing how frequently there arise two sets of hallucinations (a lower set that frequently chides and harasses the patient and a higher set). Wilson relates these theories to the Swedish seer Emmanuel Swedenborg who left a career in engineering to pursue his visions of the other world. Wilson also examines cases of possession and considers the philosopher Betrand Russell's arguments against survival but finds them wanting. Wilson then provides details from the classic work _Phantasms of the Living_. The second chapter is entitled "The World of the Clairvoyant". Wilson considers the case of Charles Darwin and relates this to Rosalind Haywood who read the evolutionist work _Riddle of the Universe_ by Haeckel before eventually converting to spiritualism. Wilson considers several further cases of such things as telepathy, out-of-body experience, and the results of the biologist philosopher Hans Driesch. The third chapter is entitled "Invasion of the Spirit People". This chapter considers such things as Catherine Crowe's _Night Side of Nature_, Kerner's _Seeress of Prevorst_ which played an important influence on various thinkers of the time including psychoanalyst Carl Jung, the role of Jung-Stilling, the Fox sisters and the beginnings of spiritualism, Allen Kardec and _The Spirits' Book_, Reichenbach and the "odic force", and the life of the seer Daniel Dunglas Home.. The fourth chapter is entitled "Psychical Research Comes of Age". This chapter considers the revolt against spiritualism by Victorian scientists who frequently regarded it as a return to "medieval superstition" or "witchcraft", the evolutionary biologist Alfred Russel Wallace and his involvement in hypnotism, the children's author and mathematician Lewis Carroll and his involvement in spiritualism, Robert Dale Owen son of the social reformer Robert Owen and his involvement in spiritualism, Myers and Sidgwick and the founding of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR), the confessions of the Fox sisters, the dream of novelist Rider Haggard, the red pyjamas case involving the apparent spirit of William James, and Sir Oliver Lodge and the Raymond case. The fifth chapter is entitled "Rediscovering a Masterpiece". This chapter considers such things as the "psychic double", Goethe and the doppelganger, F. W. H. Myers's masterpiece _Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death_, and various cases from this book including those involving multiple personalities (mentioning for example the bizarre case of Louis Vive, calculating prodigies, and various projections of a "double", as well as the notion of the "subliminal mind"), the mystery of multiple personality as it occurred for example in the case of Sybil, Richard Hodgson, James's "white crow", and various attempts to consider spirit controls as "sub-personalities". The sixth chapter is entitled "Dr. Steiner and the Problem of Reincarnation". This chapter considers the involvement of Rudolf Steiner in the Theosophical Society of Madame Blavatky, his eventual creation of Anthroposophy as a separate movement, and the role that reincarnation played in his understanding of things, as well as possible cases of reincarnation. The seventh chapter is entitled "Decline and Rebirth". This chapter considers such things as Sir Oliver Lodge and his _Raymond_, the involvement of famous novelist and creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, in spiritualism, the decline of spiritualism in the 1920s, the denouncement of spiritualism by magician Houdini, the conflict between the High `n Dries (who were skeptics) and the "wets" (or non-skeptics) in the SPR, the rise of near-death experiences and death bed visions in a "death denying society", the promotion of such experiences by such luminaries as Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and Raymond Moody (author of the famous work _Life After Life_), Plato's myth of Er, the work of researcher Kenneth Ring on near-death experiences, how life arose and the skeptical answer to this question of Richard Dawkins and his "replicator molecule", and the philosophy of vitalism as found in such individuals as Driesch and Bergson. The book ends with a "Postscript" in which Wilson sums up his thoughts on the topic of the afterlife. Wilson considers for example such things as philosopher C. D. Broad's comments on psychical research, the "ladder of selves", "objective consciousness", the problem of vitalism, and relates these to the history of mankind and the rise of civilization explaining this in terms of a "Force T" (for "tension") and a "Force C" (for "control"), and the quality of imagination expressed through Wilson's "Faculty X". Wilson concludes with some comments on the importance of imagination, but notes that ultimately spiritualism says nothing about the problems of life, thus resounding various themes from existentialist philosophy.

This book offers a good study of various obscure cases that involve the possibility of life after death. The author considers in particular the development of spiritualism as a movement and the growth and eventual decline of that movement. In the twentieth century however, the near-death experience has come to play a more prominent role as better techniques of resuscitation have become available through medical advances. Ultimately, Wilson's comments are well-taken and for those who have an open mind on this topic they offer hope for some understanding of death, perhaps life's greatest mystery of all.

I am a fan of Colin Wilson's work, especially "The Outsider" and "The Philosopher's Stone," both mesmerizing books. He writes very well and always pays his readers the compliment of assuming them to be interested, educated, and intelligent. In this book he compiles historical research and anecdotes into a truly fascinating exploration of the question of the existence of life after death. The bibliography alone is worth the price of admission. I recommend this book to any who seek to know more about this difficult, controversial subject.

Wilson is one of the most sensible and reliable writers dealing with the occult and new consciousness. I have followed his career from the early seventies. To some extent this book simply recapitualtes his earlier and more satisfying works, The Occult, Beyond The Occult and Mysteries. There are more up to date works on survival covering the most recent thinking, but this is still worth reading,especially the chapters dealing with Rudolph Steiner. iN SUM THERE ARE MORE RECENT MORE CONVINCING WORKS (see Roger Penrose for example.

My problem with this book is not so much with the concept of life after death, although I remain skeptical, but with the quality of Wilson's scholarship. There were too many times that he seemed to reach firm conclusions on the basis of fairly tenuous evidence. Much of the material he cited was suggestive, but not completely convincing. Frankly, I was disappointed because Wilson is one of the better popular writers on parapsychology and similar matters. But judging on the basis of this book, Wilson can't hold a candle to the late D. Scott Rogo.

Colin Wilson is something of a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to literature. He came to prominence with The Outsider, a philosophical examination of the role of ostracism in creativity, and has since written on everything from mysticism to true crime.

The problem for me is that he is nebulously related to the concept of being a gun for hire; I have a feeling that nothing he's written since his first work has been particularly filled with dedication. It's like his books are written to spec.

I came to Afterlife: An Investigation after years of wanting to read the book (thanks to a reference in a band's liner notes) and finished feeling that something was lacking. There's a lot of research gone into the book - there's a plethora of case-studies and a strong reliance on the writings of the Steiners of the world - but it still feels a bit like a research paper.

To be frank, the book is very dry. The case-studies are presented with little sense of Wilson's feeling about the cases themselves, save for the last chapter of the work, which veers a bit into Mystical Weirdness Accompanied By Theremin Music territory; it jars, to say the least.

Wilson is a talented assembler of fact. I just wish he'd spent more time on interpretation here.

An excellent survey, and a wider one than the title would suggest.

Wilson has read several hundreds of works on the occult, and it shows in his mastery of references and the material. He obviously has an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject. Somehow he managed to use it to create a short and powerful book that's easy to read.

I believe this is one of the best books to start with on the paranormal. It doesn't provide final answers, but rather serves to open the mind of any rational inquirer.

It does have some minor imperfections, such as a weak afterword, and perhaps not enough analysis of cases of paranormal phenomena (often the reader is left to ponder the stories more or less on his own).

If you already believe that hallucinations and errors of perception don't account for all paranormal phenomena, you might as well skip this work. (If you think that alien technology can account for them, you should read it; although that's not to say such technology might not exist).

This brief book is an objective look at the evidence of continued human existence after physical death has occured. Wilson uses a variety of cases to determine the validity of the subject and he comes to the conclusion that we do live on after death. Well researched, convincing, and well written.