Death and Personal Survival: The Evidence for Life After Death [Paperback]

Robert Almeder (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0822630168 | ISBN-13: 978-0822630166 | Publication Date: June 15, 1992

In a style that is both philosophically sophisticated and accessible to general readers, Robert Almeder introduces readers to the vigorous debate in the scientific community about the possibility of personal survival after death. He argues that belief in some form of personal survival is as empirically justifiable as our belief in the past existence of dinosaurs. Drawing on 21 of the best case studies in reincarnation, apparitions of the dead, ostensible possession, out-of-body experiences, and trance mediumships, Death and Personal Survival offers a comprehensive discussion of the best empirical evidence in each of these areas and refutes alternative explanations offered by sceptics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Robert Almeder has clearly summarized an extensive body of evidence and argued its merits with the skill of a professional philosopher. (Ian Stevenson )

This is a well-organized and clearly written book to be widely read and pondered... In an undergraduate course in the logic of mortality... ^RDeath and Personal Survival^I would serve admirably. (James M. O. Wheatley )

Almeder's work is carefully researched and argued meticulously in the best philosophical style.... (Canadian Philosophical Reviews )

It is a thoughtful and informed response to the usual superficial dismissals of the evidence within the academic community....Almeder understands the issues and has studied the evidence very closely. (Stephen E. Braude )

Almeder provides the most sustained argument for survival, especially reincarnation, in the contemporary literature. The book is a gold mine as a resource for all aspects of the survival question. I recommend the book for everyone. (Hoyt L. Edge )

This book on the evidence for life after death... is well worth its very reasonable price. Every philosopher ought to be interested in the best evidence that can be provided for life after death, and Almeder's book is one of the best books of this type. (Frank B. Dilley )

Almeder's new work is absorbing and audacious and deserves to be read carefully and widely. (James Wheatley )

...a series of interesting narratives, not cluttered by distracting details of methodology....careful and thorough....include[s] many subtle points and ingenious possibilities that I, and perhaps others of us, had not recognized earlier but that deserve serious thought....It seems to me impossible to read this book without developing respect for its author. Almeder clearly has wrestled as honestly as he could with his own will to believe....If the reader's judgment of what is plausible does not coincide with his, this demonstrates the fairness of his presentation. (Journal Of The American Society For Psychical Research )

Almeder provides the reader with a really balanced and informed discussion which includes sceptics' responses to the evidence but shows how these are generally under-informed and untimately implausible...Highly recommended for both specialists and readers new to the topic. (Religion & Philosophy )

This is an excellent and scholarly book that should be of interest to pyschiatrists, in particular on account of the many fascinating cases described. (John Smythies Psycological Medicine, Vol 28, 1998 )

About the Author

Robert Almeder, Professor of Philosophy at Georgia State University, is the author of 15 books including Business Ethics: Corporate Values and Society and Beyond Death: The Evidence for Life After Death.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (June 15, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822630168
• ISBN-13: 978-0822630166
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #274,967 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Almeder received his PhD in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania and is Professor Emeritus at Georgia State University, having served as the McCullough Distinguished Professor at Hamilton College (N.Y.). He has served in the past as the editor of the American Philosophical Quarterly.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, serious study!, March 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Death and Personal Survival: The Evidence for Life After Death (Paperback)

This is one of the really excellent modern works in this field. I can't believe no one else has reviewed it. It is light years ahead of the New Age silliness which dominates modern writing on life after death. The author is a professor with excellent credentials, and this is a serious and balanced study of the evidence for personal survival. He focuses on the best evidence in each of several different areas (reincarnation, apparitions, etc.) and considers alternative (i.e., skeptical) interpretations. He finds some of the evidence compelling and some of it not-so-compelling, but the book as a whole is very pro-survival. This book is frequently cited and seems to have become pretty much a standard reference. If you have any interest in the possibility of life after death, this belongs in your library.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A review of other's work, December 16, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Death and Personal Survival: The Evidence for Life After Death (Paperback)

This book is divided into several sections: Reincarnation, Out of Body Experiences, Apparations of the Dead, and a few others. In each section, the author provides some leading cases (although not enough NEW cases) and research of others as evidence for something existing. Then he presents the critics arguments, and he attempts to review both sides of the case.

One thing that I found disappointing about the book is that the author has done zero research on his own. He has read widely on the subjects at hand, but the book is essentially his opinion of the arguments. He trys to use logical arguments to destroy the critics position, and for the most part, he succeeds. It seems he was more critical of the critics than of the researchers such as Ian Stevenson to the point I question his impartiality on the subject.

The book has value in that he provides the user with a wide range of arguments against the various claims.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wordy but readable, July 19, 2010

By 

Michael K. Harrison (Greensboro, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Death and Personal Survival: The Evidence for Life After Death (Paperback)

Frankly, it was the death of my parents last year that facilitated my interest in reading about anything that provided evidence of life after death. Although a bit wordy, this text presented the most thoughtful and educated material I have read about the subject so far.