Volume V (2022) (2015)
whenever it exists, but rather a perduring entity that changes and has temporal parts, i.e., it is not
wholly present at a given time. This change in the concept of personal identity makes the concept
of reincarnation more coherent and defends it from the criticisms of Buckareff and Wagenen.
Finally, applying the newly proposed concept of identity, this paper argues that reincarnation is metaphysically possible and provides a reasonable account of existence after death. 2
Reincarnation is the transference of an individual or an aspect of the individual after
death — whether it is consciousness, mind, or some other entity — in one or more successive existences. 3 It may be considered a mental continuum of some sort, i.e., the transference of not a
soul but of some mental characteristics such as behavioral traits, affinities, first person-perspective,
and so forth. For example, if a person’s identity is defined by their behavioral traits and affinities,
the transference or occurrence of these defining factors in another body can be considered reincarnation. To illustrate, in time t 1 , a person “Sam” with body “A” has “X” behavioral traits and “Y” affinities, and in t ime t 2 , a person “Max” with body “B” has “X” behavioral traits and “Y” affinities. In this case, Sam and Max can be considered the same person even though they have different bodies at different times. Sam in t 1 has reincarnated into Max in t 2 . Hence, to prove that
reincarnation is possible, it is essential to first establish which aspect of an individual constitutes
the person’s identity and if that aspect is able to transcend death.
According to Baker, the most prominent defender of Christian resurrection, the first-person perspective is the entity that encompasses a person’s identity and transcends bodily death. 4 She
presumes that a person’s identity, i.e., their first -person perspective, is not identical for every
person. If that was the case then according to her identity condition, which is discussed later,
everyone would be the same person. Simple anecdotal evidence from one’s own life is enough to
understand the proposition mentioned above — identity is not the same for all individuals. Everyone
can agree that there is something similar and different about every individual. However, it is the
different distinctive characteristics of individuals that give humans the ability to differentiate
between people. For the context of this paper, these distinctive or unique characteristics of an
individual that define them and make them different from other individuals can be labeled as their
identity. And, for Baker, this identity differentiation is caused by the difference in first-person
perspective between individuals.
2 In this paper, death means the cessation of personal identity — first person perspective —in an individual’s body. 3 “Reincarnation” ( Encyclopædia Britannica , March 26, 2021), https://www.britannica.com/topic/reincarnation. 4 Lynne Rudder Baker, “Persons and the Metaphysics of Resurrection,” Religious Studies 43, no. 3 (2007): 339, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0034412507008931.
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