Re: [Buddha-l] Reïncarnation is a memoryproblem

[S.A. Feite]

On Jun 12, 2007, at 11:24 AM, curt wrote:

> This is obviously a highly flawed study, but the article does not  
> provide enough detail to tell just how badly flawed it is.
>
> As has already been pointed out, "lost memories" that are  
> "retrieved" under hypnosis have been  known to be suspect for quite  
> some time. In fact, there's no particular reason why such  
> "memories" should have ever been seen as reliable in the first place.
>
> To conflate the well known phenomenon of "false memories" with  
> "belief in reincarnation" is bad science.

Not if you understand the practice of "past life regression". Most  
forms of past-life regression are forms of hypnosis where the upfront  
suggestion is that it will retrieve past life memories. Therefore  
there is an upfront bias which could be capable of implanting a false  
memory of past lives. The same thing happens in hypnosis when the  
hypnotist uses suggestive questions rather than unbiased questioning.

Steve