Rebirth

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Part of the Palgrave Frontiers in Philosophy of Religion book series (PFPR)

Abstract

Belief in rebirth is among the most common forms of belief in an afterlife. It is also extremely diverse, with a long history and vast geographical spread, a consequence of which is that there is no single model that deserves to be called the conception of rebirth. There are, however, overlapping features between different conceptions, and hence by considering both their similarities and differences an informative picture can be built up. Of two main objectives in this chapter, the first is to give an indication of the conceptual complexity of rebirth beliefs by considering matters of terminology and identifying different varieties of the belief. The second objective is to show how conceptions of rebirth are often closely associated with ethical values and attitudes, giving particular attention to the doctrine of karma, which has been central to South Asian rebirth traditions. After adducing some aspects of karma and rebirth that have been deemed ethically troubling by many commentators, I discuss modern attempts to re-envisage this doctrine in terms that emphasize its ethical and spiritual evolutionary as opposed to its retributive dimensions. Finally, I examine the idea, propounded most notably by certain interpreters of Buddhist thought, that rebirth is best thought of not as a model of the afterlife at all, but rather in terms of moment-to-moment transitions within a single lifetime.

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Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.School of Philosophy, Religion and History of ScienceUniversity of LeedsLeedsUK

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