Immortal Remains: The Evidence for Life After Death

Do you believe in ghosts? Chances are you're either too willing, or not willing enough, to believe that personal consciousness survives after bodily death. Some underestimate the evidence for life after death, not realizing how impressive the most convincing cases are. Others overestimate it, rejecting alternative explanations too readily. In fact, several non-survivalist explanations-hidden or latent linguistic or artistic talents, extreme memory, even psychic abilities-are as interesting as the hypothesis of survival, and may be more plausible than their critics realize. Immortal Remains takes a fresh look at some of the most puzzling cases suggesting life after death, and considers how to tell evidence for an afterlife from evidence for exotic things (including psychic things) done by the living. Author Stephen E. Braude, who has done extensive research in parapsychology and dissociation, explores previously ignored issues about dissociation, creativity, linguistic skills, and the nature and limits of human abilities. He concludes that we have some reason, finally, for believing in life after death.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Preliminaries Chapter 2 Drop-In Communicators Chapter 3 Trance Mediumship Chapter 4 The Case of Sharada: Psychopathology and Xenoglossy Chapter 5 The Case of Patience Worth Chapter 6 Reincarnation and Possession Chapter 7 Lingering Spirits Chapter 8 Out-of-Body Experiences Chapter 9 Conclusion

About the Author :
Stephen E. Braude is professor and chair of the philosophy department at the University of Maryland Baltimore County.

Review :
Braude takes great care to clearly define concepts and summarize the case material in sufficient detail for the educated lay reader to follow his argument. This book does much more than present a case for personal postmodern survival. Immortal Remains not only contains Braude's personal perspective, but also highlights the state of the debate thus far. Even one with just a slight interest in survival research would do well to get acquainted with Braude and the philosophers with whom he puts himself into conversation throughout the book. Finally, he tackles these difficult issues with clear language and suitable wit, making Immortal Remains both a thought-provoking and entertaining read. Stephen Braude is unique among those evaluating the evidence for an after-life in that he manages to combine a sympathetic consideration of favorable cases with an honest, penetrating philosophical critique of them. [Braude's] research is thorough. He brings credibility to parapsychology. Braude's treatment is psychologically much more sophisticated than most previous attempts to evaluate the literature. The book is worth close study. There are also touches of humor that lighten the seriousness of the topic. Professor Braude has produced a prodigious and fascinating work for which we can only offer our thanks. Lucid and comprehensive, Stephen Braude's Immortal Remains is certainly one of the best assessments ever written-perhaps, the best ever written-of the evidence for human survival of bodily death. As one would expect . . . Dr. Braude gives us a solid work of critical scholarship. He employs considerable philosophical and psychological sophistication. Imaginative, detailed, and well written. This book is impressive. The author is a respected philosopher and parapsychologist whose works on psi, multiple personality, and other subjects are exemplars of scholarship...Superlatives are in order. This is the best book on survival that I have read. I welcome this book as an important contribution to the debate on whether or not we survive physical death. Scholarly, carefully argued and elegantly written, I hope it achieves the success it so clearly deserves.