Life Without Death? by Nils O. Jacobson is a wide-ranging investigation into one of humanity's oldest questions: does human consciousness survive bodily death? Bringing together material from psychical research, parapsychology, religious traditions and studies of unusual human experiences, Jacobson considers the evidence and arguments that have been offered for some form of continuing existence.
Rather than approaching immortality purely as a matter of religious faith, Jacobson examines phenomena that have been interpreted as possible evidence for survival after death. These include mediumistic experiences, apparitions, extrasensory perception and other subjects associated with psychical research and parapsychology.
The book also considers broader questions surrounding the nature of consciousness and personal identity. If aspects of mind cannot be adequately understood simply in terms of ordinary physical experience, Jacobson asks what implications this might have for traditional assumptions about death and the relationship between mind and body.
Religious and philosophical ideas about immortality are considered alongside reported paranormal phenomena, placing modern psychical research within the much longer human search for answers concerning death and what, if anything, may follow it.
The evidence discussed in Life Without Death? has been interpreted in different ways, and paranormal experiences do not in themselves establish scientifically that consciousness survives death. The book is best read as an exploration of the evidence, arguments and experiences that have contributed to the continuing debate over immortality and human survival.
The book explores:
Life after death and human immortality
Survival of consciousness
Psychical research and parapsychology
Mediumship and purported communication with the dead
Apparitions and paranormal experiences
Extrasensory perception
Reincarnation and previous-life claims
Mind, consciousness and personal identity
Religious approaches to death and immortality
Scientific and philosophical approaches to survival
This title will appeal to readers interested in:
Life after death and survival research
Psychical research and parapsychology
Consciousness and the mind-body problem
Mediumship and paranormal phenomena
Reincarnation
Religion and immortality
Evidence claimed for survival after death
Scientific approaches to unusual experiences
Jacobson's approach makes the book particularly interesting for readers who want to examine the subject of survival from perspectives extending beyond conventional religious teaching. It belongs to the substantial twentieth-century literature attempting to bring science, philosophy, religion and psychical research into conversation over questions traditionally associated with immortality.