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Rebirth-A Philosophical Study
is likely to show that each of us exists through all time - past and future - whether time is held finite or infinite Every individual self is an eterually self-subsistent spirit, timeless 10 experience Self expression of the jodividual self in and through time process should assume the form of a vastly long chain of repeated births He takes his stand on metaphysical ground and says that it is capable of yielding apriori ccrtainty Sell is a substance existing in its own right and the UDICESC consists of a society of such eternally self-sub.istent selvcs As substances, seles have neither beginning nor end of life and therefore each of us cxists through all times, past aad future 21 As we bavc no ineniory of any previous existence, we inast assene a plurality of livus linked together by successive dcath, and rebirthia Lt McTaggart presents the doctrine of plurality ut lives - of future and past lives He says that the consequcaces of the truth of pre-existence and plurality of lives would be that the cristence of a person before and after the present would be divided into many luses each bound by birth and death
Dr McTaggart mentions and answers a few objections against the doctrine of pre-existence and plurality of lives on the basis of metaphysical and psychological considerations We may here state a few of his conside rations
1 Man's progress has been in the direction of attaining perfectos gradually as it is difficult to believe that full perfection will be attained 10 one single life And if our existence immediately after the present life 1 imperfect and a state of improvement and advance, this life would be followed by others like it, each separated by its predecesson and succe 880rs by death and rebirth
2 There are many features of our present life which can be explaided more satisfactorily by the theory of pre-existence than by any other
(a) Two persons are often drawn to each other by a force equal to that which is generated in other cases by years of mutual understanding. Similarly love at first sight and decper attachments of individuals seen only for some time arc examples which can be explained by the theory of pre-existence ?
(b) As a man grows up certain tendencies and qualities make them - selves manifest in him These are innate as they cannot be entirely due to environment Some men have innate powers of judging men, some others have calm and sereno virtucs Attempts are made to explain the precoce of such innate qualities by heredity But such innate dispositions may ofico occur in cases where nothing of the sort can be traced among apuestors
21 McTaggart (JM) Some Dogmas of Religion p 125 22. Ibid p 124
