Well I guess this time this thread
really is about to die.
(Edited to add: emmmm . .mind you there's been a few replies since I started this post!)
But I'd just like to make one last comment about Titus' thoughts on reincarnation. Basically I am in absolute agreement with everything he says apart from one point. In
this paper he says the following:
In contrast to all kinds of doctrines stating that amnesia regarding past lives is a positive, functional process, I hold that its consequences have always been rather nasty. Of course, there might be some positive effects of forgetting a previous life. For example, it might help a reincarnated soul to adapt to its present existence. However, the sum total is clearly very negative. First of all, if people do not remember that they have lived before, they lack the security and consolation that such memories offer in the sense that we are all immortal and cannot be destroyed by physical death. Especially in Western culture, this lack has had, and still has, disastrous consequences. Moreover, to forget the whole of one's autobiographical history before birth means a tremendous range of alienation. If we would know more who and what we have been in the past, we would know more who and what we really are now, and where we stand. It might also enhance our interest in life, our passion for it in the positive sense of this word. Our love for ourselves, our dignity, and our love and respect for all of our fellow-beings. Therefore, I strongly hold the opinion that it would be good if we could at will remember our previous lives.
Now to be quite clear I certainly do not deny that remembering ones previous lives has many benefits as Titus has adumbrated. I have no reservations in conceding that on the whole one might well be a great deal happier. I will however argue that under these particular circumstances this is not necessarily a desirable state of affairs.
In order to illustrate this I should first of all point out that I have a major disagreement with him where he says "we would know more who and what we really are now, and where we stand". Allow me to explain.
In our day-to-day existence we define ourselves to a large degree as to our actions in the past. Psychologically we think of ourselves as being a certain type of person, and, in our day-by-day existence, act in a way consistent with that. And it extends to habits also. We tend to wear the same clothes, always sit in the same place in our once a week evening class, adapt the same mannerisms etc. If we could remember our previous lives we would maybe think to ourselves "well I am this sort of person and will act accordingly". In other words you start your new life where you left off your previous life. Perhaps you could meet up with the people you knew in your previous life. Perhaps you had made plans in your previous life to ensure your financial security in this life etc.
How different it all is if we
cannot remember our previous lives. Even in this life, if one suddenly suffered total amnesia, how similar would our personality be post-amnesia to our personality prior to losing our memories? And the situation is vastly exacerbated in the case of reincarnation because not only can we not remember
any of our previous lives, or indeed not even any
part of any of our previous lives, but our selves are operating through a completely different brain! We can imagine then that our apparent personalities from life to life might be quite different.
One might therefore initially suppose that Titus' statement "we would know more who and what we really are now, and where we stand" is indeed true since in a future life my personality might well be quite different, where as if I could remember this life my personality in my future life would be somewhat more similar.
But this misses a crucial point. It is
not the case that my true self is somehow more accurately represented by my actions in this life than any other unremembered past life or future life. Our beliefs, actions, and therefore personality in any life, will be influenced by the intrinsic self, our essence, or, if you like, our soul. But our beliefs, actions and therefore personality will be influenced to a far greater extent by both our brains in any given life and also to our psychological adaptation to the circumstances in any particular life, in particularly acting and defining our being in such a way so as to basically "fit in" to the social reality we find ourselves in (incidentally, as an aside I believe that more enlightened souls will be less influenced by this last factor and will show greater consistency in successive incarnations than less enlightened souls).
Thus if we could remember our previous lives then we will define our selves to a large degree upon previous ways we have defined ourselves, which were defined under particular circumstances. If however we forget our previous lives then the one consistent influence over successive incarnations will be the intrinsic self or soul. Over many
many lives this is the one factor which will shine through, and even though ostensibly ones personality may vary radically from one life to the next, there will be a common essence from life to life. This might be discerned in more enlightened souls. For example, if a person in any particular life is a kind and loving person, and this is
not a false front so that you are acting the role so that other people will think and treat you in a certain way, but rather is an expression of your intrinsic essence, then one might expect this kind and loving nature to be evident in successive incarnations.
Yes, in any given life we would be more happy if we could remember our previous lives. But the purpose of our lives is to aspire towards our ultimate teleological destinies, so to speak, not
just to aspire towards being as happy as possible. In my opinion such a teleological destiny can be approached by a process of "soul-making" whereby one aspires to ultimate understanding of all things and all other people (beings); ultimate empathy with all things and all other people, and finally, and especially, ultimately love for all things and other people. Forgetting our previous lives, in my opinion, is the most profitable for aspiring towards and reaching that goal.
) think -- or more correctly (to keep Uppie happy) 'something' thinks -- and that you do also? 
an apparently profound disagreement between the 2 of us! I won't be responding tonight though cos going to be drinking soon and playing Max Payne 2. Should help me towards fulfilling my teleological destiny