Does some element of personality survive death? The idea that there might be life after death has been nearly universal in all cultures throughout history. While mainstream psychology largely dismisses the notion as illusion, some major pioneers of modern psychology were less ready to renounce the possibility. Such towering figures as William James, Frederic Myers, and Theodore Flournoy—all of whom influenced Carl Jung—supported empirical investigation of the question. They constructed a model of the psyche, and a theory of its relationship to the brain, that could make afterlife plausible to scientifically oriented minds. This presentation will review their contributions and explore the relevance of their work to some contemporary discussions about the nature of the psyche and the possibility of life after death.
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