Reincarnation

As Stephen Pinker put it, 'The doctrine of the sacredness of the soul sounds vaguely uplifting, but in fact is highly malignant. It discounts life on earth as just a temporary phase that people pass through, indeed, an infintesimal fraction of their existence. Death becomes a mere right of passage, like puberty or a midlife crisis.' The gradual replacement of souls with lives as the unit of importance was propelled along by the age of reason. It can be seen as an important mark in our progress away from violence. Sebastian Faulks made an interesting point in recent interviews. At the point of our deaths many other people will be born, all with consciousness so similar to our own as to be unrecognisable. It is only selfish egotism that wants it to be me, again, on earth.