New Cases in Burma, Thailand, and Turkey: A Limited Field Study Replication of Some Aspects of Ian Stevenson's Research

For about 25 years, Ian Stevenson has presented detailed ac- counts of his first hand investigations which suggest a substantial basis for the widespread acceptance of rebirth or reincarnation cases in some commu- nities. This investigation was limited to two main questions: Do some chil- dren and their families report that information and other indicators emerge which provide connections to other persons who have previously died? Is it necessary to assume that some of the information and that some of the indicators are due to paranormal processes because they cannot be reason- ably accounted for by more orthodox means? The results of this investiga- tion are based on a preliminary evaluation of all 23 cases studied in 1988. The 23 cases can be regarded as relatively unselected samples from three countries, namely Burma, Thailand, and Turkey. The answer to the first question is an unqualified "yes." The answer to the second question is also affirmative but due to the limitations of field study conditions, the affirma- tion can only be justified in somewhat subjective probability terms, never- theless, in terms comparable to what in quantitative research is called signifi- cant. Although the question whether the suggested paranormal results sup- port the reincarnation hypothesis was not pursued, some aspects of this investigation which seem relevant to this question are briefly discussed. Connections Between Children and Persons Who Had Previously Died Devoting a major part of his life to this research Ian Stevenson (IS), hasar- argued in numerous publications (1966, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1983, and 1987), that in various communities, some children have memories, behavioral characteristics, as well as physiological peculiarities which seem to uniquely connect them with particular individuals who have previously died. These cases can only be regarded as potentially important with respect to reincar- nation or rebirth hypotheses if these connections to previous lives (PLs) include some paranormal aspects. Two publications by IS (1 988, 1990) in the JSE, although primarily concerned with unusual aspects of the cases studied, provide examples of IS'S investigations.