See also: Reincarnation

Metempsychosis is a philosophical term in the Greek language referring to the belief of transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Transmigration of the soul (sometimes given simply as Transmigration) is similar and foreign in some ways to the philosophy of Reincarnation. It is a doctrine popular among a number of Eastern religions such as Hinduism, Jainism and Druzism^[1] wherein an individual incarnates from one body to another, either human, animal, or plant. Eastern religion is a group of Religions originating in India, China, Japan and Southeast Asia. Hinduism is a religious tradition that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma / Shraman Dharma (जैन धर्म is an ancient religion of India. The Druze ( Arabic: درزي derzī or durzī, plural دروز durūz) are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. ^[2] Generally the term is only used within the context of Greek Philosophy, but has also been used by modern philosophers such as Schopenhauer^[3] and Kurt Goedel^[4]; otherwise the phrase transmigration is more appropriate. Ancient Greek philosophy focused on the role of Reason and Inquiry. Kurt Gödel (kʊɐ̯t ˈgøːdl̩ (April 28 1906 – January 14 1978 was an Austrian American Logician, Mathematician and Philosopher The word also plays a prominent role in James Joyce's Ulysses, and is associated also with Nietzsche. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the Ulysses is a novel by James Joyce, first serialized in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920 Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15 1844 August 25 1900 ( was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist ^[5] Another term sometimes used synonymously is Palingenesia. Palingenesis (from Greek palin-, again + genesis, becoming birth is a term used for analogous concepts in Philosophy, Theology,

Contents 1 Metempsychosis in Greek Philosophy 2 References to Metempsychosis in literature after the Classical Era 3 Notes 4 External links

Metempsychosis in Greek Philosophy

It is unclear how the doctrine of metempsychosis arose in Greece; most scholars do not believe it was borrowed from Egypt or that it somehow was transmitted from ancient Hindu thinkers of India. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. A Hindu ( Devanagari: हिन्दू is an adherent of the philosophies and scriptures of Hinduism, a set of religious, Philosophical India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country It is easiest to assume that earlier ideas which had never been extinguished were utilized for religious and philosophic purposes. The Orphic religion, which held it, first appeared in Thrace upon the semi-barbarous north-eastern frontier. Orpheus, its legendary founder, is said to have taught that soul and body are united by a compact unequally binding on either; the soul is divine, immortal and aspires to freedom, while the body holds it in fetters as a prisoner. Orpheus ( Greek: Ὀρφεύς ˈɔrfiəs ( OHR-fee-uhs) or /ˈɔrfjuːs/ ( OHR'-fews) in English is a figure from Greek mythology born in Death dissolves this compact, but only to re-imprison the liberated soul after a short time: for the wheel of birth revolves inexorably. Thus the soul continues its journey, alternating between a separate unrestrained existence and fresh reincarnation, round the wide circle of necessity, as the companion of many bodies of men and animals. " To these unfortunate prisoners Orpheus proclaims the message of liberation, that they stand in need of the grace of redeeming gods and of Dionysus in particular, and calls them to turn to God by ascetic piety of life and self-purification: the purer their lives the higher will be their next reincarnation, until the soul has completed the spiral ascent of destiny to live for ever as God from whom it comes. In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman Such was the teaching of Orphism which appeared in Greece about the 6th century BC, organized itself into private and public mysteries at Eleusis and elsewhere, and produced a copious literature. The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC. Elefsina (Ελευσίνα Ancient/ Katharevousa: Eleusis is a town and municipality about 20 km NW of Athens.

The earliest Greek thinker with whom metempsychosis is connected is Pherecydes; but Pythagoras, who is said to have been his pupil, is its first famous philosophic exponent. "Pythagoras of Samos" redirects here For the Samian statuary of the same name see Pythagoras (sculptor. Pythagoras probably neither invented the doctrine nor imported it from Egypt, but made his reputation by bringing Orphic doctrine from North-Eastern Hellas to Magna Graecia and by instituting societies for its diffusion.

The real weight and importance of metempsychosis in Western tradition is due to its adoption by Plato. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Had he not embodied it in some of his greatest works it would be merely a matter of curious investigation for the Western anthropologist and student of folk-lore. In the eschatological myth which closes the Republic he tells the story how Er, the son of Armenius, miraculously returned to life on the twelfth day after death and recounted the secrets of the other world. The Republic ( Greek: / Politeía, meaning "political system" Latin: Res Publica, meaning "public business" or After death, he said, he went with others to the place of Judgment and saw the souls returning from heaven and from purgatory, and proceeded with them to a place where they chose new lives, human and animal. He saw the soul of Orpheus changing into a swan, Thamyras becoming a nightingale, musical birds choosing to be men, the soul of Atalanta choosing the honours of an athlete. Men were seen passing into animals and wild and tame animals changing into each other. After their choice the souls drank of Lethe and then shot away like stars to their birth. In Classical Greek, Lethe (λήθη Classical Greek, Modern Greek:) literally means "forgetfulness" or "concealment" There are myths and theories to the same effect in other dialogues, the Phaedrus, Meno, Phaedo, Timaeus andLaws. Phaedrus (c 15 BC – c AD 50) Roman Fabulist, was probably a Thracian slave born in Pydna of Macedonia (Roman province Meno is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato. Written in the Socratic dialectic style, it attempts to determine the definition of Virtue Plato 's Phaedo (ˈfiːdoʊ Greek: Φαίδων, Phaidon) is one of the great Dialogues of his middle period along with Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society In Plato's view the number of souls was fixed; birth therefore is never the creation of a soul, but only a transmigration from one body to another. Plato's acceptance of the doctrine is characteristic of his sympathy with popular beliefs and desire to incorporate them in a purified form into his system. Aristotle, a far less emotional and sympathetic mind, has a doctrine of immortality totally inconsistent with it. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.

The extent of Plato's belief in metempsychosis has been debated by some scholars in modern times. Marsilio Ficino (Platonic Theology 17. Marsilio Ficino ( Latin name Marsilius Ficinus; October 19 1433 - October 1 1499) was one of the most influential humanist 3-4), for one, argued that Plato's references to metempsychosis were intended allegorically.

In later Greek literature the doctrine appears from time to time; it is mentioned in a fragment of Menander (the Inspired Woman) and satirized by Lucian (Gallus 18 seq. Menander ( Greek:, Menandros; ca 342&ndash291 BC Greek Dramatist, the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy, was the son Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανός ὁ Σαμοσατεύς Lucianus c ). In Roman literature it is found as early as Ennius, who in his Calabrian home must have been familiar with the Greek teachings which had descended to his times from the cities of Magna Graecia. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Quintus Ennius (239 - 169 BC was a writer during the period of the Roman Republic, and is often considered the father of Roman Poetry. In a lost passage of his Annals, a Roman history in verse, Ennius told how he had seen Homer in a dream, who had assured him that the same soul which had animated both the poets had once belonged to a peacock. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Persius in one of his satires (vi. Persius, in full Aulus Persius Flaccus ( Volterra, 34-62 was a Roman Poet and Satirist of Etruscan origin 9) laughs at Ennius for this: it is referred to also by Lucretius (i. Titus Lucretius Carus (ca 99 BC- ca 55 BC was a Roman Poet and Philosopher. 124) and by Horace (Epist. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, ( Venosa, December 8, 65 BC - Rome, November 27, 8 BC known in the English-speaking world as Horace II. i. 52). Virgil works the idea into his account of, the Underworld in the sixth book of the Aeneid (vv. Publius Vergilius Maro ( October 15, 70 BCE &ndash September 21, 19 BCE later called Virgilius, and known in English as Virgil or For the group of nine Ancient Egyptian deities see Ennead. The Aeneid (əˈniːɪd in 724 sqq. ). It persists in antiquity down to the latest classic thinkers, Plotinus and the other Neoplatonists. Plotinus ( Greek:) (ca AD 204–270 was a major philosopher of the ancient world who is widely considered the founder of Neoplatonism (along with his Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by

References to Metempsychosis in literature after the Classical Era

Metempsychosis is mentioned and is a key plot device in Edgar Allan Poe's 1832 short story, "Metzengerstein. Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, " Metzengerstein," also called " Metzengerstein A Tale In Imitation of the German," was the first Short story by American writer and poet Edgar "

Metempsychosis is referred to and recurs as a theme in James Joyce's seminal modernist novel, Ulysses. James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 &ndash 13 January 1941 was an Irish expatriate writer widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the Modernism describes an array of Cultural movements rooted in the changes in Western society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century ^[6]

Metempsychosis is also mentioned in the opening pages of Proust's A la recherche de temps perdu. Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (maʁsɛl pʁust (10 July 1871 &ndash 18 November 1922 was a French Novelist Essayist and Critic In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past (À la recherche du temps perdu is a semi-autobiographical

In the short story 'Angelic Butterfly' by Primo Levi, he refers to "Physiological Foundations of Metempsychosis". Primo Michele Levi ( July 31, 1919 &ndash April 11, 1987) was a Jewish Italian Chemist, Holocaust survivor This is a chapter in a study that proposes that all animals possess that ability to transform like a butterfly.

It is also the title of a longer work by the metaphysical poet John Donne, written in 1601. John Donne (pronounced like done, dʌn 1572 – 31 March 1631 was a Jacobean poet preacher and a major representative of the Metaphysical poets The poem, also known as the Infinitati Sacrum, consists of two parts, the "Epistle" and "The Progress of the Soule". In the first line of the latter part, Donne writes that he "sing[s] of the progresse of a deathlesse soule".

In the 1996 David Foster Wallace novel Infinite Jest, the mysterious Joelle Van Dyne broadcasts from the MIT college radio station under the on-air name "Madame Psychosis," a play on the term appropriate to the character, who is described as being two different people before and after a freak disfiguring accident (and recovery from crack addiction). David Foster Wallace (February 21 1962&ndashSeptember 12 2008 was an American author of novels, Essays and short-stories Infinite Jest ( 1996) is a Novel written by David Foster Wallace. Infinite Jest ( 1996) is a Novel written by David Foster Wallace.

Notes

1. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica
2. ^ Heart of Hinduism: Reincarnation and Samsara
3. ^ Schopenhauer, A: "Parerga und Paralipomena" (Eduard Grisebach edition), On Religion, Section 177
4. ^ Gödel Exhibition: Gödel's Century
5. ^ Nietzsche and the Doctrine of Metempsychosis, in J. Urpeth & J. Lippitt, Nietzsche and the Divine, Manchester: Clinamen, 2000
6. ^ List of occurrences of Metempsychosis in Ulysses

External links

• The Columbia Encyclopedia: Transmigration of souls or Metempsychosis
• The Catholic Encyclopedia: Metempsychosis
• Jewish view of reincarnation
• Did Plato Believe in Reincarnation?

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