University of Virginia Library

Holder Of Endowed Chair

One person who has already
given this idea some very
serious consideration is
Psychiatry Prof. Ian P.
Stevenson, holder of one of
only four endowed chairs of
parapsychology in the world.

Parapsychology is a branch
of science which attempts to
investigate and scientifically
understand certain phenomena
such as ESP, psychokinesis and
reincarnation. While the
Division of Parapsychology as a
whole deals with all these and
other subjects, Dr. Stevenson
works primarily with the last
mentioned.

He usually spends about
three months per year abroad

studying particular cases and
interviewing the people
involved. He spends the rest of
his time at the University
where he analyzes data and
writes books while his agents in
various countries conduct
preliminary investigations on
their own.

Cases of claimed previous
lives as subhuman animals are
occasionally presented to him.
However, Dr. Stevenson claims
that supportive evidence for
such cases is negligible and, in
most such instances, utterly
worthless.

He recalls, however, one
instance of a child who claimed
to remember the life of the
family ox. But the mass of
evidence involving purely
human rebirths is better
documented and more detailed
he insists.

One typical case which Dr.
Stevenson has researched
involves a young Lebanese boy
who claims to remember his
previous life in a nearby village.
Dr. Stevenson says most
children start talking when
they are between two and five
years old, and usually then give
a great many details about
where they say they lived
before and possibly also about
a previous wife and children.