IDEAL INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

The concept of reincarnation, also known as rebirth is the belief that a person, after death, can return to life in another body or form. The belief in reincarnation is not confined to a particular culture or tradition; it has existed for centuries, and continues to hold a significant place in both Western and African philosophy. Given the increasing popularity of reincarnation, there is need to consider or rather examine the philosophical problem peculiar to the belief in reincarnation: the problem of personal identity. The fundamental philosophical questions that stem from this are: in reincarnation, is the earlier and latter beings one and the same person or are they entirely two different persons? What conditions (if any) must be met for a person to persist from one time to another, that is, to continue existing in a reincarnated form rather than cease to exist following death? It is obvious that we can all change, but how much change is possible for one person to go through without losing their identity and becoming a very different person? These are some of the central questions the paper interrogates. By exploring them, the author will evaluate whether the belief in reincarnation is philosophically justifiable when examined through the lens of personal identity

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