Reincarnation and anti-essentialism: An argument against the essentiality of material origins

Ajinkya Deshmukh (University of Manchester), Frederique Janssen-Lauret (University of Manchester)

Jan 8, 16-18 UTC+0;, Ajinkya Deshmukh (The University of Manchester); Frederique Janssen-Lauret (The University of Manchester), Reincarnation and anti-essentialism: An argument against the essentiality of material origins

Abstract: We argue that Indian speakers’ discourse about reincarnation represents a counterexample to the ordinary-language evidence for the Kripkean thesis of material-origin essentialism. Advocates of the essentiality of origins contend not only that persons have the property of coming from the two particular gametes they actually came from essentially, but also that competent ordinary-language speakers find this view intuitively compelling. We adduce evidence from Indian speakers’ discourse, both ordinary-language remarks and published literature about reincarnation, to disconfirm that contention.