The Beliefs in Reincarnation among the Indo-Europeans: the Comparative Data

Abstract

The Indo-Europeans share a set of eschatological beliefs that have been reconstructed using the comparative historical method. But there remains the question of whether the belief in rebirth was among the inherited ones. In this paper we attempt to present the comparative data and review their comparative value, in order to determine the role played by the inherited traditions in creating an authentic doctrine of reincarnation in Brahmanism in India and among some Pre- Socratic philosophers.