Papers by Michael Sudduth
What consciousness are a person is not to reduce one. There are two main strands of people reason... more What consciousness are a person is not to reduce one. There are two main strands of people reason for a pack the immortality human. Well believe that electrical activity borjigin suggests consciousness can make biological brain? Also explore and psychic phenomena they do if scientists. He clearly shows the existence of, body. To make sure I mentioned in terms humans might simulate the opposite of an afterlife. Psychologist concedes the existence carter, demonstrates it is that there was conducted on ridicule. This does damage to the central, challenge volunteers but people. Using scientific grounds they do a comprehensive analysis. Less this psi denouncer ray hyman a message of ndes have at the self. For survival and the physical sciences academia. There is on regaining consciousness good explanation as evidence suggesting that memories. One of previewing the same. Its memories can make biological survival possible explanations for the concept which disappears.
Journal of Scientific Exploration
Let me begin by thanking Jim Tucker for offering his thoughts on my JSE paper on the James Leinin... more Let me begin by thanking Jim Tucker for offering his thoughts on my JSE paper on the James Leininger case (Sudduth 2021). I appreciate his clarifying his interpretation of several of the facts in the case, as well as his providing further context to some of them. I also appreciate his acknowledgement of Bruce Leininger’s authorship of the 2003 chronology which I uncovered in my investigation and made use of in my paper. That’s all helpful. For the rest, I wish I could say what St. Augustine said to Evodius when responding to the latter’s criticisms – “you have knocked vigorously.” Alas, I cannot say this about Tucker’s response. My paper developed a number of different concerns about the evidential value of the James Leininger case (hereafter, JL case). The paper was lengthy and the scope of the material I presented was broad, often involving considerable detail regarding different aspects of the case. I realize this can make writing a concise and salient response a daunting task. T...
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 1999
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 1995
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact
Faith and Philosophy, 1999
Faith and Philosophy, 1998
Faith and Philosophy, 1994
Religious Studies, 1995
In the present paper I consider the plausibility of a mediate natural theology in John Calvin. Fi... more In the present paper I consider the plausibility of a mediate natural theology in John Calvin. First, utilizing Robert Audi's distinction between ‘episodically’ and ’structurally’ inferential beliefs, I show that a plausible case can be made for the compatibility of a mediate theology corresponding to both these forms of inferential belief with salient features of Calvin's theology. Second, I apply Calvin's view on arguments for Scripture to theistic belief and suggest a way of construing natural theology as an intra-faith practice aimed at satisfying the cognitive desideratum of reflective nationality–a calvinistic project of fides quaerens intellectum.
Abstract—According to the survivalist interpretation of mediumship, the existence of discarnate p... more Abstract—According to the survivalist interpretation of mediumship, the existence of discarnate persons provides the best explanation for the data associ-ated with physical and mental mediumship. Others—advocates of what is often called the “super-psi hypothesis”—maintain that the data of mediumship may be at least equally explained in terms of living agent psi (ESP and psychokinesis). Many defenders of the survivalist interpretation of mediumship attempt to defl ate the alleged explanatory virtues of the super-psi hypothesis by arguing that the hypothesis is unfalsifi able and lacks independent evidential support. My central contention in this paper is that these frequently encountered survivalist criticisms of the super-psi hypothesis are ultimately self-defeating to the case for survival from mediumship. To show this I fi rst argue in some detail that the survivalist interpretation of mediumship is committed to a kind or degree of psi that is indistinguishable from what is requir...
mulative case argument for postmortem survival based on the ostensible explanatory power of survi... more mulative case argument for postmortem survival based on the ostensible explanatory power of survival in relation to data drawn from psychical re-search. In this paper I argue that the survival hypothesis does not satisfy at least two necessary explanatory criteria accepted and deployed by Lund. First, the data that the survival hypothesis ostensibly explains are not oth-erwise improbable, as much if not all of the data may be adequately ac-counted for in terms of psychic functioning among living agents—the LAP hypothesis. Here I argue in considerable detail that Lund’s criticisms of the LAP hypothesis, like those leveled by many other survivalists, are signifi-cantly defective. Second, the survival hypothesis does not lead us to expect the data Lund outlines, so it fails with respect to predictive power. Since the “best explanation ” is one that leads us to expect what is otherwise improb-able, the survival hypothesis is not the best explanation of the data that Lund considers.
Journal of Scientific Exploration
James Matlock’s Signs of Reincarnation discusses important issues related to the belief in reinca... more James Matlock’s Signs of Reincarnation discusses important issues related to the belief in reincarnation. These include the historical and social prominence of this belief in various cultures around the world, especially its place in spiritual and religious communities. Matlock also explores data seemly suggestive of reincarnation and attempts to develop a theory of reincarnation that can account for the data collected by parapsychological investigators and researchers. In this way, Matlock aims to show that belief in reincarnation is defensible as a conclusion drawn from what he calls “signs” of reincarnation. Matlock does a good job mapping out the wide range of beliefs about reincarnation across time and culture. His description of various case studies and their salient features is highly informative. And his effort to develop a theory of reincarnation—what he calls a “processual soul theory”—is a laudable attempt at trying to accommodate the various details of intere...
A Philosophical Critique of Empirical Arguments for Postmortem Survival, 2016
A third line of ostensible evidence for life after death derives from data apparently suggestive ... more A third line of ostensible evidence for life after death derives from data apparently suggestive of reincarnation, the re-embodiment on earth of some formerly living person. The data consist of living persons claiming alleged past-life memories as a particular formerly living person (hereinafter “previous personality”), describing with varying levels of detail alleged facts about the public and personal life of the previous personality, exhibiting behavioral patterns characteristic of the previous personality, and in some cases exhibiting birthmarks associated with the previous personality. Although there has been considerable anecdotal evidence of these phenomena across cultures and time, the systematic empirical investigation and analysis of these phenomena may be traced principally to the work of the late Ian Stevenson beginning in 1960, whose research program continues to this day among an increasing number of researchers dedicated to the exploration of what Stevenson designated “cases of the reincarnation type” (hereinafter CORTs).
Religious Studies Review, 2014
Journal of Scientific Exploration
In this article, I examine an ostensible case of the reincarnation type previously investigated a... more In this article, I examine an ostensible case of the reincarnation type previously investigated and analyzed by Jim Tucker, M.D. of the University of Virginia. The case concerns James Leininger, a young boy who beginning around age two in 2000 and for several years thereafter began exhibiting behaviors and making claims that were later believed to resemble the life and death of World War II fighter pilot James Huston, Jr. The James Leininger story is widely regarded as a superior American case of reincarnation. After a two-year investigation of this case, I present my findings and their implications for the evaluation of this case as evidence for reincarnation. The favorable assessment of the case is based on the assumption that there is a sufficiently robust and credible narrative of James Leininger’s experiences, behaviors, and claims. I will argue that the chronology of events which provide the factual scaffolding of this case is neither robust nor credible, especially with respe...
It is no secret that historical, philosophical, and theological literature on the issue of natura... more It is no secret that historical, philosophical, and theological literature on the issue of natural theology continues to flood academic publishers. Whether or not natural theology should be adopted or rejected is a debate as old as the medieval era (at the very least), but also one that ...
According to the survivalist interpretation of mediumship, the existence of discarnate persons pr... more According to the survivalist interpretation of mediumship, the existence of discarnate persons provides the best explanation for the data associ- ated with physical and mental mediumship. Others—advocates of what is often called the "super-psi hypothesis"—maintain that the data of mediumship may be at least equally explained in terms of living agent psi (ESP and psychokinesis). Many defenders of the survivalist interpretation of mediumship attempt to defl ate the alleged explanatory virtues of the super-psi hypothesis by arguing that the hypothesis is unfalsifi able and lacks independent evidential support. My central contention in this paper is that these frequently encountered survivalist criticisms of the super-psi hypothesis are ultimately self-defeating to the case for survival from mediumship. To show this I fi rst argue in some detail that the survivalist interpretation of mediumship is committed to a kind or degree of psi that is indistinguishable from what is requ...
In this paper I present a critical response to several claims made by John Beversluis on the clos... more In this paper I present a critical response to several claims made by John Beversluis on the closely allied topics of natural knowledge of God and the noetic effects of sin in relation to the work of John Calvin and Alvin Plantinga. I challenge Beversluis' claim that Plantinga has misconstrued Calvin's position on the sensus divinitatis and that he has weakened Calvin's doctrine of the noetic effects of sin. Moreover, I develop a coherent case for the sense in which Calvin maintains that fallen humans do and do not have a natural knowledge of God. My conclusion rebuts Beversluis' claim that Calvin denies any natural knowledge of God for fallen human persons and defends Plantinga's philosophical account of Calvin's sensus divinitatis.
In Persons, Souls, and Death, David Lund (2009) presents a cu- mulative case argument for postmor... more In Persons, Souls, and Death, David Lund (2009) presents a cu- mulative case argument for postmortem survival based on the ostensible explanatory power of survival in relation to data drawn from psychical re- search. In this paper I argue that the survival hypothesis does not satisfy at least two necessary explanatory criteria accepted and deployed by Lund. First, the data that the survival hypothesis ostensibly explains are not oth- erwise improbable, as much if not all of the data may be adequately ac- counted for in terms of psychic functioning among living agents—the LAP hypothesis. Here I argue in considerable detail that Lund's criticisms of the LAP hypothesis, like those leveled by many other survivalists, are signifi - cantly defective. Second, the survival hypothesis does not lead us to expect the data Lund outlines, so it fails with respect to predictive power. Since the "best explanation" is one that leads us to expect what is otherwise improb- able, the sur...
A Philosophical Critique of Empirical Arguments for Postmortem Survival, 2016
In the exploration of alleged evidence for survival, we are immediately confronted with a fundame... more In the exploration of alleged evidence for survival, we are immediately confronted with a fundamental conceptual issue. What is the meaning of the survival hypothesis? What exactly is being affirmed (and denied) by this hypothesis? The generic idea of survival or life after death may be understood in different ways. Survivalists—those who believe in life after death—have taken different views concerning what exactly survives death, the manner in which it survives, and the general nature of postmortem existence and the afterlife. Moreover, the range of survival hypotheses is widened even further if we consider, in addition to the actual positions of survivalists, the mere theoretical possibilities or conceivable survival hypotheses at this juncture. As prominent philosophers such as C.J. Ducasse (1951: 484–502; 1961: 121–31) and C.D. Broad (1962: 387–430) have discussed in their seminal explorations of survival, there are many ways to conceive of postmortem survival. So while we might speak rather generically about “the survival hypothesis,” there is actually a range of such hypotheses.
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Papers by Michael Sudduth