by Jan Erik Sigdell, Ph.D.
Several cases of past-life regression experiences have been investigated by various authors, some of them in a rather biased way. The apparent intent was to find errors and doubtful contents that could disprove the reality of the experience and classify it as cryptomnesia or even fantasy. A few such cases are reevaluated and other kinds of errors exposed, amounting to false conclusions, inadequate reasoning and improper analysis. The cases reviewed are the Matthew case of Jonathan Venn, the O’Malley and Dick Wonchalk cases of Edwin Zolik and the Dorothy case of Reima Kampman. The tendentious way of reasoning in the evaluation of these cases is based on the preconceived idea that reincarnation is impossible and, therefore, eliminates the reincarnation hypothesis. A balanced and unbiased evaluation has to consider both views: seeking an explanation under the hypothesis of reincarnation as well as under the hypothesis that there is no reincarnation. Here, the former view prevails since the latter view has already been applied by these authors.