Ian Stevenson

Jim Tucker

Ian Stevenson (October 31, 1918 – February 8, 2007) was a Canadian-born psychiatrist who worked for the majority of his career in the United States. He was a professor of psychiatry at the University of Virginia, and he became widely known for his research into reincarnation, his belief in the survival of the personality after death, and for his studies on the paranormal and consciousness. Stevenson's work was both celebrated and controversial, making him a polarizing figure within both the scientific community and the public sphere.

Biography

Ian Stevenson was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He completed his B.Sc. in 1942 at McGill University and later received his M.D. from the same institution in 1943. After completing his medical degree, Stevenson moved to the United States, where he trained in psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati and the Psychoanalytic Institute in Cincinnati. He joined the faculty of the University of Virginia in 1957, where he spent the rest of his career. Stevenson was appointed the Carlson Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Virginia in 1967 and became the director of the Division of Personality Studies, now known as the Division of Perceptual Studies, a unit at the University of Virginia dedicated to the study of phenomena that challenge mainstream scientific paradigms.

Research on Reincarnation

Stevenson's research on reincarnation began in the early 1960s after he read a case in India that suggested the possibility of reincarnation. This prompted him to travel extensively in South Asia, interviewing children who claimed to remember past lives. Stevenson's method involved detailed interviews with the children and their families, documentation of the children's statements, and attempts to verify the factual accuracy of these statements with the details of the deceased individuals the children claimed to have been. Over the years, Stevenson compiled over 2,500 case studies. He published his findings in several books and articles, the most notable being Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation.

Stevenson's work was met with mixed reactions. Supporters praised his meticulous methodology and the empirical nature of his research, while skeptics criticized him for relying too heavily on anecdotal evidence and for the challenges in independently verifying the accuracy of the children's statements.

Legacy

Ian Stevenson's contributions to the field of parapsychology and the study of consciousness have left a lasting impact. He founded the Division of Perceptual Studies at the University of Virginia, which continues to investigate the nature of consciousness and the possibility of life after death. Stevenson's work has inspired further research into past life memories, near-death experiences, and other phenomena that challenge the conventional scientific understanding of consciousness.

Despite the controversy surrounding his work, Stevenson is remembered for his dedication to exploring the unexplained with a scientific and open-minded approach. His extensive body of research has provided a foundation for future studies in the field of parapsychology and has sparked ongoing debate about the nature of consciousness and the possibility of reincarnation.

Selected Publications

• Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation (1966)
• Children Who Remember Previous Lives: A Question of Reincarnation (1987)
• Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect (1997)

See Also

• Reincarnation
• Parapsychology
• Consciousness
• University of Virginia