it well to give at least a little glimpse of
"the other side" as it is presented by the opponents of the doctrine,
together with the reply to the same usually made by the
Reincarnationists.

The first adverse argument usually presented is that the advocates of
Reincarnation have not established the existence of a "soul" which may
reincarnate; nor have they proven its nature, if it does exist. The
natural reply to this is that the doctrine of Reincarnation is not
called upon to establish the proof of the existence of a "soul," as the
idea of existence of the soul practically is universal, and, therefore,
"axiomic"--that is, it is a truth that may be considered as an "axiom,"
or self-evident truth, worthy of being assumed as a principle, necessary
to thought on the subject, a proposition which it is necessary to take
for granted, an established principle of thought on the subject.
Strictly speaking, perhaps the fact of the existence of the soul is
incapable of material proof, except to those who accept the fact of
proven "spirit return," either in the shape of unmistakable
manifestation of the disincarnate soul by materialization, or by equally
unmistakable manifestation in the shape of communications of some sort
from such discarnate soul. Science does not admit that there are any
real "proofs" of the existence of a "soul" which persists after the
death of the body--but all religious, and at least the older
philosophical thought, generally agrees that the existence of such a
soul is a self-evident fact, needing no proofs. Many regard the
statement of Descartes: "I think, therefore I am," as a logical proof
of the existence of an immaterial soul, and others hold that the
self-consciousness of every human being is sufficient proof that the
Ego, or "I," is a something immaterial, ruling the material body which
it inhabits. And so the Reincarnationists claim that this demand upon
them for proof of the existence of the soul is not a fair one, because
such discussion belongs to the more general field of thought; that they
are justified in starting with the idea that the soul does exist, as an
axiomic truth; and that their real task is to establish, not that the
soul exists, but that it reincarnates after the death of the body. As
Figuier says, "The difficulty is not to prove that there is a spiritual
principle in us that resists death, for to question the existence of
this principle we must doubt thought. The true problem is