The Replica Theory and Life after Death

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  • The Replica Theory and Life after Death
    • Replica theory: The name given to Hick's theory that God can recreate the exact copy of life after death.
    • Hick: "Death and eternal Life:" "I wish to suggest that we can think of it as the divine creation in another space of an exact pyscho-physical 'replica' of a deceased person."
    • The concept of life after death doesn't depend on Plato's idea of the soul.
    • Humans are a phsyco-physical unit, the death of a body is the death of a person, there is no separate soul to live on.
    • Hick Defends his view of "Replica theory" with 3 thought experiments.
      • 1.John Smith suddenly disappeared in London and reappeared in New York. We would probably believe that he was the same person and do tests that could be done to establish that the 'replica' was identical.
      • 2. John Smith died in London but was recreated in New York. We would probably identify John Smith as being the person rather than being the body.
      • 3. John Smith dies in London and is buried. It's logically possible that God would create him in another world.
        • (Close to what St Paul teaches about the resurrection of the body in 1 Corinthians 15.)
      • The Key identity is true memories.
        • If the recreated replica remembers their former existence, there are grounds for claiming that is the same person.
    • Criticisms
      • There is a break in continuity between the original body and the new body. This means it is difficult to say that it is the same person.
      • It is logically possible that many replicas could be created. Which of them would be "you."
      • Identity is not just about memories, a person wit Alzheimer's disease is still the same person.

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