Examining the case for and against the belief in personal survival of bodily death, this text discusses philosophical questions, such as: Is a "next world" conceivable? How could a discarnate individual be identified as a person who was once alive? What is the relationship between minds and their brains? The book also examines classic arguments for the immortality of the soul, and focuses on types of prima facie evidence of survival: near-death experiences, apparitions, mediumistic communications and ostensible reincarnation cases.