Metempsychosis

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In philosophy, metempsychosis (Greek: μετεμψύχωσις) is the transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. The term is derived from ancient Greek philosophy, and has been recontextualized by modern philosophers such as Arthur Schopenhauer,^[1] Kurt Gödel,^[2] Mircea Eliade,^[3] and Magdalena Villaba;^[4] otherwise, the word transmigration is more appropriate. The word plays a prominent role in James Joyce's Ulysses and is also associated with Nietzsche.^[5] Another term sometimes used synonymously is palingenesis.

It is unclear how the doctrine of metempsychosis arose in Ancient Greece, where it was never a mainstream belief. It is easiest to assume that earlier ideas, which had never been extinguished, were used for religious and philosophical purposes.