Translated by Hugo Wernekke

“Man lives on earth not once, but three times: the first stage of his life is his continual sleep; the second, sleeping and waking by turns; the third, waking forever.”

Gustav Fechner (1881 – 1887) was a pioneer in the emerging field of scientific psychology and the philosophy of mind, but like many of his peers, he also applied his intellect to the question of the survival of the human personality after death.

Das Büchlein vom Leben nach dem Tode (1836) was published just prior to the emergence of Spiritualism and Spiritism on the one hand, and the Occult Revival on the other; like later scientific and philosophical figures inspired by these movements, such as William James, Thomas Edison, and Oliver Lodge, Fechner explores the concept of life after death with a rigor and serious intent at odds with present day academic incredulity.