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Quoting wikipedia,

Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious concept that an aspect of a living being starts a new life in a different physical body or form after each biological death. It is also called rebirth or transmigration, and is a part of the Saṃsāra doctrine of cyclic existence.

Then, since Ashura has reincarnated into Naruto, and Indra into Sasuke, how can Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama (their previous reincarnation) be summoned using Edo Tensei?

Tawiskaru
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絢瀬絵里
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    I think applying out-world understanding of a philosophical concept into the in-world is fundamentally error prone and will mostly lead to contradictions. I think we can safely say in Narutoverse, Reincarnation and Resurrection are two different concepts. Each has its own nuances and conditions which are independent of each other. – Arcane Nov 10 '17 at 11:56
  • @Arcane AFAIK reincarnation in Narutoverse is not different than the reincarnation explained by wikipedia. If Ashura's soul doesn't pass to Madara, and then to Sasuke, then why does Hagoromo call Sasuke and Madara as Ashura's reincarnation? Regarding reincarnation and ressurection, they indeed are different, even in real world. Ressurection ( https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resurrection) means something that was dead be brought back to life, while reincarnation is as I quoted in the question. – 絢瀬絵里 Nov 10 '17 at 12:12
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    You've got it wrong. Reincarnation in the Narutoverse means the chakra and will of the deceased is transferred to a new born. Not the soul. – Ero Sɘnnin Nov 10 '17 at 12:43
  • Talking philosophically, soul never dies, and they start new life as explained in Wikipedia, and IIRC word Ashura and Indra were taken from the Hinduism, which mean Wikipedia's definition is correct – mirroroftruth Nov 10 '17 at 14:14
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    @mirroroftruth This is why such assumptions are wrong. Indra and Asura may be from Hunduism, but their usages are completely different. Indra is the king of Heaven and the Devas, while Asuras are mythological beings that compete with the more benevelont Devas. They are further divided into the Adityas and Danavas.... So Indra is a person and Asuras are a race... – Arcane Nov 11 '17 at 05:26

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As I've mentioned in the comments, there seems to be several fallacies in the base assumptions taken in the question. However, to answer the questions just based on the information in the Narutoverse, we've to see what exactly do Resurrection and Reincarnation means.

The translation of the Resurrection and Reincarnation techniques is quite similar in usage.

The Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation binds the soul of a deceased person to a living vessel, restoring them as they were when they were alive in order to do their summoner's bidding. Naruto Pedia: Edo Tensei

Edo Tensei is a summoning technique that summons a "soul" residing in the pure land. Thus the so called "Resurrection" is a reincarnation of a soul binded to the impure land through its DNA marker and a sacrifice.

Reincarnation is a process through which the chakra and will of a deceased individual are reborn in a new living vessel, referred to as a "reincarnate". Narutopedia:Reincarnation

Hence though the souls, i.e. the actual individuals would go to the pure land in the Narutoverse, their Chakras and Will would be "inherited" by individuals in the next generation. These individuals would hence be their "reincarnate". In a single generation their can only be one Reincarante of an individual.

It is important to note, through the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique, both "reincarnation" and "resurrection" can be found; the sacrificed body is reincarnated into the body of the summoned shinobi, while the reincarnated shinobi is resurrected from the dead.

Tl;Dr In the Narutoverse, both techniques are independent of each other. Through Edo Tensei souls residing in the pure land can be summoned, irrespective of the fact that their reincarnate exists in the current world.

Arcane
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