Sheldrake's New Book - Preview

Rupert Sheldrake's new book, The Science Delusion, is published on January 5. Should be a big event. I've just received an invite to the book launch in London on the 17th, chaired by Dr Peter Fenwick. But I'll review it before that - soon, I hope.

Here's the blurb

The science delusion is the belief that science already understands everything, in principle. The fundamental questions are answered, leaving only the details to be filled in. The impressive achievements of science seemed to support this confident attitude. But recent research has revealed unexpected problems at the heart of physics, cosmology, biology, medicine and psychology.

In his new book, Dr Rupert Sheldrake, one of the world's most innovative scientists, shows how the sciences are being constricted by assumptions that have hardened into dogmas. Should science be a belief-system, or a realm of enquiry?

Sheldrake shows that the 'scientific worldview' is moribund. Increasingly expensive research is reaping diminishing returns. In the sceptical spirit of true scientific enquiry, Sheldrake turns the ten fundamental dogmas of science into questions, opening up startling new possibilities. The 'laws of nature' may be habits that change and evolve. Minds may extend far beyond brains. The total amount of matter and energy may be increasing. Children may inherit characteristics acquired by their parents. Memories may not be stored as traces in our brains. Mental causation may work from the future towards the past, while energetic causation works from the past towards the future. The Science Delusion will radically change your view of what is possible.

This is the subtext to a lot of thinking and writing in the consciousness/spirituality sphere. It looks as though Sheldrake is going to tackle the problem head on.

The deliberate echo of The God Delusion suggests that it will be quite polemical. That wouldn't surprise me. Sheldrake is thoroughly fed up with the treatment he gets from sceptics, and I get the feeling he's running out patience. It would be natural to want to fight back.

That worries me ever so slightly. I can't imagine Sheldrake as a polemicist. I've always admired his ability to calmly face down his critics without resorting to their sort of dogmatic excitability - a key requirement in this field.

But then he's a veteran scientist and an enormously experienced writer and investigator. So if anyone can pull it off, he can.

Comments

[Michael Duggan]

This one is definitely on my Christmas list.

[RabbitDawg]

As I commented in the previous post (@ Paranormalia), I really believe that 2012 is going to be a breakthrough year for the paranormal, and it has nothing to do with the Mayans.
Lots of new books with a fresher, more aggressive approach, the AWARE Study results, and the Large Hadron Collider (CERN) will reach a power level where it should start spitting out some of its own iconoclastic more-questions-than-answers as well.

[Julie Baxter]

I have long felt concern that our Rupert might eventually get worn down by the scientific fundamentalists. It's playground warfare and ultimately draining. But then that's the aim of any kind of bullying. Good Luck Rupert! We're all in your corner.

[Julie Baxter]

Ps. And, just in case Rupert should read this:

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds" - Albert Einstein

[Jason Wingate]

If you'd like to know what's in this book in more detail, have a look at the Sheldrake talks here, in which he speaks at length. It'll be a great book no doubt.

[Renata Keller]

Hi, I am very interested in Rupert's new book. Would you know if the book launch with Dr Fenwick is public and if one can register for it?
Many thanks!

[Robert McLuhan]

It's organised by the Scientific and Medical Network, and it is public. Details on the website http://www.scimednet.org/

[Juan]

I especially like that Sheldrake criticize the idea that scientists already know everything fundamental in principle, that is, physical, and everything else are only details, when the mere presence of psi phenomena shows us that our fundamental knowledge of reality is incomplete at best and misleading at worst. What's more, the psi phenomena suggest that the psychic can be as fundamental as physical, so that no longer had the physics as the only fundamental science.

[Robert Perry]

You have definitely whet my appetite. I can't wait to read it. From your description, it has quite a substantial feel to it.

[David Chamberlain]

While I look forward to reading the book, I think that Dr. Sheldrake might have opted for a different title. "The Science Delusion" might be taken to mean that science itself is not a worthwhile pursuit and that anyone involved in it is deluded. Of course, having read and listened to Sheldrake himself, over many years, I know that is not what he believes.

I guess what he will be highlighting is the wholly materialist philosophy of scientism but you can bet there will be materialists queueing up to accuse him of attacking science rather than scientism. He might also be accused of cashing in on the success of Dawkins' book though Dawkins was actually attacking the belief in God so that title was more accurate.

[MJS]

Conversations with Rupert Sheldrake about his upcoming book can be found here:

http://www.ctr4process.org/media/index.shtml#20111031

It's worth a listen because some fundamental differences are talked about like apparent precognition versus real precognition. Many researchers in psi don't believe in real precognition because of the absurdities that may arise with causal influences from the future. It's also mentioned that the recent Bem studies may not have shown precognition but instead clairvoyance because of problems with the random event generator. Even if there was a properly working random event generator, physicist Henry Stapp argues that real precognition was not shown:

http://www-physics.lbl.gov/~stapp/ReasonFIN.pdf

Likewise, Dean Radin's and Dick Bierman's presentiment studies maybe clairvoyance as well.

Lots of other very interesting stuff is talked about with regards to Rupert Sheldrakes new book.