Rupert Sheldrake : morphogenetic resonance

[David Morris]

Thank you eminent sir. You add so much.

On Thursday, March 29, 2012, wrote:

> Sheldrake's a quack.  So was Jung.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',
> 'fqmorris at gmail.com');>>
> To: Matthew Cissell <macissell at yahoo.es <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',
> 'macissell at yahoo.es');>>
> Cc: pynchon-l <pynchon-l at waste.org <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml',
> 'pynchon-l at waste.org');>>
> Sent: Thu, Mar 29, 2012 11:18 am
> Subject: Re: Rupert Sheldrake : morphogenetic resonance
>
>  It seems Sheldrake is coming up with his own version of Jung's
> Collective Unconscious.  But his version seems really absurd:
>
> "The more people who learn a new skill, such as snowboarding, the
> easier it will be for others to learn it because of morphic resonance
> from previous snowboarders."
>
> Seems he thinks the Collecive Memory is instantly updated, as if all
> minds are linked by a psychic internet.  I can accept the concept of
> collective memory, but only as a function of evolution, a genetic
> process that is far from instantaneous.  As I've said before, in
> humans I would call it "instinct," something form over millions of
> years.
>
> David Morris
>
> On Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 9:32 AM, Matthew Cissell <macissell at yahoo.es <javascript:_e({}, 'cvml', 'macissell at yahoo.es');>> wrote:
> > From what little I have read, I am skeptical.
> > Mr. Sheldrake's new book "The Science Delusion: Freeing the Spirit of
> > Enquiry" was also covered in the April issue of the Fortean Times. FT quotes
> > him:  "The formation of habits depends on a process called morphic
> > resonance. Similar patterns of activity resonate across space and time with
> > subsequent patterns. This hypothesis applies to all self-reorganising
> > systems, including atoms, molecules, crystals, cells, plants, animals, and
> > animal societies. All draw upon a collective memory and in turn contribute
> > to it... A growing oak seedling follows the habits of growth and development
> > of previous oaks... The more people who learn a new skill, such as
> > snowboarding, the easier it will be for others to learn it because of
> > morphic resonance from previous snowboarders." Apparently, Sheldrake  thinks
> > memories are not located in the brain but rather outside of it. He also has
> > doubts about the speed of light as a constant.
> > Now, Sheldrake may be a Cambridge-trained biochemist with a PhD ,as the
> > article informs the reader, but does that qualify him to doubt universal
> > constants in physics?
> >
> >  Although I haven't read any of his books, the article brought out my
> > skeptical side. Of course, Sheldrake is not responsible for the article, but
> > it gives pause. The author of the article states that "any modern
> > research programmme is under a good deal of pressure to not produce
> > unexpected or unwanted results." This is simply not true, look at the
> > hullabaloo about the faster-than-light neutrinos. In fact scientists yearn
> > to find something unexpected since it will get them recognition.
> >
> > I appreciate what thinkers like Kuhn, Feyerabend and Latour have done to
> > shake up the way we think about science and the questions we ask of and
> > about it. However, it has helped a school of thought that says that science
> > is dogmatically constrained or, worse, that it is not open-minded, fair and
> > unbiased. This can in turn play into the hands of climate change doubters or
> > evolutionists.
> >
> > Sheldrake does sound like a nice fellow, but until he establishes "a
> > testable hypothesis with predictions and effects that could be falsified" he
> > only has my respectful disbelief.
> >
> > mc otis
>
>
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