Rupert Sheldrake, PhD

Science Set Free: Ten Paths to New Discovery

Join Michael Lerner for a discussion with Dr. Rupert Sheldrake about his life, his views, and his new book: Science Set Free — Ten Paths to New Discovery.

In his book, Rupert discusses his views on the ways science is being constricted by assumptions that have, over the years, hardened into dogmas. Such dogmas are not only limiting, but dangerous for the future of humanity. According to these principles, all of reality is material or physical; the world is a machine, made up of inanimate matter; nature is purposeless; consciousness is nothing but the physical activity of the brain; free will is an illusion; God exists only as an idea in human minds, imprisoned within our skulls. In the skeptical spirit of true science, Sheldrake turns the ten fundamental dogmas of materialism into questions, and suggests how all of them open up new possibilities for discovery.

Rupert Sheldrake, PhD

Rupert is a biologist and author and a former research fellow of the Royal Society. He studied natural sciences and biochemistry at Cambridge University and philosophy and history of science at Harvard University. He is a fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences, near San Francisco. He has appeared in many TV programs in Britain and overseas, and was one of the participants in a TV series called A Glorious Accident, shown on PBS channels throughout the United States.

In addition to Science Set Free, his books include The Sense of Being Stared At and Other Aspects of the Extended Mind (2003), Trialogues at the Edge of the West (1992), republished as Chaos, Creativity and Cosmic Consciousness (2001, with Ralph Abraham and Terence McKenna), and The Physics of Angels: Exploring the Realm Where Science and Spirit Meet (1996, written with Matthew Fox). Find out more on his website.

Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.