Are our scientific assumptions justified?

In this episode we’re going to be examining the assumptions of Western Science. All science is based on assumptions. In order to isolate systems in experiments and standardise measurements of the target data, other variables need to be pinned down so scientists can form precise mathematical models, that can then be repeated accurately in the peer review process. Today we’re going to look at these assumptions, and establish if they indeed have become standard, fixed and unquestioned as some critics claim.  

One of those critics is Cambridge educated biologist Rupert Sheldrake, who gave a TED talk in 2013 about the assumptions of western science, which was banned by TED’s anonymous board of scientific advisors for not being a ‘fair description of scientific assumptions’. Far from quieting the controversy, the ban caused outcries of censorship, and the ripped video was seen many millions of times on You Tube, probably many times more than had it been left to stand as one scientists opinion. Today I want to examine just how fair his description was.  

To help us examine his claims is one of Rupert’s old friends and supporters, a specialist in the history and philosophy of science, an author and the program director of the Scientific and Medical Network, David Lorimer. He is also President of Wrekin Trust and Chief Consultant of Character Education Scotland.  He is also a former President of the Swedenborg Society, and Vice-President of the International Association for Near-Death Studies. Originally a merchant banker then a teacher of philosophy and modern languages at Winchester College, he is the author and editor of over a dozen books, most recently ‘The Protein Crunch’ (with Jason Drew) and ‘A New Renaissance’, and out this year his new book ‘a quest for wisdom’. He is the originator of the Inspire-Aspire Values Poster Programmes, which this year involved over 25,000 young people.   

What we discuss in this episode:

00:00 Compulsory philosophy and death 

07:32 Examining Rupert Sheldrake’s 10 claimed assumptions of western science  

09:10 The ‘Life and nature are mechanistic’ assumption 

19:30 The ‘Matter is unconscious’ assumption 

29:40 ‘The laws of nature are constant’ assumption 

38:26 The Galileo Commission - get everyone to look though the telescope 

43:00 Reality is relational not relative - Apilla Colorado and Leroy Little bear 

44:45 The ‘Nature is Purposeless’ assumption - teleology 

52:30 ‘Biological heredity is only physical’ and ‘memory is in your Brain’ assumptions 

55:00 Morphogenetic fields and memories of previous lives and birthmarks 

1:01:45 ‘Your mind is in your head, your consciousness is correlated to your brain activity’ assumption 

1:05:30 ‘Psychic phenomena and telepathy are impossible’ assumption 

FOR PART 2 TIME CODES AND THE MANY MORE REFERENCES FROM THIS EPISODE PLEASE VISIT: https://www.chasingconsciousness.net/episode-13-assumptions-of-science-david-lorimer

References:

Rupert Sheldrake ‘Science set free’ 

David Lorimer ‘A Quest for Wisdom’ 

David Lorimer ‘Thinking Beyond the Brain’ 

The Galileo Commission - get everyone to look though the telescope 

The Scientific and Medical Network