Freeing the Spirit of EnquiryThe science delusion is the belief that science already understands the nature of reality. The fundamental questions are answered, leaving only the details to be filled in. In this book (published in the US as Science Set Free), Dr Rupert Sheldrake, one of the world's most innovative scientists, shows that science is being constricted by assumptions that have hardened into dogmas. The 'scientific worldview' has become a belief system. All reality is material or physical. The world is a machine, made up of dead 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.
Sheldrake examines these dogmas scientifically, and shows persuasively that science would be better off without them: freer, more interesting, and more fun.
In The God Delusion Richard Dawkins used science to bash God, but here Rupert Sheldrake shows that Dawkins' understanding of what science can do is old-fashioned and itself a delusion. 'Rupert Sheldrake does science, humanity and the world at large a considerable favour.'
The Independent
'Certainly we need to accept the limitations of much current dogma and keep our minds open as we reasonably can. Sheldrake may help us do so through this well-written, challenging and always interesting book.'
Financial Times
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Review
'Sheldrake powerfully reminds us that science must be pursued with an open mind.' (Robert Jackson, former UK Minister for Science )
'This is a terrific, engrossing book that throws open the shutters to reveal our world to be so much more intriguing and profound than could ever have been supposed.' (Dr James Le Fanu, author of The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine )
'The author, a biologist, takes issue with the idea that science already understands the nature of reality - and in doing so, frees up the spirit of enquiry.' (The Times )
'There is something rather odd about the current state of science. For Rupert Sheldrake, [it is] facing a 'credibility crunch' on many fronts. He presents this challenging argument by identifying 'ten core beliefs that most scientists take for granted.' He then interrogates each in turn by reformulating it, in the spirit of radical scepticism, as a question. This Socratic method of inquiry proves surprisingly illuminating. A serious mind-expanding book.' (James le Fanu, The Spectator )
'Certainly we need to accept the limitations of much current dogma and keep our minds open as we reasonably can. Sheldrake may help us do so through this well-written, challenging and always interesting book.' (Crispin Tickell, Financial Times )
'Rupert Sheldrake does science, humanity and the world at large a considerable favour.' (Colin Tudge, The Independent )
Rupert Sheldrake shows very convincingly the way that time and again scientists refuse to look at anything outside a very limited set of possibilities. Sheldrake shows powerfully how some professional skeptics simply have no interest in looking into claims for anything outside of our current scientific understanding. A valuable and powerful message. (www.popularscience.co.uk )
'Isn't it nice to have some mystery back? Isn't it nice to have doubts?' (Esquire )
'We must somehow find different, more realistic ways of understanding human beings - and indeed other animals - as the active wholes that they are, rather than pretending to see them as meaningless consignments of chemicals. Rupert Sheldrake, who has long called for this development, spells out this need forcibly in his new book. He shows how materialism has gradually hardened into a kind of anti-Christian principle, claiming authority to dictate theories and to veto inquiries on topics that don't suit it, such as unorthodox medicine, let along religion. He shows just how unworkable the assumptions behind today's fashionable habits have become. The 'science delusion' of his title is the current popular confidence in certain fixed assumptions - the exaltation of today's science, not as the busy, constantly changing workshop that it actually is but as a final, infallible oracle preaching a crude kind of materialism... His insistence on the need to attend to possible wider ways of thinking is surely right.' (Mary Midgley, The Guardian )
'A fascinating, humane and refreshing book that any layman can enjoy, in which he takes ten supposed scientific 'laws' and turns them, instead, into questions... Dr Sheldrake wants to bring energy and excitement back into science... he has already done more than any other scientist alive to broaden the appeal of the discipline, and readers should get their teeth into the important and astounding book.' (Country Life )
'This is a delightful, interesting, informative, highly readable and much needed book and we definitely recommend it.' (Greenspirit.org.uk )
'This is a book about science and understanding the world that I have been hoping to read for years. It should be on every science student's course.' (The Oldie )
'This book is worth reading because of the depth of focus that the author brings to bear not only on the mind and our fixed opinions but also on our unthinking acceptance of the world, as we like to see it, along with our unquestioned assumptions.' (The Middle Way: Journal of the Buddhist Society )
'Sheldrake will be seen as a prophet.' (The Sunday Times )
This provocatibe and fascinating book challenges long held assumptions...This book is a refreshingly controversial approach to our understanding of the world. (Daily Mail )
An entertaining read. (The Sunday Times )
Whether or not we want to follow Sheldrake's further speculations on topics such as morphic resonance, his insistence on the need to attend to possible wider ways of thinking is surely right. (Guardian )
The maverick scientist questions the orthodox "scientific worldview" (The Observer )
'This is a terrific, engrossing book that throws open the shutters to reveal our world to be so much more intriguing and profound than could ever have been supposed.' (Dr James Le Fanu, author of The Rise and Fall of Modern Medicine )
'The author, a biologist, takes issue with the idea that science already understands the nature of reality - and in doing so, frees up the spirit of enquiry.' (The Times )
'There is something rather odd about the current state of science. For Rupert Sheldrake, [it is] facing a 'credibility crunch' on many fronts. He presents this challenging argument by identifying 'ten core beliefs that most scientists take for granted.' He then interrogates each in turn by reformulating it, in the spirit of radical scepticism, as a question. This Socratic method of inquiry proves surprisingly illuminating. A serious mind-expanding book.' (James le Fanu, The Spectator )
'Certainly we need to accept the limitations of much current dogma and keep our minds open as we reasonably can. Sheldrake may help us do so through this well-written, challenging and always interesting book.' (Crispin Tickell, Financial Times )
'Rupert Sheldrake does science, humanity and the world at large a considerable favour.' (Colin Tudge, The Independent )
Rupert Sheldrake shows very convincingly the way that time and again scientists refuse to look at anything outside a very limited set of possibilities. Sheldrake shows powerfully how some professional skeptics simply have no interest in looking into claims for anything outside of our current scientific understanding. A valuable and powerful message. (www.popularscience.co.uk )
'Isn't it nice to have some mystery back? Isn't it nice to have doubts?' (Esquire )
'We must somehow find different, more realistic ways of understanding human beings - and indeed other animals - as the active wholes that they are, rather than pretending to see them as meaningless consignments of chemicals. Rupert Sheldrake, who has long called for this development, spells out this need forcibly in his new book. He shows how materialism has gradually hardened into a kind of anti-Christian principle, claiming authority to dictate theories and to veto inquiries on topics that don't suit it, such as unorthodox medicine, let along religion. He shows just how unworkable the assumptions behind today's fashionable habits have become. The 'science delusion' of his title is the current popular confidence in certain fixed assumptions - the exaltation of today's science, not as the busy, constantly changing workshop that it actually is but as a final, infallible oracle preaching a crude kind of materialism... His insistence on the need to attend to possible wider ways of thinking is surely right.' (Mary Midgley, The Guardian )
'A fascinating, humane and refreshing book that any layman can enjoy, in which he takes ten supposed scientific 'laws' and turns them, instead, into questions... Dr Sheldrake wants to bring energy and excitement back into science... he has already done more than any other scientist alive to broaden the appeal of the discipline, and readers should get their teeth into the important and astounding book.' (Country Life )
'This is a delightful, interesting, informative, highly readable and much needed book and we definitely recommend it.' (Greenspirit.org.uk )
'This is a book about science and understanding the world that I have been hoping to read for years. It should be on every science student's course.' (The Oldie )
'This book is worth reading because of the depth of focus that the author brings to bear not only on the mind and our fixed opinions but also on our unthinking acceptance of the world, as we like to see it, along with our unquestioned assumptions.' (The Middle Way: Journal of the Buddhist Society )
'Sheldrake will be seen as a prophet.' (The Sunday Times )
This provocatibe and fascinating book challenges long held assumptions...This book is a refreshingly controversial approach to our understanding of the world. (Daily Mail )
An entertaining read. (The Sunday Times )
Whether or not we want to follow Sheldrake's further speculations on topics such as morphic resonance, his insistence on the need to attend to possible wider ways of thinking is surely right. (Guardian )
The maverick scientist questions the orthodox "scientific worldview" (The Observer )
About the Author
Dr Rupert Sheldrake is a biologist and author of more than 80 technical papers and 10 books, including A New Science of Life. He was a Fellow of Clare College, Cambridge, where he was Director of Studies in cell biology, and was also a Research Fellow of the Royal Society. From 2005-2010 he was the Director of the Perrott-Warrick Project for research on unexplained human abilities, funded from Trinity College, Cambridge. He is currently a Fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences in California, and a Visiting Professor at the Graduate Institute in Connecticut. He is married, has two sons and lives in London. Follow Rupert on Twitter @RupertSheldrake. His web site is www.sheldrake.org
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
I was not sure what to expect but I was delighted to find this book a very balanced and thoughtful overview of historical and current science. Alternative views are presented without dogma, indeed, the mood of the book is one of gentle encouragement to openness. I found the concept of morphic resonance compelling. Well done Rupert !
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By J L. vickers
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Rupert Sheldrake never disappoints in his books and lectures. In this book he questions the ten most prevalent axioms of science and using reason logic, and evidence brings into light how they are more dogmatic beliefs than forgone conclusions. He discusses how the science has been hijacked by a mainstream of materialist atheism, which ignores, ridicules, dismisses and condemns any research, evidence or free thought that the universe and consciousnesses are anything but mechanistic matter and its illusory byproduct. I find Rupert an erudite and warm communicator, not in the slightest full of himself, prepared to question his own assumptions as well as those assumptions indoctrinated into us and consequently a pleasure to consider.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A wonderful counterblast to the philosophic materialism which taints much modern science. Sheldrake shows how it leads to a blindness to much evidence which tells against it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Awful awful book
This is an absolutely terrible book, a volume filled with logical fallacies and nonsense claims. Filled with the kind of 'stinging rheotoric' normally attributed to your average 12... Read more
Published 2 days ago by CRAGGLES
2.0 out of 5 stars
not very good
not very good for Rupert.. I liked his 'presence of the past' a lot.. good ideas backed up with evidence, but this book didnt work or me, i found it rather boring. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Mr. R. J. Paul
5.0 out of 5 stars
A New Spirit of Science?
The title of this volume may suggest an attack, or refutation, of Richard Dawkins. Yet, according to Rupert Sheldrake, in an interview in The Guardian, this came about at the... Read more
Published 11 days ago by Graham James Mummery
5.0 out of 5 stars
Shockingly inspirational
This book penetrates not only moribund thinking within the scientic community but explores the historic religious and philosophical bases for many un-scientific prejudices, that... Read more
Published 15 days ago by J. Rice
2.0 out of 5 stars
Good critique, poor theory
He's good on the whole at critiquing mainstream science (though he makes some crashing errors), but his own theory of morphogenesis is for the gullible
Published 17 days ago by Stephen Sheard
5.0 out of 5 stars
good book
Excellent book - easy to read even though subject area is quite difficult to come to grasp with. I can recommend the book.
Published 28 days ago by emmanuel
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hmmmm
The jury is still out on this book - one experts opinion against another.
A good bedtime read as it sends me to sleep.
A good bedtime read as it sends me to sleep.
Published 2 months ago by terryblom
3.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy
It baffled me, of course, but as I read a vague feeling of reading something that required belief to an almost religious degree overwhelmed me, but it certainly gave a number of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dag Krokaa
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent and challenging read
I wanted to read about the research, judgements and thought processes of an eminent scientist who is also religious. Read more
Published 2 months ago by G Stainer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scientific in its true sense
Liberating and refreshing perspective that lays bare the unscientific nature of orthodox science.
Once we abandon the rigid dogmas of conventional science, in particular... Read more
Once we abandon the rigid dogmas of conventional science, in particular... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Shahriar
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