Michael Levin is an American developmental and synthetic biologist at Tufts University, where he is the Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor. Levin is a director of the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University and Tufts Center for Regenerative and Developmental Biology. He is also co-director of the Institute for Computationally Designed Organisms with Josh Bongard.
Tag: Rupert Sheldrake
Are memories stored in brains? -Rupert Sheldrake & Alex Gómez-Marín
After more than a hundred hours of private conversations on Zoom, Rupert and physicist turned neuroscientist Alex Gómez-Marín meet in person to discuss some of their favourite themes.
In this installment, they address the problem of memory localization.
Rather than taking for granted that memories are “stored” inside our heads and rushing to speculate about where and how, they instead entertain the idea that memories could be both everywhere and nowhere in particular — memories are in time, not in space.
To make such thoughts more thinkable, they discuss the recurrent historical failures to find actual memory traces in brains and bring forth some of the pioneering ideas of the French philosopher Henri Bergson in the context of current neuroscience.
They also discuss concrete experiments to test such hypotheses and reflect more widely on the nature of form and the idea that the laws of nature may be more like habits than eternal edicts. They end by discussing the need for scientific pluralism.
Dr. Rupert Sheldrake – Morphogenetic Fields of Body and Mind – Quantum University
According to the hypothesis of formative causation, all self-organizing systems, including crystals, plants and animals contain an inherent memory, given by a process called morphic resonance from previous similar systems. All human beings draw upon a collective human memory, and in turn contribute to it.
Even individual memory depends on morphic resonance rather than on physical memory traces stored within the brain. This hypothesis is testable experimentally, and implies that the so-called laws of nature are more like habits.
Morphic resonance works through morphic fields, which organize the bodies of plants and animals through vibratory patterns, and underlie their abilities to regenerate and heal after damage. Morphic fields also coordinate the vibratory activities of the nervous system, and are closely connected to mental activity.
Minds are extended beyond brains through these fields, and the effects of attention and intention at a distance can be detected experimentally.
Entangled Lives: Merlin Sheldrake
Entangled Lives: Fungal Networks, Ecology, and Us.
A fascinating conversation with the biologist and writer Merlin Sheldrake about the hidden universe of fungi. When we think of fungi, we likely think of mushrooms, but mushrooms are only fruiting bodies, analogous to apples on a tree. Most fungi live out of sight, yet make up a massively diverse kingdom of organisms that supports and sustains nearly all living systems.
Fungi provide a key to understanding the planet on which we live, and the ways we think, feel, and behave. Fungi throw our concepts of individuality and even intelligence into question. They are metabolic masters, earth makers, and key players in most of life’s processes. They can change our minds, heal our bodies, and even help us remediate environmental disaster.
By examining fungi on their own terms, Merlin reveals how these extraordinary organisms—and our relationships with them—are changing our understanding of how life works.
Exposing Scientific Dogma- Rupert Sheldrake
Rupert gave a talk entitled The Science Delusion at TEDx Whitechapel, Jan 12, 2013. The theme for the night was Visions for Transition: Challenging existing paradigms and redefining values (for a more beautiful world). In response to protests from two materialists in the US, the talk was taken out of circulation by TED, relegated to a corner of their website and stamped with a warning label.
Rupert Sheldrake on the Influence of A. N. Whitehead
I interview biologist and psychical researcher Rupert Sheldrake to ask him about the influence of Whitehead on his ideas and worldview. https://cobb.institute
Rupert Sheldrake – Is The Sun Conscious?
Speculative and thought provoking talk which asks us to look beyond the strict confines of scientific materialism and consider how the consciousness of stellar bodies (such as our Sun) is not only of anthropological or cultural interest but a valid field of enquiry in modern philosophy, psychology, cosmology, and neuroscience.
A Conscious Universe? – Dr Rupert Sheldrake
The sciences are pointing toward a new sense of a living world. The cosmos is like a developing organism, and so is our planet, Gaia. The laws of Nature may be more like habits. Partly as a result of the ‘hard problem’ of finding space for human consciousness in the materialist worldview, there is a renewed interest in panpsychist philosophies, according to which some form of mind, experience or consciousness is associated with all self-organizing systems, including atoms, molecules and plants. Maybe the sun is conscious, and so are other stars, and entire galaxies. If so, what about the mind of the universe as a whole? Rupert Sheldrake will explore some of the implications of this idea.