Rupert Sheldrake's Banned Talk – The Science Delusion at TEDx Whitechapel
Do Lar
9/1/2025
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A summary of the video presentation by Rupert Sheldrake at TEDx Whitechapel on January 12, 2013, is as follows:

In his talk titled "The Science Delusion," Rupert Sheldrake challenges the belief that science already understands the fundamental nature of reality. He argues that this belief system, which he equates with philosophical materialism, has become a set of ten dogmas that constrain free inquiry.

Sheldrake outlines these ten dogmas, which include the assumptions that nature is mechanical, matter is unconscious, the laws of nature are fixed, and the total amount of matter and energy is constant. He also lists dogmas stating that nature is purposeless, all heredity is in genes, memories are stored in the brain, the mind is inside the head, psychic phenomena are impossible, and mechanistic medicine is the only kind that truly works.

He then focuses on questioning two of these dogmas:

  1. Fixed Laws and Constants: Sheldrake questions why, in an evolutionary universe, the laws of nature should be fixed for all time. He proposes they are more like "habits" that can evolve. He provides evidence that fundamental "constants," such as the speed of light and the gravitational constant (Big G), have shown significant variations in measurements over time, suggesting they may not be constant at all. He recounts a conversation where a metrologist described this scientific conformity as "intellectual phase-locking."

  2. The Mind is in the Brain: He challenges the idea that consciousness is confined to the brain. He suggests that our vision involves projecting images outward, meaning our minds extend beyond our physical brains to touch what we see. This opens up the possibility of phenomena like the "sense of being stared at," which he believes is real and has evolutionary roots in predator-prey relationships.

Sheldrake concludes by stating that by turning these dogmas back into open questions, science can be liberated from its constraints, leading to a renaissance of discovery.

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