Expanding the Scope of Science
ORIGINS
David Lorimer introduces the Galileo Commission Report
REMIT
The Galileo Commission was founded in 2017 with a view to expanding the worldview of science beyond its limiting materialistic assumptions, which are seldom explicitly examined. A central and widely held assumption is that the brain generates consciousness and is therefore extinguished at death.
Following widespread consultation in 2018 with 90 advisers representing 30 universities worldwide, we have published the Galileo Commission Report, written by Prof Dr Harald Walach and entitled Beyond a Materialist Worldview – Towards an Expanded Science. The report has been widely endorsed as a groundbreaking document, so we encourage you to support our movement by joining the Galileo Commission either as a Professional Affiliate or a Friend. There is also a Summary Report and a Layman’s Report, and a brief summary of the argument is available in a number of languages. We encourage you to read and support Dr Athena Potari’s Call for a Renaissance of the Spirit in the Humanities and to read our edited book Spiritual Awakenings, which documents the transformative experiences of 57 scientists and academics.
A Call for a Renaissance of the Spirit in the Humanities
The “Call for a Renaissance of the Spirit in the Humanities”, written by Dr Athena D. Potari, is a pioneering project aiming to raise awareness regarding how the prevailing paradigm of materialism affects the ways in which knowledge is approached within the context of the Humanities. In line with the Galileo Report, which discusses the importance of liberating the positive sciences from the limitations of the paradigm of scientific materialism, this Call aims at making the case for the Humanities as well. The Call explores how recent developments in scientific studies on consciousness, and the ensuing understanding that consciousness is primary and unified, can inform our understanding of what it means to be “human” with correspondingly appropriate epistemologies, as well as how we approach key areas of human activity, including ethics, politics and the environment.What people say…
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Featured podcast
Spiritual Awakenings – Marjorie Wollacott & David Lorimer (Eds)
Scholars share the experience of their own spiritual awakening and journey, including encountering challenges to their credibility in academia, if they shared these experiences. Their comments about transformation in values, beliefs, and approaches toward life are very moving, expressing a deep inner wisdom and connection, not only with humanity, but with the earth and cosmos.
Recent News
Imaginal Inspirations with Stephen Wright
David's Guest today is Rev. Prof. Stephen G Wright FRCN MBE. In his own words, "starting out with the curse-blessing of the original dysfunctional family, Stephen emerged from his Manchester working class background to grow his hair long and wander around Europe like a lot of his generation did in the 60s. He drifted into nursing, and by conventional measures made a success of it, following the first Masters programme at Manchester University and eventually becoming the first consultant nurse in the NHS in 1986. He got into conference speaking and course-leading internationally, shuffled around in academia, made TV programmes, wrote lots of books and research papers about nursing, advised governments and WHO and the Royal College of Nursing, and matured his craft in the nursing practice of older people culminating in leading a radical nursing development unit that influenced nursing far and wide. He gathered lots of glittering prizes along the way to add letters before and after his name, which appealed greatly to the Enneatype 3 personality he carries around with him. Thus all the usual trappings of an acclaimed career were in place.
David Lorimer hosts Pari Center Book-A-Month Club
An informal monthly get-together to discuss books of significance for the Pari Center community. Pari Center is a GC partner. This evening was hosted by our very own David Lorimer to discuss The Passion of the Western Mind by GC adviser Richard Tarnas
Interviews with Innocence – Peter Russell
Peter shares fascinating insights into how the Beatles and the psychedelic influences of the 60s played a pivotal role in his exploration of consciousness. He opens up about the moment he realized that traditional academics could not satiate his thirst for knowledge, leading him to embark on an awakening project that transformed his life and work.
The Guardian’s Misleading Story on Near-Death Experiences
The British paper the Guardian recently gave us a junk story on the topic of near-death experiences. It pushed a groundless narrative that a neuroscientist named Jimo Borjigin has done something to help explain such experiences, which is not at all correct.
Modelling the world – Chris Nunn
Of course it’s tempting to suppose that conscious models must be imaginary in some sense, which is true enough in a way. But then one has to remember that they are pictured as woven from threads of durationality that endow the world with manifest existence; so maybe it’s the world that’s more truly ‘imaginary’! Whatever the truth of all this, one thing remains certain – that there’s a huge amount of interest and enjoyment to be gained from investigating it.
Science Enters the Matrix of Consciousness – Stephen Schwartz
GC adviser Stephen Schwartz discusses science and consciousness on his podcast.
