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…
Featured book
Featured podcast
The Playful Universe – Marjorie Woollacott, David Lorimer and Gary Schwartz (Eds)
This volume consists of essays by scientists and academics describing their own experiences of synchronicity and how these experiences transformed both their worldview and the way they lived their lives. We truly believe that this is a fundamentally intelligent, benevolent, creative and playful universe in which we, as individual expressions of the one Universal Mind, co-create our reality.
Recent News
Imaginal Inspirations with David Lorimer – Richard Tarnas
Richard Tarnas is the founding director of the graduate programme in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he currently teaches. His two books - The Passion of the Western Mind and Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View - are the result of decades of deep thinking, thorough research and original connections across religion, history, philosophy and cosmology.
Consciousness, This New Principle – Introduction, Abstract and ToC – Lorna Green
Featuring the work of one of our professional affiliates, Lorna Green, on the topic of consciousness. Here you will find an abstract and introduction to her work.
The School of Nothing Buttery – Iain McGilchrist
This is a clip taken from a talk given by Dr Iain McGilchrist on 'The School of Nothing Buttery', for the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Centre. Dr McGilchrist discusses the dangers of a mechanistic philosophy, and how this affects the way we view the world.
Consciousness, This New Principle – Preamble – Lorna Green
Featuring the work of one of our professional affiliates, Lorna Green, on the topic of consciousness. Here you will find a preamble to all her work.
Imaginal Inspirations with David Lorimer – Kim Penberthy
Kim Penberthy is a professor of research in psychiatric medicine at the University of Virginia. Her key interests include consciousness and psychology at the end of life and research on how mindfulness can enhance the abilities and performance of humans. She is also a founding member of Be Wise, an organisation dedicated to promoting wisdom, compassion and mindfulness in medicine.
Researching Near-Death Experiences with Bruce Greyson
Bruce Greyson provides an overview of his half-century of investigation into NDEs. He describes his initial encounter with Raymond Moody as well as the creation of the International Association for Near-Death Studies. He examines the question of the evidentiality of NDEs for postmortem survival. He highlights some of the most interesting cases he has explored.
