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
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
18/01/21 – Chris Roe – Sceptical of scepticism: an appraisal of the counter-advocate position
In this talk I’ll reflect on modern-day criticism to explore whether it is fit for purpose; to what extent are the criticisms justified and require a response from researchers in terms of modifying research designs or tempering claims, and to what extent are they rhetorical devices that seem persuasive but lack substance when scrutinised more closely.
Imaginal Inspirations with David Lorimer – Elisabet Sahtouris
Elisabet Sahtouris is an internationally known evolution biologist, futurist, professor and author. Her latest book Gaia's Dance: The Story of Earth & Us explores the earth not as a machine, but as a living being. She tells the story of its evolution over billions of years and includes research on bacterial cooperatives and maturation cycles. She has also written and spoken about the significance of imaginal cells and their transformative power.
Where Airy Voices Lead
The important point made by the author, though, is that there is no conclusive proof for any particular view, including the materialist scientific view. He further argues that rationality is present in views dismissed by materialists as irrational and unintelligible, since ‘they are all grounded in perfectly legitimate metaphysical philosophies about the nature of reality and how the world might work.’ He rightly highlights that the key issue is that psychic and transcendent experiences ‘do not fit into the materialist framework, which is only one of several possible worldviews’ – there is no unbiased standpoint without presuppositions from which one can arrive at an impartial view. Hence, he writes that the question of immortality ‘is not a clash of evidence, but of worldviews and their interpretation.’
Dr Iain McGilchrist discusses his new book, ‘The Matter With Things’
Dr Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and His Emissary, Galileo Commission adviser and author of the foreword to the Galileo Commission Report, discusses some of the themes of his new book, titled 'The Matter With Things', due for publication in 2021.
Rupert Sheldrake – Inteview on The Science Delusion and Morphic Resonance
A detailed and revealing interview with the renowned author, scientist and Galileo Commission adviser Rupert Sheldrake, whose work on telepathy, intuition and ‘morphic resonance’ has challenged rampant scientism.
Remote Viewing the Future with Stephan A. Schwartz
Stephan Schwartz discusses a project in which he was engaged from 1978 through 1996, asking individuals who attended his workshops and conferences to envision life in the year 2050. He describes the care that he took to avoid suggesting answers himself. The results consistently described situations that turned out to be true, but were hard for him to accept at the time -- including the disappearance of the Soviet Union. He suggests that, in our future, virtual reality will become an accepted substitute for air travel.
