C SHELDRAKE

 A

You’re referring to Nature’s Hidden Intelligence: Morphic Fields, an SBQ‑style presentation by Rupert Sheldrake PhD exploring his controversial theory of morphic fields and morphic resonance. While this specific SBQ video doesn’t appear to be on YouTube, here’s a detailed overview based on Sheldrake’s published ideas and related interviews.

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🧠 What Happens in Nature’s Hidden Intelligence: Morphic Fields

While direct access to that SBQ talk is limited, it likely covers core themes of Sheldrake’s work:

• Morphogenetic fields: Invisible organizing fields governing form, behavior, and collective memory across systems—from crystals and cells to organisms and societies (quantasia.ch).

• Morphic resonance: The principle that once patterns (e.g. behaviors, crystal structures) occur in nature, future occurrences become more likely due to resonance with past patterns, speeding up learning or formation elsewhere (quantasia.ch, realitysandwich.com).

• Collective consciousness and learning: Sheldrake cites examples like rats learning mazes faster globally once learned in one lab, or simultaneous inventions like calculus arising independently, as evidence for these fields (Unhiden).

• Consciousness beyond the brain: Episodes exploring how people with minimal brain tissue still function suggest to Sheldrake that consciousness is not confined to the skull—our brain may act more as a receiver than a producer (Unhiden).

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🧑‍🔬 What Sheldrake Actually Claims

• Memory is inherent in nature, not stored physically in genes or brains but accessed through resonance with past forms (en.wikipedia.org).

• Natural laws are more like evolving habits shaped over time via repetition rather than fixed rules (realitysandwich.com).

• Telepathy in animals and humans (e.g. dogs anticipating their owner’s arrival) is an example of morphic fields at work in real time (Scientific American).

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🧪 Reception: Science vs Skeptics

🚫 Criticism from mainstream science:

• Considered pseudoscience, untestable, and magical thinking by many. Experiments cited by Sheldrake are criticized for poor methodology and biassed interpretations (en.wikipedia.org).

• Figures like neurophysiologist Christof Koch and Skeptic Dictionary contributors dismiss his ideas as unfounded and scientifically weak (thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com).

• Experiments such as BBC’s Tomorrow’s World produced inconsistent results—one dataset hinted resonance, another did not, raising questions about replicability (en.wikipedia.org).

🗣 Broader discussion & supporter views:

• Some theoretical physicists (e.g. David Bohm, Hans‑Peter Dürr, Lee Smolin) have shown cautious interest, noting conceptual resonance with ideas of implicate order or precedence in physics (thoughtsandvisions-searle88.blogspot.com).

• Reddit commentators describe Sheldrake as sincere and thought‑provoking, though often unconvinced. One Redditor wrote:

  “Theories of morphic resonance are compelling, the critiques against him (unfalsifiability for example) preclude him from mainstream acceptance… He’s worth listening to… provocative and accessible.” (Reddit)

• But others are far more blunt:

  “Sheldrake literally refuses to admit when he's proven wrong… discussing his ideas is a ‘waste of time’… these theories are garbage.” (Reddit)

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✅ Summary Table

Concept	What Sheldrake Claims	Scientific Viewpoint
Morphic fields / resonance	Collective memory influencing form & behavior	Unsupported; lacks mechanism or reproducibility
Consciousness beyond brain	Brain as a receptor; memory not physically stored	Highly controversial, no consensus
Evidence & experiments	Animal learning, simultaneous inventions, etc.	Poorly controlled; results inconsistent
Support vs rejection	Some theoretical overlaps in physics	Mainstream consensus sees it as pseudoscience

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🧭 Want to Explore Further?

Let me know if you'd like:

• Specific studies Sheldrake cites (e.g. maze experiments, Dogs That Know, hydrocephaly cases).

• A comparison with mainstream frameworks like epigenetics, information theory, or neuroscience of memory.

• A breakdown of Sheldrake's best-known experiments and criticisms in detail.

Just say what interests you most!