Abstract: Rupert Sheldrake’s New Age philosophy, with its concepts of morphic resonance and habits of nature, remains a purely theoretical construct lacking empirical validation. It represents a theoretical dead end. It’s a blind alley in the world of theory.
Keywords: morphic field, David Bohm, Gustaf Strömberg, Ken Wilber, Niels Bohr, hypostatization, archetypal ideas, pantheism, World Soul.
Introduction
Rupert Sheldrake’s theory of ‘formative causation’ bears striking similarities to physicist
David Bohm’s causal quantum theory, which posits a quantum field pervading the cosmos (cf. Encyc.,
‘Formative causation’). Bohm’s theory suggests that local events instantaneously influence
particle behaviour across the universe through this cosmic quantum field (cf. Wiki, ‘De Broglie–Bohm
theory’).
Such extreme ‘non-locality’ conflicts with established scientific principles. The theory is further
problematic in that it reifies the quantum field into a quasi-spiritual, universal force. By contrast, in
Copenhagen quantum theory, both the quantum field and particle models remain theoretical constructs rather than
ontological entities (cf. Faye, 2014).
Sheldrake’s theory encounters similar issues with non-locality, pushing it into the realm of religious
philosophy. His concept of a morphogenetic field effectively describes an omniscient entity capable of perceiving
and recording all universal events. This bears more resemblance to a pantheistic deity than a scientific
mechanism.
Where Schopenhauer posited The Will as the underlying reality, Sheldrake proposes The
Memory — both essentially spiritual forces continuously shaping existence. While religious
perspectives have their place, there are more coherent theological frameworks available than Sheldrake’s
model.
Regressive thinking
Theories like those of Sheldrake and Bohm represent a step backward from Niels Bohr’s modern conceptual
framework, particularly his principle of complementarity. Bohr’s Copenhagen interpretation, enthusiastically
received by psychologists C. G. Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, gained
widespread scientific acceptance through extensive experimental validation. In contrast, theories positing
universal spiritual fields have consistently failed to gain traction in the scientific community, ultimately
yielding to Bohr’s model.
For those interested in Neoplatonic speculation, the classical Neoplatonists and Gnostics offer more rewarding
study, as their works vibrate with authentic psychological projections. Sheldrake’s attempt to align himself
with Jung is particularly problematic, as Jung’s concept of the collective unconscious operates on
fundamentally different principles than Sheldrake’s theories.
Theoretical models incorporating a World Soul or similar spiritual-material fusion represent a theoretical dead
end. While developing religious worldviews has its place, cloaking them in scientific rhetoric undermines both
genuine religious experience and scientific inquiry. This regression to outdated modes of thinking exemplifies a
well-documented pattern in intellectual history. Von Franz says:
The idea of complementarity in physics is the same thing. It was first created by Niels Bohr and then very much picked up and propagated by Pauli, while Louis de Broglie, for instance, for several years wrote on those lines and then regressed and suddenly said that he could not accept it any more. At the same time he became friendly with the Communists. In other words, as Pauli put it, he could not stand the newness of the thought. It was too uncanny after awhile, so he had to regress to a mechanical view, as in the Communistic sciences, and with that discard the idea of complementarity. It is so difficult to give up an old thinking habit. Even people who have got an idea already, sometimes, after awhile, give it up again. (Von Franz, 1972, p. 219)
Pantheism
Sheldrake’s theory follows a familiar pattern, essentially recapitulating classical pantheism: a universal
spirit pervades and merges with the material cosmos, directing even the smallest particle according to established
patterns. This divine presence, manifest everywhere and always, lacks empirical support yet retains its appeal
precisely because it expresses archetypal religious truths.
Ken Wilber exemplifies a similar approach, clothing archetypal concepts in scientific terminology and New Age
rhetoric. Despite his prolific output and pseudo-intellectual framework, the scientific substance remains minimal
beneath the alluring archetypal ideas. Such thinkers might better serve as acknowledged religious leaders rather
than pseudo-scientists. Embracing their role as modern shamans could position them legitimately among our
civilization’s religious and mystical thinkers, lending their work greater authenticity. Instead, their
attempts to infiltrate scientific discourse merely appeal to those resistant to the genuine conceptual innovations
of thinkers like Bohr and Jung, whose work represents seeds for future development.
The concept of a universe endowed with psyche and memory — effectively a cosmic
consciousness — holds perennial appeal and finds expression in both theology and comparative
religion, even attracting Einstein’s interest. While this suggests humanity’s persistent need for
religious understanding, these archetypal ideas might better serve to revitalize existing traditions, including
Christianity, rather than masquerade as science.
Metaphysical ideation and hypostatization
The morphogenetic field represents a metaphysical concept. Traditional sciences also employ seemingly spiritual
terms like ‘force’ and ‘energy’. However, scientists regard energy merely as a convenient
mathematical construct. Most don’t believe in ‘energy’ as an entity itself, since no one has
directly observed this mysterious substance. Energy serves as an umbrella term for various phenomena like
electricity and heat, but generic energy remains empirically unobservable.
Why then employ a concept so reminiscent of religious ‘spirit’? Because empirical observation supports
its utility. Physical reality behaves as if energy underlies phenomena, enabling scientists to formulate
principles like the Conservation of Energy and establish equivalences between potential and kinetic energy
(mgy = ½mv²). Empirical data consistently confirms these mathematical relationships, with remarkable
precision.
This explains scientists’ apparent adoption of ‘spiritual’ terminology. These abstractions serve
as predictive tools for empirical observations. Their surprising effectiveness in describing reality continues to
amaze researchers. Nevertheless, scientists maintain that concepts like ‘field’ and
‘energy’ remain convenient abstractions rather than metaphysical entities. Unlike gods or spirits,
these concepts aren’t hypostatized into independent metaphysical realities.
The ‘morphic field’, by contrast, lacks empirical substantiation. It fails to predict phenomenal world
behaviour, distinguishing it fundamentally from scientific abstractions. Its inability to align with observable
reality renders it scientifically useless.
Ideas that prove ineffective in describing reality often undergo hypostatization — elevation to
supernatural status. Sheldrake follows this pattern by attributing substantial, though immaterial, reality to his
morphic field when empirical support proves lacking. This parallels Plato’s response when his social theories
found no practical application — he elevated his entire philosophy to an ethereal realm of
eternal Ideas.
Contemporary scientists can avoid hypostatizing their ideas because these ideas demonstrate practical utility in
empirical reality, generating natural acceptance. This allows them the luxury of modesty, characterizing their
concepts as mere conveniences while remaining agnostic about reality’s underlying nature. In contrast, modern
shamans like Sheldrake must assert metaphysical insight precisely because their ideas lack empirical validation.
They posit metaphysical realities and sacred fields as fundamental to physical existence.
Archetypal ultimate truth
Consider an analogy: paper money’s value rests entirely on collective belief. Should faith in this
intrinsically worthless paper falter, catastrophe would follow. The system functions only because each participant
trusts they can exchange these papers for genuine goods — the car dealer accepts them knowing
others will do the same for food or services. This collective agreement, though essentially a shared fiction,
proves highly functional.
Were this monetary faith to collapse, we might imagine bank directors emerging from their institutional temples to
proclaim: ‘Behold! This currency embodies the eternal, celestial Money that existed since time’s
dawn — the very substance with which the Creator purchased Earth from the Chaos dragon to
fashion our world…’
This illustrates the historical role of high priests: maintaining social order by connecting mundane reality to
transcendent meaning. They enabled society’s continuation by investing everyday life with metaphysical
significance. Modern shamans attempt something similar, establishing metaphysical frameworks. As Jung observed:
If we are convinced that we know the ultimate truth concerning metaphysical things, this means nothing more than that archetypal images have taken possession of our powers of thought and feeling, so that these lose their quality as functions at our disposal. The loss shows itself in the fact that the object of perception then becomes absolute and indisputable and surrounds itself with such emotional taboo that anyone who presumes to reflect on it is automatically branded a heretic and blasphemer. (Jung, 1977, para. 787)
Neoplatonic respectability
Those not seeking scientific validation remain free to develop Neoplatonic innovations. Cosmologist
Gustaf Strömberg (1882 - 1962) developed such a theory of organizational waves or
‘genii’ that closely parallels Sheldrake’s morphogenetic fields. Despite its rather naive
formulation, his work earned reviews from luminaries like Einstein and Eddington. In ‘The Soul of the
Universe’ (1940), Strömberg describes a hierarchical system of non-material genii directing particle
behaviour and biological morphogenesis. These indigenous genii structures exist independently of matter, with
certain waves functioning as nature’s memory banks. Memory thus becomes a fundamental natural property.
Strömberg’s framework culminates in an all-encompassing World Soul, while specialized
‘gene-spirits’ interact with chromosomal genes.
Strömberg candidly acknowledges his theory as a modernized version of Aristotelian entelechy, recognizing its
kinship with Hans Driesch’s vitalism and its departure from modern scientific principles in positing
spiritual fields. His organizational model extends beyond Sheldrake’s, incorporating not only accumulated
memory but also evolutionary leaps triggered by the World Soul’s emission of subordinate structures.
Sheldrake’s followers would benefit from studying Strömberg’s work, as it reveals their theory’s
true nature beneath its pseudo-scientific veneer: a fundamentally Neoplatonic and Gnostic worldview built on
spirit-matter dualism. Unlike Sheldrake, Strömberg openly embraces his theory’s religious character,
producing an engaging revival of Plotinian concepts. The enduring appeal of the World Soul concept deserves
recognition, and Sheldrake might better serve his ideas by acknowledging his intellectual predecessors, including
Strömberg and Emanuel Swedenborg (1653 - 1735), rather than distancing himself from this rich
theoretical lineage.
© Mats Winther, 2001.
References
‘Collective unconscious’. Encyclopedia.com (here)
‘De Broglie–Bohm theory’. Wikipedia article. (here)
Faye, J. (2014). ‘Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics’. The Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy. Edward N. Zalta (ed.) (here)
‘Formative causation’. Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. Encyclopedia.com. (here)
Franz, M-L von (1972). Creation Myths. Spring Publications, Dallas.
Jung, C. G. (1977). Mysterium Coniunctionis. Princeton/Bollingen. (CW 14)
‘Ken Wilber’. Wikipedia article. (here)
‘Rupert Sheldrake’. Wikipedia article. (here)
Stromberg, G. (1940). The Soul of the Universe. David McKay Company, Philadelphia.
See also:
Winther, M. (2002). ‘The Plastic Preachers – on inferior psychology and religion’.
(here)
