Psychological Perspectives Sheldrake

8/9/2019 Psychological Perspectives Sheldrake

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Psychological Perspectives (Spring 1987),1 8 ( 1 ) 9-25

Part I - Mind, Meory, and !rchetype Morphic "esonance and

the #ollective $nconscio%s

&y "%pert Sheldra'e

In this essay, I a going to disc%ss the concept o collective eory as a &ac'gro%nd or

%nderstanding %ng*s concept o the collective %nconscio%s+ he collective %nconscio%s only a'es

sense in the contet o soe notion o collective eory+ his then ta'es %s into a very .ide-

ranging eaination o the nat%re and principle o eory-not /%st in h%an &eings and not /%st in

the anial 'ingdo0 not even /%st in the real o lie-&%t in the %niverse as a .hole+ S%ch an

encopassing perspective is part o a very proo%nd paradig shit that is ta'ing place in science

the shit ro the echanistic to an evol%tionary and .holistic .orld vie.+

he #artesian echanistic vie. is, in any .ays, still the predoinant paradig today, especially

in &iology and edicine+ inety percent o &iologists .o%ld &e pro%d to tell yo% that they areechanistic &iologists+ !ltho%gh physics has oved &eyond the echanistic vie., %ch o o%r

thin'ing a&o%t physical reality is still shaped &y it- even in those o %s .ho .o%ld li'e to &elieve

that .e have oved &eyond this rae o tho%ght+ hereore, I .ill &riely eaine soe o the

%ndaental ass%ptions o the echanistic .orld vie. in order to sho. ho. it is still deeply

e&edded in the .ay that ost o %s thin'+

M3#4!ISM*S "S I 3-P6!I# MSI#ISM

It is interesting that the roots o the 17th-cent%ry echanistic .orld vie. can &e o%nd in ancient

ystical religion+ Indeed, the echanistic vie. .as a synthesis o t.o traditions o tho%ght, &oth o

.hich .ere &ased on the ystical insight that reality is tieless and changeless+ ne o these

traditions stes ro Pythagoras and Plato, .ho .ere &oth ascinated &y the eternal tr%ths o

atheatics+ In the 17th cent%ry, this evolved into a vie. that nat%re .as governed &y tieless

ideas, proportions, principles, or la.s that eisted .ithin the ind o od+ his .orld vie. &ecae

doinant and, thro%gh philosophers and scientists s%ch as #opernic%s, epler, :escartes, alileo

and e.ton, it .as incorporated into the o%ndations o odern physics+

;asically, they epressed the idea that n%&ers, proportions, e


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change, it .o%ld have to co&ine &eing and not-&eing, .hich .as ipossi&le+ hereore,+ he

concl%ded that reality is a hoogeno%s, changeless sphere+ $nort%nately or Parenides, the .orld

.e eperience is not hoogeno%s, changeless, or spherical+ In order to preserve his theory,

Parenides claied that the .orld .e eperience is a del%sion+ his .asn*t a very satisactory

sol%tion, and thin'ers o the tie tried to ind a .ay to resolve this dilea+

he atoists* sol%tion .as to clai that reality consists o a large n%&er o hoogeno%s,

changeless spheres (or particles) the atos+ Instead o one &ig changeless sphere, there are a great

any sall, changeless spheres oving in the void+ he changing appearances o the .orld co%ld

then &e eplained in ters o the oveents, per%tations, and co&inations o the atos+ his is

the original insight o aterialis that reality consisted o eternal atoic atter and the oveent

o atter+

he co&ination o this aterialistic tradition .ith the Platonic tradition inally gave rise to the

echanical philosophy .hich eerged in the 17th cent%ry and prod%ced a cosic d%alis that has

&een .ith %s ever since+ n the one hand .e have eternal atos o inert atter0 and on the other

hand, .e have changeless, non-aterial la.s .hich are ore li'e ideas than physical, aterial

things+ In this 'ind o d%alis, &oth sides are changeless-a &elie that does not readily s%ggest the

idea o an evol%tionary %niverse+ In act, physicists have &een very adverse to accepting the idea o

evol%tion precisely &eca%se it its so poorly .ith the notion o eternal atter and changeless la.s+

In odern physics, atter is no. seen as a or o energy0 eternal energy has replaced eternal

atter, &%t little else has changed+

43 3M3"3#3 > 43 3?6$I!" P!"!:IM

evertheless, the evol%tionary paradig has &een gaining gro%nd steadily or the past t.o

cent%ries+ In the 18th cent%ry, social, artistic, and scientiic developents .ere generally vie.ed as

a progressive and evol%tionary process+ he Ind%strial "evol%tion ade this vie.point an econoic

reality in parts o 3%rope and !erica+ ;y the early 19th cent%ry there .ere a n%&er o

evol%tionary philosophies and, &y the 18@A*s, the evol%tionary social theory o Maris had &een

p%&liciBed+ In this contet o social and c%lt%ral evol%tionary theory, :ar.in proposed his

&iological theory o evol%tion .hich etended the evol%tionary vision to the .hole o lie+ et this

vision .as not etended to the entire %niverse :ar.in and the neo-:ar.inians ironically tried to it

the evol%tion o lie on earth into a static %niverse, or even .orse, a %niverse .hich .as act%ally

tho%ght to &e =r%nning do.n= therodynaically, heading to.ard a =heat death+=

3verything changed in 19CC .hen physics inally accepted an evol%tionary cosology in .hich the%niverse .as no longer eternal+ Instead, the %niverse originated in a ;ig ;ang a&o%t 15 &illion years

ago and has evolved ever since+ So .e no. have an evol%tionary physics+ ;%t .e have to ree&er

that this evol%tionary physics is only /%st over 2A years old, and the iplications and conse


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his orces o%t into the open the etaphysical ass%ption that %nderlay the idea o eternal la.s all

along+

6!ES > !$"3, " $S 4!;ISD

here is an alternative, ho.ever+ he alternative is that the %niverse is ore li'e an organis than a

achine+ he ;ig ;ang recalls the ythic stories o the hatching o the cosic egg it gro.s, and as

it gro.s it %ndergoes an internal dierentiation that is ore li'e a gigantic cosic e&ryo than the

h%ge eternal achine o echanistic theory+ Eith this organic alternative, it ight a'e sense to

thin' o the la.s o nat%re as ore li'e ha&its0 perhaps the la.s o nat%re are ha&its o the %niverse,

and perhaps the %niverse has an in-&%ilt eory+

!&o%t 1AA years ago the !erican philosopher, #+ S+ Pierce, said that i .e too' evol%tion

serio%sly, i .e tho%ght o the entire %niverse as evolving, then .e .o%ld have to thin' o the la.s

o nat%re as soeho. li'ened to ha&its+ his idea .as act%ally "M !"IS3D

he hypothesis o orative ca%sation, .hich is the &asis o y o.n .or', starts ro the pro&le

o &iological or+ Eithin &iology, there has &een a long-standing disc%ssion o ho. to %nderstand

the .ay e&ryos and organiss develop+ 4o. do plants gro. ro seedsD 4o. do e&ryos

develop ro ertiliBed eggsD his is a pro&le or &iologists0 it*s not really a pro&le or e&ryos

and trees, .hich /%st do itF 4o.ever, &iologists rind it diic%lt to ind a ca%sal eplanation or or+In physics, in soe sense the ca%se e


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I, on the other hand, ore or cae ro less or (the technical nae or .hich

is epigenesis), then .here does the ore or coe roD

4o. did str%ct%res appear that .eren*t there &eoreD either Platonists nor !ristotelians had any

pro&le .ith this


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he ields th%s have a .holistic property .hich .as very attractive to the

&iologists .ho developed this concept o orphogenetic ields+

3ach species has its o.n ields, and .ithin each organis there are ields .ithin ields+ Eithin each

o %s is the ield o the .hole &ody0 ields or ars and legs and ields or 'idneys and livers0 .ithin

are ields or the dierent tiss%es inside these organs, and then ields or the cells, and ields or the

s%&-cell%lar str%ct%res, and ields or the olec%les, and so on+ here is a .hole series o ields

.ithin ields+ he essence o the hypothesis I a proposing is that these ields, .hich are already

accepted


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over the .orld+ he conventional eplanation is that this occ%rs &eca%se ragents o previo%s

crystals are carried ro la&oratory to la&oratory on &eards o igrant cheists+ Ehen there have

not &een any igrant cheists, it is ass%ed that the ragents .ated thro%gh the atosphere as

icroscopic d%st particles+

Perhaps igrant cheists do carry ragents on their &eards and perhaps d%st particles do get

&lo.n aro%nd in the atosphere+ evertheless, i one eas%res the rate o crystalliBation %nder

rigoro%sly controlled conditions in sealed vessels in dierent parts o the .orld, one sho%ld still

o&serve an accelerated rate o crystalliBation+ his eperient has not yet &een done+ ;%t a related

eperient involving cheical reaction rates o ne. synthetic processes is at present &eing

considered &y a a/or cheical copany in ;ritain &eca%se, i these things happen, they have 6I>3

here are resh il' is still delivered to the door each orning in ;ritain+ $ntil a&o%t the 195As, the

caps on the il' &ottles .ere ade o card&oard+ In 1921 in So%thapton, a strange phenoenon

.as o&served+ Ehen people cae o%t in the orning to get their il' &ottles, they o%nd little

shreds o card&oard all aro%nd the &otto o the &ottle, and the crea ro the top o the &ottle had

disappeared+ #lose o&servation revealed that this .as &eing done &y &l%etits, .ho sat on top o the

&ottle, p%lled o the card&oard .ith their &ea's, and then dran' the crea+ Several tragic cases

.ere o%nd in .hich &l%etits .ere discovered dro.ned head irst in the il'F

his incident ca%sed considera&le interest0 then the event t%rned %p soe.here else in ;ritain,

a&o%t 5A iles a.ay, and then soe.here a&o%t 1AA iles a.ay+ Ehenever the &l%etit phenoenon

t%rned %p, it started spreading locally, pres%a&ly &y iitation+ 4o.ever, &l%etits are very hoe-

loving creat%res, and they don*t norally travel ore than o%r or ive iles+ hereore, the

disseination o the &ehavior over large distances co%ld only &e acco%nted or in ters o an


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I thin' that is the position o odern &iology, trying to eplain everything in ters o .hat happens

inside+ he ore eplanations or or are loo'ed or inside, the ore el%sive the eplanations

prove to &e, and the ore they are ascri&ed to ever ore s%&tle and cople interactions, .hich

al.ays el%de investigation+ !s I a s%ggesting, the ors and patterns o &ehavior are act%ally

&eing t%ned into &y invisi&le connections arising o%tside the organis+ he developent o or is

a res%lt o &oth the internal organiBation o the organis and the interaction o the orphic ields to

.hich it is t%ned+

enetic %tations can aect this developent+ !gain thin' o the ? set+ I .e %tate a transistor

or a condenser inside the set, yo% ay get distorted pict%res or so%nd+ ;%t this does not prove that

the pict%res and so%nd are prograed &y these coponents+ or does it prove that or and

&ehavior are prograed &y genes, i .e ind there are alterations in or and &ehavior as a res%lt

o genetic %tation+

here is another 'ind o %tation .hich is partic%larly interesting+ Iagine a %tation in the t%ning

circ%it o yo%r set, s%ch that it alters the resonant re


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and neo-:ar.inis in all their vario%s ors are &ased on gene selection, gene re


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!nother arg%ent or the localiBation o eory inside the &rain is s%ggested &y the eperients

on electrical sti%lation o the &rain &y Eilder Penield and others+ Penield sti%lated the

teporal lo&es o the &rains o epileptic patients and o%nd that soe o these sti%li co%ld elicit

vivid responses, .hich the patients interpreted as eories o things they had done in the past+

Penield ass%ed that he .as act%ally sti%lating eories .hich .ere stored in the corte+ !gain

ret%rning to the ? analogy, i I sti%lated the t%ning circ%it o yo%r ? set and it /%ped onto

another channel, this .o%ldn*t prove the inoration .as stored inside the t%ning circ%it+ It is

interesting that, in his last &oo', he Mystery o the Mind, Penield hisel a&andoned the idea that

the eperients proved that eory .as inside the &rain+ 4e cae to the concl%sion that eory

.as not stored inside the corte at all+

here have &een any attepts to locate eory traces .ithin the &rain, the &est 'no.n o .hich

.ere &y arl 6ashley, the great !erican ne%rophysiologist+ 4e trained rats to learn tric's, then

chopped &its o their &rains o%t to deterine .hether the rats co%ld still do the tric's+ o his

aaBeent, he o%nd that he co%ld reove over ity percent o the &rain-any 5A-and there .o%ld

&e virt%ally no eect on the retention o this learning+ Ehen he reoved all the &rain, the rats co%ld

no longer peror the tric's, so he concl%ded that the &rain .as necessary in soe .ay to the

perorance o the tas'-.hich is hardly a very s%rprising concl%sion+ Ehat .as s%rprising .as ho.

%ch o the &rain he co%ld reove .itho%t aecting the eory+

Siilar res%lts have &een o%nd &y other investigators, even .ith inverte&rates s%ch as the octop%s+

his led one eperienter to spec%late that eory .as &oth every.here and no.here in

partic%lar+ 6ashley hisel concl%ded that eories are stored in a distri&%ted anner thro%gho%t

the &rain, since he co%ld not ind the eory traces .hich classical theory re


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interested in .hat philosophers say, so they do not &other to reply to this arg%ent+

;%t it does see to e orative #a%sation, contin%es to evo'e a stor o controversy+ >ollo.ing is the second in a serieso articles .herein Sheldra'e presents his ideas or apliying %ng*s concept o the collective

%nconscio%s and archetypal psychology+ 4e concl%ded his irst article .ith these .ords


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he approach I a p%tting or.ard is very siilar to %ng*s idea o the collective %nconscio%s+ he

ain dierence is that %ng*s idea .as applied priarily to h%an eperience and h%an collective

eory+ Ehat I a s%ggesting is that a very siilar principle operates thro%gho%t the entire

%niverse, not /%st in h%an &eings+ I the 'ind o radical paradig shit I a tal'ing a&o%t goes on

.ithin &iology D i the hypothesis o orphic resonance is even approiately correct D then %ng*s

idea o the collective %nconscio%s .o%ld &ecoe a ainstrea idea Morphogenic ields and the

concept o the collective %nconscio%s .o%ld copletely change the contet o odern psychology+

S#I3 !S S$P3""!ISM

In Part II o this essay, I .ant to eplore soe ideas a&o%t the social and c%lt%ral aspects o orphic

ields and orphic resonance+ ! ailiar coparison ight &e that o a hive o &ees or a nest o

terites each is li'e a giant organis, and the insects .ithin it are li'e cells in a s%perorganis+

!ltho%gh coprised o h%ndreds and h%ndreds o individ%al insect cells, the hive or nest %nctions

and responds as a %niied .hole+

My hypothesis is that societies have social and c%lt%ral orphic ields .hich e&race and organiBe

all that resides .ithin the+ !ltho%gh coprised o tho%sands and tho%sands o individ%al h%an

&eings, the society can %nction and respond as a %niied .hole via the characteristics o its orphic

ield+ o vis%aliBe this, it is help%l to ree&er that ields &y their very nat%re are &oth .ithin and

aro%nd the things to .hich they reer+ ! agnetic ield is &oth .ithin a agnet and aro%nd it0 a

gravitational ield is &oth .ithin the earth and aro%nd it+ >ield theories th%s ta'e %s &eyond the

traditional rigid deinition o =inside= and =o%tside+=

! s%perorganis concept o anial societies doinated &ehavioral &iology %ntil a&o%t the early

19CAs+ hen D as 3d.ard + Eilson, the o%nder o socio&iology, notes in his &oo', he Insect

Societies (1971) D there .as a general shit in paradig in avor o echanistic red%ctionis, .hich

eplained anial societies p%rely in ters o interactions aong geneticallyDprograed

individ%als+ he s%perorganis concept has not &een orgotten, ho.ever, and orces itsel again and

again %pon people .ho thin' a&o%t anial societies+

here is an inherent pro&le in the concept i one says that the anial society is a

'ind o organis, then .hat 'ind o organis is itD Ehat is it that can possi&ly organiBe all the

individ%al anials .ithin itD I a s%ggesting that there is a orphic ield .hich e&races all the

anials, a ield .hich literally etends aro%nd all the anials .ithin it+ his ield coordinates their

oveents /%st as the orphic ield o the h%an &ody coordinates the activities and oveents othe cells and tiss%es and organs+ his concept &etter descri&es the characteristic phenoena o

anial societies than the idea that they are all individ%ally interacting yet separate things+

M!"!IS !: 43 E4I3 !S

>or eaple, it eplains ho. terites &%ilding col%ns .hich are ad/acent yet separate 'no. ho.

to &%ild arches so that the t.o sides eet at eactly the right place in the iddle+ erites are &lind,

and the inside o the nest is dar', so they can*t do it &y vision+ 3d.ard + Eilson considers it

%nli'ely that they do it &y hearing or aco%stic ethods, &eca%se o the constant &ac'gro%nd o

so%nd ca%sed &y the oveent o terites .ithin the o%nd+ he only hypothesis that Eilson, .horepresents the ost hardDnosed red%ctionist school o tho%ght, considers li'ely is that they do it &y

sell+ !nd even he agrees that that sees aretched+


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I, in act, the col%n constr%ction is going on .ithin a social orphic ield .hich e&races the

.hole nest and .hich contains a =old= o the %t%re arch, then the terites* oveents are

coordinated &y this ield and it*s %ch easier to %nderstand ho. the col%ns can eet+ I that is the

case, it sho%ld &e possi&le to investigate it eperientally+

In the 192As, So%th !rican &iologist 3%gene Marais .rote he So%l o he Ehite !nt, in .hich he

descri&ed eperients investigating the eect o daaging So%th !rican terite o%nds+ Marais

too' a large steel plate several eet across and several eet deep and haered it into the center o a

terite o%nd+ he terites repaired the o%nd on &oth sides o the steel plate, &%ilding col%ns

and arches+ heir oveents .ere coordinated even tho%gh they approached the .all ro

dierent sides+ !aBingly, the terites on opposite sides o the steel plate &%ilt arches that et at

the steel plate at eactly the right position to /oin i the plate had not &loc'ed their .ay+ his seeed

to deonstrate that there .as soe 'ind o coordinating inl%ence .hich .as not &loc'ed &y a steel

plate+ &vio%sly, this .o%ld &e ipossi&le to do &y sell, as Eilson s%ggests, since even terites

can*t sell s%&tle odors thro%gh a steel plate+

$nort%nately, no one has ever repeated these eperients, even tho%gh it .o%ld not &e diic%lt to

repeat the in a co%ntry .here terites are coon+ I Marais* res%lt .as replicated, it .o%ld D

strongly s%ggest that there .as a ield coordinating the actions o the individ%als+

E!3 PS !: 43 M!3$?3" E!?3S > ;I":S

!s another ailiar eaple o the s%perorganis concept, consider schools o ish .hen predators

s.i into a school, the ish dart rench sociologist 3ile :%r'hei spo'e o this as the

=conscience collective= (in >rench, the .ord conscience eans &oth conscience and conscio%sness)+

4e &elieved that one o the a/or %nctions o the =conscience collective= .as to aintain the

cohesion o the social gro%p+ It &ehaved siilarly to a gro%p ield, and any o the activities o the

gro%p conscio%sness .ere concerned .ith aintaining and sta&iliBing the contin%ed eistence o the

gro%p ield itsel+

M#:$!66*S "$P MI: !: 43 S4!:E

In the 19HAs Eillia Mc:o%gall, .ho .rote he ro%p Mind (192AG 1972) and several other &oo's

on social psychology, theoriBed that a gro%p ind eisted .hich incl%ded all e&ers o a society

and .hich had its o.n tho%ghts, its o.n traditions, and its o.n eories+ I .e thin' o s%ch a

gro%p ind as an aspect o the orphic ield o the society, it .o%ld indeed have its o.n eory

since all orphic ields have inD&%ilt eory thro%gh orphic resonance+

he pro&le .ith ideas li'e this one is that it is not possi&le yet to deine t .hat the gro%p ind is

or ho. it co%ld &e eas%red+ iven the positivistic ood o sociology .hich prevailed then (and

no.), Mc:o%gal*s concept o the gro%p ind .as not developed %rther+ ra%atic socialconditions then dapened any reaining receptivity to notions involving gro%p orces+ ;y the

19HAs, the shado. side o collective conscio%sness had ta'en tangi&le or in aBi erany+


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;eca%se this shado. side .as all too real, ost people .ere rightened o any concept s%ggesting

gro%p inds or gro%p conscio%sness+ #ertainly .e have all seen the shado. side o gro%p

conscio%sness only +too clearly in the last e. decades+ Ehat .e need to realiBe, ho.ever, is that

there is %ch to &e learned ro thin'ing a&o%t the ore positive side o gro%p ields or gro%p

conscio%sness+

In ore recent sociological and anthropological theory, a holistic approach to society has &ecoe


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recalls the dread%l visitation o death thro%gho%t 3gypt .hen all the irstD&orn .ere 'illed, ecept

the irst &orn o the e.s .ho .ere protected &y the rit%al &lood o sacriicial la&s seared on the

door.ays o e.ish ho%ses+ In the #hristian Mass, the rit%al o 4oly #o%nion, in .hich

#hristians drin' the &lood and eat the &ody o es%s D reers &ac' to the prial 6ast S%pper .hen

the Passover east .as transored and es%s hisel &ecae the sacriicial victi+

In every society there are also h%ndreds o social and c%lt%ral rit%als+ In !erica, there is the

national c%sto o the han'sgiving dinner .hich coeorates the irst han'sgiving dinner

oered &y Pilgris %pon their sae settleent in e. 3ngland+ Ee also have any inor rit%als o

everyday lie, s%ch as the rit%als o greeting and parting+ Saying goodD&ye, or eaple, originally

eant =od &e .ith yo%+= Ehen .e say goodD&ye, .e give a rit%aliBed &lessing .hich retains soe

o the po.er o the original rit%al, even tho%gh ost people are no longer conscio%s o its original

eaning+ Siilar rit%al acts on large and sall scales pereate even o%r odern =enlightened=

societies+

Ehat do people thin' they*re doing in rit%alsD In a/or rit%als, the rit%al is %s%ally associated .ith a

story .hich reers &ac' to a reor eaple, %y >a.'es night is asec%lar rit%al in 3ngland every ove&er 5th, &onires are lit all over 3ngland, ire.or's are set

o, and eigies are &%rned over the &onires+ In this case, the ostensi&le story concerns a an

naed %y >a.'es, one o the "oan #atholic conspirators in the soDcalled =%npo.der Plot=

.ho tried

to &lo. %p the 4o%se o Parliaent in the 17th cent%ry+

4o.ever, lying &ehind that s%pposed eplanation is a %ch older rit%al the #eltic estival o the

dead+ n ove&er 1st, the ancient #eltic pre-#hristian estival o the dead .as cele&rated

.here&y the old year .as &%rned in eigy, as eigies are &%rned on %y >a.'es day+ :%ring this

period, it .as &elieved that there .as a =crac' in tie= .hen the living and the dead, the past, thepresent, and the %t%re all cae together+ he eve o the estival o the dead .as 4allo.een, .hen

the spirits and ghosts cae o%t and the dead .al'ed again+ Siilarly, in the #hristian calendar,

ove&er 1st is =!ll Saints :ay= and ove&er 2nd is =!ll So%ls :ay,= .hen the so%ls o the

departed are coeorated and re


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"it%al acts %st &e perored .ith the correct oveents, gest%res, .ords, and %sic thro%gho%t

the .orld+ he sae pattern is o%nd ro one co%ntry to another as participants peror the rit%al

in the sae .ay it has &een perored co%ntless ties in the past+ Ehen people are as'ed .hy they

do this, they re


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notion is that thro%gh a religio%s initiation, the individ%al is set on a path .hich the initiator o the

pathD ;%ddha or #hristDhas trod &eore the, and on .hich any other people since then have also

trod+ he people .ho have gone along that path create a orphic ield D and not only those .ho

esta&lished the initial path, s%ch as ;%ddha or #hrist, &%t all those .ho ollo.ed ater the

contri&%te to the orphic ield, a'ing the path.ay easier to traverse+ In #hristianity the concept is

eplicitly stated in the !postles* #reed thro%gh the doctrine o the =#o%nion o Saints+= hose

.ho ollo. the path o es%s are not only aided &y es%s hisel &%t also &y the co%nion o

saints D all those .ho have trodden the path &eore+

I .e ta'e the notion o =schools o tho%ght= or =schools o art,= .e have another area o traditions

in .hich gro%ps o people share in a coon ideal and a coon pattern o activity+ 4ere again,

artistic and philosophical traditions a'e ore sense .hen considered in ters o organiBing and

end%ring orphic ields+ !rt historians .rite a&o%t the lo. o inl%ence ro the ?enetian school

to the >leish school, or eaple+ his ysterio%s lo. o inl%ence co%ld &e %nderstood as the

res%lt o the process o s%ccessive schools o art t%ning into the orphic ields o the earlier

schools+ (I a inde&ted to S%san a&li', 1977, or this idea+) I .e thin' o paintings as having

orphic ields or their act%al str%ct%res, .e can then see ho. a 'ind o =&%ilding %p= occ%rs

thro%gh orphic resonance+ ! painting in a given school is created0 other people see it+ 3very tie a

ne. painting in that school is ade, it alters the ield o the school+ here is a 'ind o c%%lative

eect+ %st as an anial .ithin a species dra.s %pon the orphic ields o the species and, in t%rn,

contri&%tes to those sae ields, a .or' o art prod%ced .ithin a school dra.s %pon the orphic

ield o the style o the school and contri&%tes to it, so that the style evolves+

$4*S S#I3I>I# =P!"!:IMS= !S M"P4I# >I36:S

! very siilar analysis applies to the history o science+ Ee can thin' o dierent schools o

tho%ght and dierent areas o in


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depends+ In each gro%p, the e&ers recogniBe those they consider proper coDe&ers o the

proessional gro%p, and those .ho they recogniBe as o%tsiders D as not &eing .ithin their gro%p+

his is the social aspect o paradig+

;%t a paradig also incl%des a odel o the .ay pro&les can and sho%ld &e solved+

he e.tonian paradig has a odel o the .ay to solve physical pro&les0

e.ton*s gravitational eorative #a%sation or the psychology o #+ + %ng+ he intense controversy this hypothesis

generated .ith the p%&lication o his irst &oo', ! e. Science o 6ie (1981), has sti%lated a

n%&er o international copetitions or eval%ating his ideas via eperiental investigations+ he

res%lts o these eperiental tests are reported in his ne. &oo', he Presence o the Past (1988).herein he .rites


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In this &oo', .hich is less technical in style, I place the hypothesis o orative ca%sation in its

&road historical, philosophical, and scientiic contets, s%ariBe its ain cheical and &iological

iplications, and eplore its consere%d*s

conceptions o the %nconscio%s o%t o the previo%s .orld vie. o So%l+ 4e then eplores a n%&er

o provocative ideas a&o%t =ind etended in tie and space= that give %s resh perspectives on

po.er, prayer, and conscio%sness+

Ee*ve all &een &ro%ght %p .ith the 17th cent%ry #artesian vie. that o%r inds are located inside

o%r &rains+ In this vie., o%r inds are copletely porta&le and can &e carried aro%nd .herever .e

go, pac'aged as they are inside o%r s'%lls+ %r inds, thereore, are essentially private entities

associated .ith the physiology o each o o%r nervo%s tiss%es+ his idea o the contracted ind, a

ind .hich is not only rooted in the &rain &%t act%ally located in the &rain, is an idea that is so

pervasive in o%r c%lt%re that ost o %s ac


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conscio%sness0 ind incorrectly iplies conscio%sness+ Ee then have to %se the ter, %nconscio%s

ind, as %ng and >re%d did+ his %sage has appeared to &e a contradiction in ters to the acadeic

.orld, so they have tended to re/ect it (and %ng*s and >re%d*s conceptions o it, as .ell)+ he

concept o so%l, ho.ever, does not necessarily iply conscio%sness+ he vegetative so%l, .hich is

the 'ind o so%l that organiBes the e&ryo and the gro.th o plants, .as not vie.ed as %nctioning

on a conscio%s level+ Ehen .e gro. as e&ryos, .e don*t have any eory o the process+ Ee

don*t conscio%sly thin' o%t, =the heart coes here, and I 'no. I*ll develop a li& o%t there, teeth

here,= and so orth+ hese things /%st see to happen in a .ay that is tacit, iplicit, or %nconscio%s

&%t yet so%l li'e in the .ay they are organiBed+

$ntil the tie o :escartes, three levels o so%l .ere conceived+ he vegetative so%l contained the

or o the &ody and governed e&ryology and gro.th0 all anials and plants .ere vie.ed as

having it+ hen there .as the anial so%l, .hich concerned oveent, &ehavior, instincts, and so

on0 all anials as .ell as h%ans .ere seen as having this level so%l+ ver and a&ove the vegetative

and anial so%l in h%an &eings .as the rational so%l, .hich .as eperienced as the ore

intellect%al, conscio%s ind+

:escartes contended that there .as no s%ch thing as vegetative or anial so%ls+ !ll anials and

plants .ere dead, inaniate achines+ he &ody itsel .as vie.ed as nothing ore than a achine+

It did not have an anial so%l governing %nconscio%s instincts and patterns+ hose processes .ere

entirely echanical in nat%re+ he only 'ind o so%l h%an &eings had, on the other hand, .as the

rational, conscio%s so%l =I thin'0 thereore I a+= hin'ing th%s &ecae the very odel o

conscio%s activity or ental activity, and in this .ay, :escartes restricted the concept o so%l or

spirit to the conscio%s, thin'ing, rational portion o the ind, .hich reached its highest pinnacle in

the proos o atheatics+ :escartes* perspective let %s .ith the idea that the only 'ind o

conscio%sness .orthy o the nae .as =rational conscio%sness= especially atheatical, scientiic

conscio%sness+ In a sense, :escartes created the pro&le o the %nconscio%s, or .ithin 5A years o

his .or', people started saying, =Eait a in%te, there*s ore to %s than /%st this conscio%s ind,

&eca%se there are things that inl%ence %s that .e are not conscio%s o+= h%s the idea o the

%nconscio%s ind, .hich .e generally regard as having &een invented &y >re%d, .as act%ally

invented again and again and again ater :escartes+ ;y deining the ind as solely the conscio%s

part and deining everything else as dead or echanical, :escartes created a 'ind o void that

deanded the reinvention o the idea o the %nconscio%s side o the ind (.hich everyone &eore

:escartes had siply ta'en or granted in the so%l concept)+ (here is an ecellent &oo' on this

s%&/ect &y 6+6+ Ehyte called he $nconscio%s &eore >re%d, p%&lished &y %lian >riedan,

6ondon, 1979+)

he pro&le .e are enco%ntering no. is that, having eliinated the concept o so%l in the 17th

cent%ry, .e are let .ith concepts s%ch as ind .hich are not really adeields, especially orphic ields, are invisi&le, nonaterial, organiBing principles that do

ost o the things that so%ls .ere &elieved to do+


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MI: 3K3:3: I IM3 !: SP!#3

In ean Piaget*s &oo', he #hild*s #onception o the Eorld, he descri&es ho. &y the age o a&o%t

ten or eleven, children learn .hat he calls the =correct vie.= that tho%ghts, iages, and dreas are

invisi&le =things= located inside the &rain+ ;eore that age they have the =incorrect vie.= (as do so-

called priitive people) that tho%ghts, iages, and dreas happen o%tside the &rain+

he #artesian vie. o the ind as &eing located in the &rain is so pervasive that all o %s are

inclined to spea' o o%r inds and &rains as i they .ere interchangea&le, synonyo%s =It*s in y

&rain,= rather than =it*s in y ind+= In the 2A*s and HA*s, vario%s philosophers and psychologists,

partic%larly o'a, $hler, and Eertheier o the estalt school challenged this vie.+

I .ant to arg%e that o%r inds are etended in several senses+ In previo%s articles, .e disc%ssed

ho. o%r inds are etended in &oth space and tie .ith other people*s inds, and .ith the gro%p

ind or c%lt%ral ind &y .ay o their connection to the collective %nconscio%s+ Insoar as .e t%ne

into archetypal ields or patterns .hich other people have had, .hich other social gro%ps have had,

and .hich o%r o.n social gro%p has had in the past, o%r inds are %ch &roader than the =things=

inside o%r &rains+ hey etend o%t into the past and into social gro%pings to .hich .e are lin'ed,

either &y ancestry or &y c%lt%ral transissions+ h%s, o%r inds are etended in tie, and *t &elieve

they are also etended in space+

hro%gho%t this article, I .ant to a'e a siple point that is a very radical depart%re ro

traditional theory+ he traditional theory o perception is that light rays relected ro o&/ects travel

thro%gh electroagnetic ields, are oc%sed &y the lens o the retina, and there&y prod%ce an iage

on the retina+ his triggers o electrical changes in the receptor cells o the retina leading to nerve

ip%lses going %p the optic nerve into the cere&ral corte+ !n iage o an o&/ect soeho. springs

into &eing inside y cere&ral corte, and soething or soeone inside sees it+ ! =little an in y

&rain= soeho. sees this iage in the cere&ral corte and alsely iagines that the iage is =o%t

there,= .hen, in act, it is =in here+= Personally, I ind this eplanation etreely ipla%si&le+ In y

eperience, y iage o an o&/ect is right .here it sees to &e o%tside o e+ I I loo' o%t the

.indo., y percept%al ield is not inside e &%t o%tside e+ hat is, the o&/ects are indeed o%tside

e, and y perception o the is also o%tside e+ I* s%ggesting that in o%r percept%al eperience,

the percept%al ields etend all aro%nd %s+ Ehile, as the traditional vie. holds, there is an in.ard

lo. o light ip%lses .hich event%ally lead %p to the &rain, I also eperience an o%t.ard

pro/ection o the iages ro y ind+ he iages are pro/ected o%t, t and in noral perception,

the pro/ection o%t and the lo. in coincide, so that I see an iage o an o&/ect .here the o&/ect

really is located+

In hall%cinatory types o perception, I can see iages .hether they are there, in act, or not+

#onsider =psychic &lindness= people can &e hypnotiBed so that they no longer see o&/ects .hich

are act%ally in their vie.+ In s%ch a case o =psychic &lindness,= the in.ard lo. is present &%t not

the o%t.ard pro/ection+ More norally, the oveent o%t and the oveent in coincide .ith each

other as part o a coordinated process, creating a percept%al ield that e&races &oth the o&server

and the o&/ect+

his idea o the etended ind is a atter o coon &elie in ancient and traditional societies+ I

this concept .ere tr%e, it .o%ld ean that .e co%ld inl%ence things or people /%st &y loo'ing at

the+ In India, or eaple, it is &elieved that a person .ho either loo's on a holy an, or is

hisel loo'ed on &y the holy an, receives a great &lessing+ In any parts o the .orld, incl%ding


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India, reece, and the Middle 3ast, it is &elieved that i yo% loo' %pon soething .ith the eye o

envy - the =evil eye= - yo% thereore &light it+ People in any c%lt%res still ta'e great preca%tions

against this so-called evil eye+ In India, it is considered to &e etreely %nl%c'y or a childless

.oan to adire a &a&y .ho &elongs to another .oan (.hereas in o%r society, this is erely

good anners)+ his is &eca%se she is ass%ed to &e envio%s o the &a&y+ nce a childless .oan

&rea's this ta&oo, rit%als %st &e perored (s%ch as a'ing a circle o salt aro%nd the &a&y and

reciting vario%s antras) to eorcise the har%l inl%ence+

Ehen ne. &%ildings go %p in India, scarecro.s are ied on the &%ildings0 siilarly, .hen there is a

good crop o .heat or rice, scarecro.s are placed in the ield+ hese scarecro.s are not intended to

=scare a.ay cro.s= literally, &%t rather to attract the evil eye o people .ho ight other.ise &light

the crop &y loo'ing %pon it .ith envy+ he scarecro.s act as =lightning cond%ctors= &eca%se

anything .ith a h%an ig%re attracts the eye+ he Indian people also p%t o%t ro%nd pots .ith h%ge

.hite spots st%c' on stic's0 the eyes are dra.n to the pots &eca%se the .hite spots too' li'e eyes+

>or siilar reasons, people thro%gho%t the Middle 3ast .ear talisans .hich contain eyes0 in

3gypt, the eye o 4or%s serves a siilar %nction+ !ll this is done to protect against the evil eye+

I .e do aect things or people &y loo'ing at the, then can people perceive .hen they are &eing

loo'ed at, even .hen they cannot act%ally see soe one loo'ing at the+ In &oth reals o ictional

literat%re and real-lie eperience, any people clai to have had the eperience o 'no.ing they

.ere &eing .atched and then t%rning ro%nd and seeing soeone staring at the+ !s %ndergrad%ates

at #a&ridge, soe o %s had read a "osicr%cian advertiseent a&o%t the po.er o the ind+ It said

soething a&o%t, =ry this siple eperient loo' at the &ac' o soeone*s nec' and see i they

.ill t%rn ro%nd ater a e. in%tes+= :%ring &oring lect%res .e acted as s%ggested, and it oten

.or'ed0 .e o%nd that .e co%ld i o%r attention on the &ac' o soeone*s nec' and ater a in%te

or t.o, the person oten loo'ed %ncoorta&le and t%rned ro%nd+

!ltho%gh there is a great deal o anecdotal evidence that people sense .hen they are &eing .atched,

there is alost no scientiic investigation o this phenoenon+ he entire .orld literat%re on the

s%&/ect that I*ve &een a&le to ind consists o three papers one .ritten in @89C, the net one in 191A,

and a inal paper in 195H+ .o o the papers sho. positive eects, altho%gh they .ere &oth done on

very sall s%&/ect pop%lations+

I*ve done soe siple preliinary eperients over the last e. onths in .or'shops+ he .ay .e

cond%cted the eperient .as very siple+ >o%r people vol%nteered and sat at one end o the roo,

.ith their &ac's t%rned to.ard the a%dience+ Ee p%t each person*s nae on his or her &ac' &y .ay

o identiying the+ hen, in a series o trials, I .o%ld hold %p cards in a rando seor eaple, i I had selected =o,=

I .o%ld hold %p a card reading, =rial 1, o,= and everyone in the a%dience .o%ld stare at the

&ac' o o*s nec' or iteen seconds+ !t the end o each trial, all o%r s%&/ects .o%ld .rite do.n

.hether or not they tho%ght they .ere &eing loo'ed at d%ring that tie period+ !t the end o the

series o trials, .e copared .hen the vol%nteers tho%ght they .ere &eing loo'ed at, .ith .hether

or not they really .ere &eing o&served+

My res%lts so ar indicate that people vary treendo%sly in their degree o sensitivity to &eing

.atched+ In one .or'shop I cond%cted in !sterda, there .as a .oan .ho .as 1AA percent

acc%rate0 she 'ne. each tie she .as &eing .atched+ She .as the &est s%&/ect I*ve enco%ntered+

Ehen I as'ed i she 'ne. .hy she had done so .ell, she said that as a child she %sed to play this


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gae .ith her &rothers and sisters+ hey practiced and she got very good at it0 she had vol%nteered

&eca%se she .as s%re she*d still &e a&le to do it, even tho%gh she hadn*t done it or 2A or HA years+

! riend o ine has &een cond%cting this eperient in one-on-one trials .ith riends and

colleag%es+ In over CAA trials ping C5 - 7A o the tie, .hich is statistically signiicant+ indicate

that there is an o%tgoing inl%ence ro the eyes or ro the ind0 perhaps ental inl%ence does

etend &eyond the &o%ndaries o the physical &ody+ It has &een s%ggested that this ight &e atelepathic rather than a vis%al inl%ence+ here is a siple ethod o chec'ing that o%t+ In soe

trials, the people doing the loo'ing co%ld t%rn aro%nd so that they are acing a.ay ro the

vol%nteers and /%st thin' a&o%t the designated vol%nteer rather than loo' at hi or her+ I there .asgreater eect .hen the vol%nteers .ere act%ally &eing loo'ed at

than .hen they .ere &eing tho%ght a&o%t, then one co%ld &e type .as %nctioning+

! variation o this eperient is to eaine the eect o distance on the perception o the s%&/ects+ 4ave the

person &eing loo'ed at located at a considera&le distance ro those loo'ing at hi (&inoc%lars co%ld &e %sed) and

then see i the eect still .or's+ I it does, then set %p trials %sing video or closed circ%it television+ Iagine an

eperient in .hich there .ere o%r people in a st%dio (or even in dierent st%dios), .ith caeras r%nning

contin%o%sly, and a randoiBed s.itching device so that the person &eing loo'ed at in each trial is randoly

deterined+ Iagine a typical television a%dience o illions o vie.ers+ o., .hat i the s%&/ects co%ld

disting%ish .hen they .ere &eing loo'ed at &y other people over television+ here one .o%ld have a assive,

large-scale deonstration o etended ind in a .ay that co%ld &e concl%sive+

his orat, too, co%ld &e etended+ o% co%ld have people loo'ing at s%&/ects in the Soviet $nion via satellite

lin'%ps0 one co%ld ela&orate this pattern indeinitely+ Ehat happens to actresses and actors, to proinent political

ig%res, .hen they are loo'ed at &y illions o peopleD !re they aected &y &eing in people*s indsD

6arge-scale eperients to test hypotheses co%ld do ore to &ring a&o%t a paradig shit than any ao%nt o

lect%ring a&o%t the liitations o the echanistic theory+ %r percept%al ields ay reach ar &eyond o%r physical

&rains0 .hen .e loo' at the stars, o%r inds ay literally reach to the stars+ here ay &e alost no liit on ho.

ar this process can etend+


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Psychological Perspectives Sheldrake

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