Morphic Resonance: The Nature of Formative Causation

New updated and expanded edition of the groundbreaking book that ignited a firestorm in the scientific world with its radical approach to evolution • Explains how past forms and behaviors of organisms determine those of similar organisms in the present through morphic resonance • Reveals the nonmaterial connections that allow direct communication across time and space When A New Science of Life was first published the British journal Nature called it “the best candidate for burning there has been for many years.” The book called into question the prevailing mechanistic theory of life when its author, Rupert Sheldrake, a former research fellow of the Royal Society, proposed that morphogenetic fields are responsible for the characteristic form and organization of systems in biology, chemistry, and physics--and that they have measurable physical effects. Using his theory of morphic resonance, Sheldrake was able to reinterpret the regularities of nature as being more like habits than immutable laws, offering a new understanding of life and consciousness. In the years since its first publication, Sheldrake has continued his research to demonstrate that the past forms and behavior of organisms influence present organisms through direct immaterial connections across time and space. This can explain why new chemicals become easier to crystallize all over the world the more often their crystals have already formed, and why when laboratory rats have learned how to navigate a maze in one place, rats elsewhere appear to learn it more easily. With more than two decades of new research and data, Rupert Sheldrake makes an even stronger case for the validity of the theory of formative causation that can radically transform how we see our world and our future.

Table of Contents:
Preface to the 2009 Edition Acknowledgments Introduction 1 The Unsolved Problems of Biology 1.1 The background of success 1.2 The problems of morphogenesis 1.3 Behavior 1.4 Evolution 1.5 The origin of life 1.6 Minds 1.7 Parapsychology 1.8 Conclusions 2 Three Theories of Morphogenesis 2.1 Descriptive and experimental research 2.2 Mechanism 2.3 Vitalism 2.4 Organicism 3 The Causes of Form 3.1 The problem of form 3.2 Form and energy 3.3 The structures of crystals 3.4 The structures of proteins 3.5 Formative causation 4 Morphogenetic Fields 4.1 Morphogenetic germs 4.2 Chemical morphogenesis 4.3 Morphogenetic fields as “probability structures” 4.4 Probabilistic processes in biological morphogenesis 4.5 Morphogenetic germs in biological systems 5 The Influence of Past Forms 5.1 The constancy and repetition of forms 5.2 The general possibility of trans-temporal causal connections 5.3 Morphic resonance 5.4 The influence of the past 5.5 Implications of an attenuated morphic resonance 5.6 An experimental test with crystals 6 Formative Causation and Morphogenesis 6.1 Sequential morphogeneses 6.2 The polarity of morphogenetic fields 6.3 The size of morphogenetic fields 6.4 The increasing specificity of morphic resonance during morphogenesis 6.5 The maintenance and stability of forms 6.6 A note on physical “dualism” 6.7 A summary of the hypothesis of formative causation 7 The Inheritance of Form 7.1 Genetics and heredity 7.2 Altered morphogenetic germs 7.3 Altered pathways of morphogenesis 7.4 Dominance 7.5 Family resemblances 7.6 Environmental influences and morphic resonance 7.7 The inheritance of acquired characteristics 7.8 Epigenetic inheritance 7.9 Experiments with phenocopies 8 The Evolution of Biological Forms 8.1 The neo-Darwinian theory of evolution 8.2 Mutations 8.3 The divergence of chreodes 8.4 The suppression of chreodes 8.5 The repetition of chreodes 8.6 The influence of other species 8.7 The origin of new forms 9 Movements and Behavioral Fields 9.1 Introduction 9.2 The movements of plants 9.3 Amoeboid movement 9.4 The repetitive morphogenesis of specialized structures 9.5 Nervous systems 9.6 Morphogenetic fields, motor fields, and behavioral fields 9.7 Behavioral fields and the senses 9.8 Regulation and regeneration 9.9 Morphic fields 10 Instinct and Learning 10.1 The influence of past actions 10.2 Instinct 10.3 Sign stimuli 10.4 Learning 10.5 Innate tendencies to learn 11 The Inheritance and Evolution of Behavior 11.1 The inheritance of behavior 11.2 Morphic resonance and behavior: an experimental test 11.3 The evolution of behavior 11.4 Human behavior 12 Four Possible Conclusions 12.1 The hypothesis of formative causation 12.2 Modified materialism 12.3 The conscious self 12.4 The creative universe 12.5 Transcendent reality Appendix A: New Tests for Morphic Resonance A.1 Bose-Einstein condensates A.2 Melting points A.3 Crystal transformations A.4 Adaptations in cell cultures A.5 Heat tolerance in plants A.6 The transmission of aversion A.7 The evolution of animal behavior A.8 Collective human memory A.9 Improving human performance A.10 Resonant computers Appendix B: Morphic Fields and the Implicate Order--A Dialogue with David Bohm Notes Bibliography Index of Names Index of Subjects

About the Author :
Rupert Sheldrake, Ph.D., is a former research fellow of the Royal Society and former director of studies in biochemistry and cell biology at Clare College, Cambridge University. He is the author of more than 80 technical papers and articles appearing in peer-reviewed scientific journals and 10 books, including The Presence of the Past, The Rebirth of Nature, and Seven Experiments That Could Change the World.

Review :
“Sheldrake is an excellent scientist; the proper, imaginative kind that in an earlier age discovered continents and mirrored the world in sonnets.” “Well written, provocative and entertaining . . . Improbable? Yes, but so was Galileo.” “Books of this importance and elegance come along rarely. Those who read this new edition of A New Science of Life may do so with the satisfaction of seeing science history in the making.” “For decades, Rupert Sheldrake has been at the leading edge of highly innovative and controversial ideas about the organization of biological systems. Morphic Resonance poses a serious challenge to traditionalists and is a most welcome book about how we see the world and how we should head off into the future.” “Morphic Resonance is destined to become one of the landmarks in the history of biology. It is rare to find so profound a book so lucidly written.” “Morphic Resonance presents a revolutionary information-field understanding of the nature and evolution of life. Acquaintance with it is an essential part of new-paradigm scientific literacy.” “Rupert Sheldrake is one of the most innovative and visionary scientists of our times. Rupert will be both vilified and praised for his theory of morphic resonance. Whatever your personal opinion of his work, he will not be ignored. In my opinion, his contributions will be recognized one day on the same level as those of Newton and Darwin.” "Though his theory has much to say about the nature of evolution and the biological sciences, it also has a lot to say about consciousness, dreams, mental imagery and what I might consider ordinary and extraordinary dream/hypnotic experiences." " . . . will appeal to any interested in new science, biology, and blends of new age thought." " . . . Sheldrake has steadily developed into one of the world's leading parapsychologists, conducting groundbreaking research in areas where well-behaved scientists fear to tread." "Sheldrake's theories continue to gain verification, and this book is particularly important because its implications affect the way we view the natural world, as well as ourselves, as one small part of it. Morphic Resonance is therefore strongly recommended to anyone interested in understanding current thought about what may lie behind the formation of all natural systems."