Making Sense of Life

Richard is a retired engineer whose quest to make sense of life extends over more than 60 years, and here he presents his personal views, principally on biology and consciousness, claiming to explain the role of genes and the nature of telepathy. He repudiates the idea that genes are a blueprint for life and a book of instructions, arguing for a Sheldrake and Hardy view involving morphogenetic fields and a 'psychic stream' respectively - their role in information flow from the previous generation is indirect, while 'life proceeds by direct reproduction of the parents', also involving a Lamarckian inheritance mechanism. Richard uses the analogy of the barcode in his detailed analysis of biological mechanisms and the role of epigenetics, proposing an active role for microtubules. When it comes to information flow in terms of telepathy, most scientists, as Richard observes, sideline the evidence.

His view on telepathy is based on brain sharing, which works well when subjects are close in a laboratory, but is more problematic when effects are observed at great distances – hence the theoretical use of nonlocal models. He defines the terms brain and mind in an unconventional fashion by stating that the brain is the unconscious, while the mind is the conscious part, even though the dividing line is uncertain. (p. 74) I found this theory implausible when applied to Ian Stevenson's research on children who remember previous lives where he hypothesises that the features of such cases can be explained by brain sharing with a stranger who has similar DNA. Rupert Sheldrake proposes a form of morphic resonance with a previous personality, while the children themselves recall many verifiable events that are no longer present in any living brain. While the content of the book is stimulating, informed and wide-ranging in terms of its discussion of evidence that a paradigm shift is required in biology and psychology, the writing and editing leaves something to be desired – Thomas Kuhn becomes Thomas Kung, Charman becomes Sharman, dowsing dousing and formally (p 58 line 2) should be formerly.