A committee of scientists participating in the International Summit on Post-Materialist Science, Spirituality and Society prepared a Manifesto advocating for scientific minds to move beyond materialism and for the mind to be better understood as an important part of the universe.
“We are an internationally recognized group of scientists working in various fields of expertise (biology, neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry). We participated in the International Summit on Post-Material Science, Spirituality and Society, held at Canyon Ranch (Tucson, Arizona, USA) from February 7-9, 2014, and hosted by Dr. Gary E. Schwartz from Arizona University, Dr. Mario Beauregard, and Dr. Lisa Miller from Columbia University.
The aim of this summit was to discuss the impact of materialist ideology on science and the impact of the emerging post-materialist paradigm on science, spirituality, and society. We reached the following conclusions, which form our Manifesto for a post-materialist science.
We believe that sciences have been narrowed by dogmatism, and especially by materialist philosophy, which adheres to the doctrine that matter is the sole reality and that the mind is nothing more than the physical activity of the brain. We believe that sciences would be more scientific if they remained committed to scientific methods such as data collection, hypothesis testing, and critical discussion, and were free to genuinely explore the natural world without the restrictions of materialism and the prejudices of dogma.”
Manifesto for Post-Materialist Science:
- The modern scientific worldview is based predominantly on assumptions closely associated with classical physics. Materialism – the idea that matter is the sole reality – is one of these assumptions. Another related assumption is reductionism; that is, the idea that complex things can be understood by reducing them to the interactions of their constituent parts or to simpler or more fundamental things, such as tiny material particles.
- Throughout the nineteenth century, these assumptions narrowed, became dogmas, and merged into an ideological belief system known as “scientific materialism.” This belief system implies that the mind is nothing more than the physical activity of the brain; that our thoughts can have no effect on our brains and bodies, our actions, or the physical world.
- The ideology of scientific materialism became the dominant ideology in universities during the twentieth century. It became so dominant that most scientists began to believe that it was based on established experimental evidence and represented the only rational view of the world.
- Scientific methods based on materialist philosophy have been highly successful not only in enhancing our understanding of nature but also in bringing more control and freedom through advancements in technology.
- However, the almost absolute dominance of materialism in the academic world has severely narrowed the sciences, hindering the development of scientific studies related to mind and spirituality. Belief in this ideology as an exclusive explanatory framework for reality forced scientists to neglect the subjective dimension of human experience. The materialist understanding of science has led to a severely distorted and impoverished understanding of ourselves and our place in nature.
- Science, above all, is a non-dogmatic, open-minded method of acquiring knowledge about nature through observation, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena. Its methodology is not synonymous with materialism and should not be bound by any particular belief, dogma, or ideology.
- By the end of the nineteenth century, physicists discovered experimental phenomena that could not be explained by classical physics. This led to the development of a revolutionary new branch of physics called quantum mechanics in the 1920s and early 1930s. Quantum mechanics challenged the material foundations of the world by showing that atoms and subatomic particles are not truly solid objects – they do not exist with certainty at specific spatial locations and at specific times. Most importantly, Quantum mechanics explicitly included the mind into its fundamental conceptual structure, as it revealed that observed particles and the observer (the physicist and the method used for observation) are connected. According to one interpretation of quantum mechanics, this implies that the consciousness of the observer is vital for the existence of observed physical events, and that mental events can affect the physical world. The results of recent experiments support this interpretation. These results show that the physical world is no longer the primary or sole component of reality and cannot be fully understood without reference to the mind.
- Psychological research has shown that conscious mental activities can causally influence behavior, and that the explanatory and predictive value of agentic factors (e.g., beliefs, goals, desires, and expectations) is very high. Furthermore, research in psychoneuroimmunology shows that our thoughts and emotions can significantly affect the activity of brain-linked physiological systems (e.g., immune, endocrine, cardiovascular). In other respects, neuroimaging studies of emotional self-regulation, psychotherapy, and the placebo effect demonstrate that mental events significantly influence brain activity.
- Research on so-called “psi phenomena” [any of various types of events that cannot be explained by natural law, or seemingly acquired information other than by ordinary sensory abilities] shows that we can sometimes receive meaningful information without using ordinary senses and in ways that transcend usual space and time constraints. Furthermore, psi research shows that we can mentally influence physical apparatuses and living organisms (including other humans) at a distance. Psi research also shows that distant minds can behave in ways that are non-locally correlated. This implies that correlations between distant minds are assumed to be unmediated (they are not linked by any known energy signal), unmitigated (they are not attenuated with increasing distance), and instantaneous (they appear to be synchronous). These events are so common that they cannot be considered anomalous or exceptions to natural laws. Instead, they can only be seen as indications of the need for a broader explanatory framework that cannot be based solely on materialism.
- Conscious mental activity can be experienced during clinical death in cardiac arrest [this is what is called a “near-death experience” [NDE]). Some near-death experiencers (NDEs) have reported accurate out-of-body perceptions occurring during cardiac arrest (i.e., perceptions that can be proven to correspond with reality). NDEs also report profound spiritual experiences during NDEs triggered by cardiac arrest. It is noteworthy that the brain's electrical activity ceases within a few seconds after cardiac arrest.
- Controlled laboratory experiments have documented that skilled research mediums (individuals who claim to be able to communicate with the minds of physically deceased people) can sometimes obtain remarkably accurate information about deceased individuals. This further supports the conclusion that the mind can exist separately from the brain.
- Some materialistically inclined scientists and philosophers refuse to accept these phenomena because they are inconsistent with their exclusive understanding of the world. The rejection of post-materialist natural research or the refusal to publish strong scientific findings that support a post-materialist framework is contrary to the true spirit of scientific inquiry, which means that experimental data must always be adequately addressed. Data that do not fit preferred theories and beliefs cannot be rejected a priori (beforehand, without any evidence). Such a rejection is the domain of ideology, not science.
- It is important to understand that psi phenomena, NDEs during cardiac arrest, and repeatable evidence from reliable research settings only appear anomalous when viewed through the lens of materialism.
- Furthermore, materialist theories cannot explain how the brain creates the mind and cannot account for the empirical evidence implied in this manifesto. This failure tells us that it is now time to free ourselves from the shackles and blindness of the old materialist ideology, to expand our concept of the natural world, and to adopt a post-materialist paradigm.
- According to the post-materialist paradigm:
- a) The mind represents an aspect of reality as ancient as the physical world. Mind is fundamental in the universe; that is, it cannot be derived from matter and cannot be reduced to something more fundamental.
- b) There is a reciprocal deep connection between the mind and the physical world.
- c) The mind (will/intention) can affect the state of the physical world and can operate in a non-local (or extended/pervasive) manner. In other words, it is not limited to specific points in space, like brains and bodies, or to specific points in time, like the present. Because the mind can affect the physical world in a non-localized way, the intentions, emotions, and desires of an experimenter may not be entirely isolated from experimental results, even in controlled and blind experimental designs.
- d) Minds are ostensibly limitless. They can unite in a way that suggests a Single Mind encompassing all individual minds.
- e) In NDEs, cardiac arrest suggests that the brain acts as a transceiver for mental activity, meaning the mind can operate through the brain but is not produced by it. NDEs occurring during cardiac arrest, combined with evidence from research settings, suggest the survival of consciousness after the death of the body and the existence of other non-physical levels of reality.
- f) Scientists should not be afraid to investigate spirituality and spiritual experiences, as they represent a central aspect of human existence.
- Post-materialist science does not reject the experimental observations made so far and the great value of scientific achievements. It aims to expand human capacity to better understand the wonders of nature and, in this process, to rediscover the importance of mind and spirit as part of the core fabric of the universe. Post-materialism includes matter, which is seen as a fundamental component of the universe.
- The post-materialist paradigm has far-reaching consequences. It radically changes our perspective of ourselves by restoring our dignity and power as humans and scientists. This paradigm fosters positive values such as compassion, respect, and peace. By emphasizing the deep connection between ourselves and nature in general, the post-materialist paradigm also promotes environmental consciousness and the preservation of our biosphere. Moreover, this is not something new; this understanding, preserved and maintained in ancient mind-body-spirit practices, religious traditions, and contemplative approaches, can be the cornerstone of a lived post-material understanding of health and well-being.
- The transition from materialist science to post-materialist science is vital for the evolution of human civilization; it may even be more significant than the transition from geocentrism to heliocentrism.
For the original English text:
Translation: Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özdemir (Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Üsküdar Üniversitesi, Director of the Environmental Ethics Platform)