← LearningIcebreaker

Rupert Sheldrake

An icebreaker

A Cambridge-trained biologist argues that nature's patterns are shaped less by fixed laws than by inherited habit, passed through what he calls invisible 'morphic fields.' The editor of Nature once called his book on it a candidate for burning; it remains outside mainstream science.

Ask one of these · tap to take it
copy the questions
Worth knowing · 1 of 5
What does the theory actually claim?
He proposes that self-organizing systems, from molecules to instincts, are shaped by 'morphic fields' carrying a kind of collective memory, so that the more often a pattern occurs, the more easily it recurs elsewhere, treating nature's laws more like habits than fixed rules.
Worth knowing · 2 of 5
What is his scientific background?
He trained in biochemistry at Cambridge and held research posts there and at Harvard before turning to this theory, first laid out in a 1981 book that reframed development and memory across all of biology at once.
Worth knowing · 3 of 5
How did the scientific establishment first react?
The editor of the journal Nature wrote an editorial calling the book "the best candidate for burning there has been for many years," while stopping short of recommending it actually be destroyed.
Worth knowing · 4 of 5
What happened when others tried to test his claims?
A psychologist who set out to replicate his 'psychic pet' experiment reported results at chance levels. The two have since disputed how to read the same data, with the theory's author arguing it supports the effect.
Worth knowing · 5 of 5
Is morphic resonance accepted by mainstream science today?
No. Critics say it lacks solid supporting evidence and isn't stated in a way that could be clearly disproven, and it remains well outside accepted biology, though its author continues publishing experiments he argues support it.
Words to know
Morphic fieldHis proposed invisible field said to carry a form's or behavior's collective memory across space and time.
Morphic resonanceThe process by which a repeated pattern is said to make the same pattern easier to occur again elsewhere.
Morphogenetic fieldAn earlier biological term for a field guiding an organism's development, which he adapted and extended.
More words
FalsifiabilityA theory's requirement to make a prediction that could, in principle, be shown false by an experiment.
A voice · 1 of 3
Rupert Sheldrake · Biologist who developed the theory

Since his 1981 book, he has argued that nature's regularities behave more like inherited habits than fixed laws, proposing that morphic fields carry a kind of memory that makes repeated patterns easier to recur.

A voice · 2 of 3
John Maddox · Editor of Nature who denounced the theory

In a 1981 editorial responding to the book, he wrote it was "the best candidate for burning there has been for many years," arguing the theory failed as testable science.

A voice · 3 of 3
Richard Wiseman · Psychologist who tried to replicate his experiments

In a published replication of Sheldrake's dog-telepathy experiments, he reported detection rates no better than chance, and separately criticized Sheldrake's methods for not being fully described in peer-reviewed journals.

A line to leave them with
The pattern repeats. Whether that proves a memory in nature is still unsettled.
If they want more:
All topics
scroll to walk
1 / 14