Steiner and the Nature of Atoms
A collection of quotes from https://anthroposophy.eu/The_nature_of_atoms
1904-GA011
.. the other kind of ether which brings the elementary chemical substances into being. This ether will be called the chemical ether.
1904-12-16-GA093
makes the link between the physical atom as frozen electricity, and electricity and human thought
1904-12-23-GA093
lecture called: The Atom as Coagulated Electricity
quote A
We are living now in the epoch of evolution that may be called the mineral epoch; and our task is to permeate this mineral world through and through with the spirit within us. Think of what this means. You are building a house. You fetch the stones from a quarry and hew them into the shapes required by the building, and so on.
What are you inculcating into this raw material obtained from the mineral kingdom?
You are inculcating human spirit into the raw material. If you construct a machine, you have laid the spirit that is part of you, into that machine; the actual machine does, of course, perish and become dust; not a trace of it will survive.
But what you have done, what you have achieved, passes into the very atoms and does not vanish without a trace. Every atom bears a trace of your spirit and will carry this trace with it. Whether an atom has at some time been in a machine, or has not been in a machine, is not a matter of indifference. The atom itself has undergone change as a result of having once been in a machine, and this change that you have wrought in the atom will never again be lost to it. Moreover, through your having changed the atom, through the fact that you have united the spirit in you with the mineral world, a permanent stamp has been made upon the general consciousness of mankind; just so much consciousness goes with you into the other world.
Occult science well knows in what way the human being can perform selfless actions and how greatly his consciousness will be enhanced by them.
Certain men, who have been deeply imbued with this knowledge, have been so selfless that they have taken steps to prevent even their names from going down to posterity! An example of this is the work entitled Theologica Deutsch. Nobody knows who wrote it. On the outside there are only the words: The man from Frankfurt. He, therefore, was one who took care that his very name should be unknown. He worked in such a way that he merely added something to the objective world without asking for honour or for the preservation of his name. And here let it be said that the Masters, as a rule, are not personages known in history; they sometimes are embodied in historical personalities — when it is necessary; but in a certain respect this is a sacrifice on their part. The level of their consciousness is incompatible with work for themselves, and preservation of a name does, after all, involve this. It is difficult thoroughly to understand this rule but it will now be clear to you why the aim of the Freemasons is to work in the world in such a way that their deeds are hidden in social organizations or charitable institutions. For selfless deeds are the real foundations of immortality. In the outer world we see the reflex of such deeds. They need not necessarily be of great account. If someone gives a coin to a poor man, this may be an unselfish deed; but only to the extent that it was absolutely selfless does it find its way to the sphere of immortality — and very few deeds are selfless to this degree. An act of charity may be extremely egoistical when, for instance, it gives rise to a comforting feeling. Charity very often springs from selfish motives. If a poor man living among us has no meat at Christmas and we feel bound to give him some in order that we may feel justified in eating our own Christmas dinner — that, after all, is egoism. In the Middle Ages it would have been impossible to say who had built many of the cathedrals or painted many of the pictures.
A collection of quotes from https://anthroposophy.eu/The_nature_of_atoms
1904-GA011
.. the other kind of ether which brings the elementary chemical substances into being. This ether will be called the chemical ether.
1904-12-16-GA093
makes the link between the physical atom as frozen electricity, and electricity and human thought
1904-12-23-GA093
lecture called: The Atom as Coagulated Electricity
quote A
We are living now in the epoch of evolution that may be called the mineral epoch; and our task is to permeate this mineral world through and through with the spirit within us. Think of what this means. You are building a house. You fetch the stones from a quarry and hew them into the shapes required by the building, and so on.
What are you inculcating into this raw material obtained from the mineral kingdom?
You are inculcating human spirit into the raw material. If you construct a machine, you have laid the spirit that is part of you, into that machine; the actual machine does, of course, perish and become dust; not a trace of it will survive.
But what you have done, what you have achieved, passes into the very atoms and does not vanish without a trace. Every atom bears a trace of your spirit and will carry this trace with it. Whether an atom has at some time been in a machine, or has not been in a machine, is not a matter of indifference. The atom itself has undergone change as a result of having once been in a machine, and this change that you have wrought in the atom will never again be lost to it. Moreover, through your having changed the atom, through the fact that you have united the spirit in you with the mineral world, a permanent stamp has been made upon the general consciousness of mankind; just so much consciousness goes with you into the other world.
Occult science well knows in what way the human being can perform selfless actions and how greatly his consciousness will be enhanced by them.
Certain men, who have been deeply imbued with this knowledge, have been so selfless that they have taken steps to prevent even their names from going down to posterity! An example of this is the work entitled Theologica Deutsch. Nobody knows who wrote it. On the outside there are only the words: The man from Frankfurt. He, therefore, was one who took care that his very name should be unknown. He worked in such a way that he merely added something to the objective world without asking for honour or for the preservation of his name. And here let it be said that the Masters, as a rule, are not personages known in history; they sometimes are embodied in historical personalities — when it is necessary; but in a certain respect this is a sacrifice on their part. The level of their consciousness is incompatible with work for themselves, and preservation of a name does, after all, involve this. It is difficult thoroughly to understand this rule but it will now be clear to you why the aim of the Freemasons is to work in the world in such a way that their deeds are hidden in social organizations or charitable institutions. For selfless deeds are the real foundations of immortality. In the outer world we see the reflex of such deeds. They need not necessarily be of great account. If someone gives a coin to a poor man, this may be an unselfish deed; but only to the extent that it was absolutely selfless does it find its way to the sphere of immortality — and very few deeds are selfless to this degree. An act of charity may be extremely egoistical when, for instance, it gives rise to a comforting feeling. Charity very often springs from selfish motives. If a poor man living among us has no meat at Christmas and we feel bound to give him some in order that we may feel justified in eating our own Christmas dinner — that, after all, is egoism. In the Middle Ages it would have been impossible to say who had built many of the cathedrals or painted many of the pictures.
🔥1
It is only in our epoch of civilisation that people have begun to attach such value to the human name; in earlier epochs, more spiritual than our own, the individual name was of less importance. Spirituality in those days was directed to reality; whereas our epoch adheres to the delusion of thinking that what is a mere concern of the moment should be preserved.
quote B
All progress is the result of involution and evolution. Involution is the in-taking, evolution the yield, the out-giving. All states and conditions of world-existence alternate between these two processes. When you see, hear, smell or taste, you breathe nature into yourselves. The act of sight does not pass away without leaving a trace behind. The eye itself perishes, the object seen — that too perishes; but what you have experienced in the act of sight, remains. It will not be difficult for you to realise that in certain epochs it is necessary to make such things understood.
We are going forward to an age when, as I indicated recently, men will understand what the atom is, in reality. It will be realised — by the public mind too — that the atom is nothing but coagulated electricity. The thought itself is composed of the same substance.
Before the end of the fifth cultural age, science will have reached the stage where Man will be able to penetrate into the atom itself. When the similarity of substance between the thought and the atom is once comprehended, the way to get hold of the forces contained in the atom will soon be discovered and then nothing will be inaccessible to certain methods of working.
A man standing here, let us say, will be able by pressing a button concealed in his pocket, to explode some object at a great distance — say in Hamburg! Just as by setting up a wave-movement here and causing it to take a particular form at some other place, wireless telegraphy is possible, so what I have just indicated will be within Man's power when the occult truth that thought and atom consist of the same substance is put into practical application.
1905-10-05-GA093
humanity transforms every atom on earth .. in the past, atoms became more and more solidified, now however they are becoming increasingly separated. Radioactivity did not exist in earlier times and could therefore not be discovered. It has only existed for a few thousand years, because now the atoms split up more and more.
1907-12-04-GA098
The first elementary kingdom gives minerals their form, their atomistic forces of attraction and repulsion come from the group-I's (see also L19 of GA094, 94-19)
1911-10-01-GA130
What we call chemical action, is projected into the physical world from the music of the spheres in the spirit world. In the combination of two substances according to their atomic weight, we have a reflection of two tones of the harmony of the spheres. The numerical ratios in chemistry express the numerical rations of the harmony of the spheres.
1913-03-28-GA145
Atoms are simply the forces of Ahriman.
1913-09-03-GA266
The whole of atomism has validity only on the physical plane, and to a limited extent in the elemental world, but none in the spiritual world.
1914-04-17-GA154
If materialistic views continue to persist for several generations more ... people will actually see little grey atoms vibrating as an atomic whirl, not because they exist, but because they will have trained themselves to see them. See also 1922-07-15-GA213
1915-10-16-GA254
The cause of atomism lies in the human nature: atomism is a projection into space of the process that the astral body is touching the nerve-ends, which does not come into consciousness.
1916-06-13-GA169
discusses atomism, the reductionism of the human mind
quote B
All progress is the result of involution and evolution. Involution is the in-taking, evolution the yield, the out-giving. All states and conditions of world-existence alternate between these two processes. When you see, hear, smell or taste, you breathe nature into yourselves. The act of sight does not pass away without leaving a trace behind. The eye itself perishes, the object seen — that too perishes; but what you have experienced in the act of sight, remains. It will not be difficult for you to realise that in certain epochs it is necessary to make such things understood.
We are going forward to an age when, as I indicated recently, men will understand what the atom is, in reality. It will be realised — by the public mind too — that the atom is nothing but coagulated electricity. The thought itself is composed of the same substance.
Before the end of the fifth cultural age, science will have reached the stage where Man will be able to penetrate into the atom itself. When the similarity of substance between the thought and the atom is once comprehended, the way to get hold of the forces contained in the atom will soon be discovered and then nothing will be inaccessible to certain methods of working.
A man standing here, let us say, will be able by pressing a button concealed in his pocket, to explode some object at a great distance — say in Hamburg! Just as by setting up a wave-movement here and causing it to take a particular form at some other place, wireless telegraphy is possible, so what I have just indicated will be within Man's power when the occult truth that thought and atom consist of the same substance is put into practical application.
1905-10-05-GA093
humanity transforms every atom on earth .. in the past, atoms became more and more solidified, now however they are becoming increasingly separated. Radioactivity did not exist in earlier times and could therefore not be discovered. It has only existed for a few thousand years, because now the atoms split up more and more.
1907-12-04-GA098
The first elementary kingdom gives minerals their form, their atomistic forces of attraction and repulsion come from the group-I's (see also L19 of GA094, 94-19)
1911-10-01-GA130
What we call chemical action, is projected into the physical world from the music of the spheres in the spirit world. In the combination of two substances according to their atomic weight, we have a reflection of two tones of the harmony of the spheres. The numerical ratios in chemistry express the numerical rations of the harmony of the spheres.
1913-03-28-GA145
Atoms are simply the forces of Ahriman.
1913-09-03-GA266
The whole of atomism has validity only on the physical plane, and to a limited extent in the elemental world, but none in the spiritual world.
1914-04-17-GA154
If materialistic views continue to persist for several generations more ... people will actually see little grey atoms vibrating as an atomic whirl, not because they exist, but because they will have trained themselves to see them. See also 1922-07-15-GA213
1915-10-16-GA254
The cause of atomism lies in the human nature: atomism is a projection into space of the process that the astral body is touching the nerve-ends, which does not come into consciousness.
1916-06-13-GA169
discusses atomism, the reductionism of the human mind
The world of atoms outside is nothing but a projection of the nervous system. We project ourselves into the world and thus think of it as consisting of atoms, and our nervous system as composed of many individual ganglion-globules. Science will always tend to atomism for it originates in nerve sustance. By contrast, mysticism, religion etc come forth from the blood and do not look for the divide but always for unity.
See also 1920-03-21-GA312 where the atomistic approach in anatomy is described in a scientific-historical context. This is also in 1920-03-02-GA321 where the Florence academy of 1657-1667 is described as the cradle of materialism and phenomena were divested of anything extraterrestrial but only look for explanation of physical phenomena in the things themselves (ai in the forms of atoms and molecules).
1920-03-13-GA073
The fact that allmost no element has an integer atomic weight points to the fact that the atomic weight oscillates or trembles around an average, and with it also the whole periodic system.
1920-03-26-GA312
important
Earthly mineral substances are not to be explained by means of atomic or molecular forces but by the effect of cosmic forces (metals by certain constellations of the planets).
1921-03-22-GA324
is on memory and imagination .. and how the tendency to explain phenomena using sense-perceptible auxiliary constructions such as atoms "destroys the imaginative capability"
1922-07-15-GA213
1922-12-25-GA326
compares Greek atomists such as Democritus and their view of atoms with that of the 19th century (also in GA018)
1922-12-27-GA326
On the necessity that a science of atomitisation, desintegration, reduction to microscopic parts, a science of the dead had to come about .. that now has to advance to the point where the spiritual in nature can be found again.
Also on the infertile quarrel on atomism in Die Drei.
1923-01-06-GA326
It matters little whether or not modern speaks of atoms or not, what matters is that when it does, it speaks of them, it regards them as velocity changes. That is what counts.
1923-01-28-GA220
.. we make the atoms, while we electrify them, the bearers of evil, not only the bearers of the dead. We make them the bearers of the dead, while we allow them to be atoms generally, and imagine matter atomistically.
1923-01-30-GA257
discusses a quarrel concerning atomism (are there atoms or not) settled in the magazine 'Die Drei'.
1923-08-31-GA227
People can be lead by ahrimanic beings out of nature into occult captivity if they form atomistic ideas on nature.
1924-08-16-GA311
Atomism arose as a result of the tendency that arose at the end of the middle ages to build up a whole from single parts, instead of the opposite way
1 - Bubbles in the ether
1917-08-07-GA176
The courage shown today so admirable in regard to external issues must be extended to the inner life. In this respect modern man is far from courageous. He draws back from all aspects of spiritual reality with the consequence that so many human beings experience inner dissatisfaction and insecurity. Very much has to be done it is true, before distorted ideas give way to sound ones. Nowadays there is, for example, still a preoccupation with atomic theories, even though the earlier crude form has given way to ions and electrons.
See also 1920-03-21-GA312 where the atomistic approach in anatomy is described in a scientific-historical context. This is also in 1920-03-02-GA321 where the Florence academy of 1657-1667 is described as the cradle of materialism and phenomena were divested of anything extraterrestrial but only look for explanation of physical phenomena in the things themselves (ai in the forms of atoms and molecules).
1920-03-13-GA073
The fact that allmost no element has an integer atomic weight points to the fact that the atomic weight oscillates or trembles around an average, and with it also the whole periodic system.
1920-03-26-GA312
important
Earthly mineral substances are not to be explained by means of atomic or molecular forces but by the effect of cosmic forces (metals by certain constellations of the planets).
1921-03-22-GA324
is on memory and imagination .. and how the tendency to explain phenomena using sense-perceptible auxiliary constructions such as atoms "destroys the imaginative capability"
1922-07-15-GA213
1922-12-25-GA326
compares Greek atomists such as Democritus and their view of atoms with that of the 19th century (also in GA018)
1922-12-27-GA326
On the necessity that a science of atomitisation, desintegration, reduction to microscopic parts, a science of the dead had to come about .. that now has to advance to the point where the spiritual in nature can be found again.
Also on the infertile quarrel on atomism in Die Drei.
1923-01-06-GA326
It matters little whether or not modern speaks of atoms or not, what matters is that when it does, it speaks of them, it regards them as velocity changes. That is what counts.
1923-01-28-GA220
.. we make the atoms, while we electrify them, the bearers of evil, not only the bearers of the dead. We make them the bearers of the dead, while we allow them to be atoms generally, and imagine matter atomistically.
1923-01-30-GA257
discusses a quarrel concerning atomism (are there atoms or not) settled in the magazine 'Die Drei'.
1923-08-31-GA227
People can be lead by ahrimanic beings out of nature into occult captivity if they form atomistic ideas on nature.
1924-08-16-GA311
Atomism arose as a result of the tendency that arose at the end of the middle ages to build up a whole from single parts, instead of the opposite way
1 - Bubbles in the ether
1917-08-07-GA176
The courage shown today so admirable in regard to external issues must be extended to the inner life. In this respect modern man is far from courageous. He draws back from all aspects of spiritual reality with the consequence that so many human beings experience inner dissatisfaction and insecurity. Very much has to be done it is true, before distorted ideas give way to sound ones. Nowadays there is, for example, still a preoccupation with atomic theories, even though the earlier crude form has given way to ions and electrons.
The modern view is that everything consists of atoms. Many are of the opinion that everything can be traced back to minute atomic structures. Matter is thought to consist of the tiniest of particles; i.e., atoms. And many scientists, in fact most, endow matter with force so that the particles of matter are supposed to attract and repel one another. At this point investigations come to an end. The 19th Century will be seen as a significant period in mankind's evolution: the time when the universe was explained as a structure of matter and force, a view that has been given classical expression in innumerable works. This example shows the extent to which ideas must be readjusted before it is possible to evaluate what is needed now. Let us hold on to the fact that there are those whose speculations are mainly concerned with matter; they imagine that the world consists of atoms.
How does this view compare with what spiritual science has to say? Certainly natural physical phenomena do lead us back to atoms, but what are these atoms?
They reveal what they are at the moment the very first stage of spiritual perception has been attained. At the stage of imaginative perception atoms reveal what they truly are. I have spoken about this in various connections many years ago in public lectures. Those who speculate on matter come to the conclusion that space is empty and atoms whirl around in this empty space. Atoms are supposed to be the most solid entities in existence. That is simply not the case, the whole issue is based on illusion.
To imaginative cognition atoms are revealed as bubbles and the reality is where the empty space is supposed to be. Atoms are blown up bubbles. In other words, in contrast to what surrounds them they are nothing. You know that where bubbles are seen in soda-water there is no water. Atoms are bubbles in that sense; where they are the space is hollow, nothing is there. And yet it is possible to push against it; impact occurs precisely because, in pushing against hollowness, an effect is produced.
How can nothing produce an effect?
Take the case of the space, practically empty of air, within an air-pump; there you see how air streams into nothingness. A wrong interpretation might imagine the empty space in the bulb of the air pump as containing a substance that forced in the air. That is exactly the illusion prevailing in regard to the atom. The opposite is true: atoms are empty — yet again not empty. There is after all something within these bubbles. And what is it? This is also something about which have already spoken: what exists within the atom bubbles is ahrimanic substance. Ahriman is there. The whole system of atoms consists of ahrimanic substantiality. As you see this is a considerable metamorphosis of the ideas entertained by those who theorize about matter. Where in space they see something material we see the presence of Ahriman."
How does this view compare with what spiritual science has to say? Certainly natural physical phenomena do lead us back to atoms, but what are these atoms?
They reveal what they are at the moment the very first stage of spiritual perception has been attained. At the stage of imaginative perception atoms reveal what they truly are. I have spoken about this in various connections many years ago in public lectures. Those who speculate on matter come to the conclusion that space is empty and atoms whirl around in this empty space. Atoms are supposed to be the most solid entities in existence. That is simply not the case, the whole issue is based on illusion.
To imaginative cognition atoms are revealed as bubbles and the reality is where the empty space is supposed to be. Atoms are blown up bubbles. In other words, in contrast to what surrounds them they are nothing. You know that where bubbles are seen in soda-water there is no water. Atoms are bubbles in that sense; where they are the space is hollow, nothing is there. And yet it is possible to push against it; impact occurs precisely because, in pushing against hollowness, an effect is produced.
How can nothing produce an effect?
Take the case of the space, practically empty of air, within an air-pump; there you see how air streams into nothingness. A wrong interpretation might imagine the empty space in the bulb of the air pump as containing a substance that forced in the air. That is exactly the illusion prevailing in regard to the atom. The opposite is true: atoms are empty — yet again not empty. There is after all something within these bubbles. And what is it? This is also something about which have already spoken: what exists within the atom bubbles is ahrimanic substance. Ahriman is there. The whole system of atoms consists of ahrimanic substantiality. As you see this is a considerable metamorphosis of the ideas entertained by those who theorize about matter. Where in space they see something material we see the presence of Ahriman."
Continued quotes by Steiner on Atoms
https://anthroposophy.eu/The_nature_of_atoms
1905-10-05-GA093
humanity transforms every atom on earth .. in the past, atoms became more and more solidified, now however they are becoming increasingly separated. Radioactivity did not exist in earlier times and could therefore not be discovered. It has only existed for a few thousand years, because now the atoms split up more and more.
1907-12-04-GA098
The first elementary kingdom gives minerals their form, their atomistic forces of attraction and repulsion come from the group-I's (see also L19 of GA094, 94-19)
1911-10-01-GA130
What we call chemical action, is projected into the physical world from the music of the spheres in the spirit world. In the combination of two substances according to their atomic weight, we have a reflection of two tones of the harmony of the spheres. The numerical ratios in chemistry express the numerical rations of the harmony of the spheres.
1913-03-28-GA145
Atoms are simply the forces of Ahriman.
1913-09-03-GA266
The whole of atomism has validity only on the physical plane, and to a limited extent in the elemental world, but none in the spiritual world.
1914-04-17-GA154
If materialistic views continue to persist for several generations more ... people will actually see little grey atoms vibrating as an atomic whirl, not because they exist, but because they will have trained themselves to see them. See also 1922-07-15-GA213
1915-10-16-GA254
The cause of atomism lies in the human nature: atomism is a projection into space of the process that the astral body is touching the nerve-ends, which does not come into consciousness.
1916-06-13-GA169
discusses atomism, the reductionism of the human mind
The world of atoms outside is nothing but a projection of the nervous system. We project ourselves into the world and thus think of it as consisting of atoms, and our nervous system as composed of many individual ganglion-globules. Science will always tend to atomism for it originates in nerve sustance. By contrast, mysticism, religion etc come forth from the blood and do not look for the divide but always for unity.
See also 1920-03-21-GA312 where the atomistic approach in anatomy is described in a scientific-historical context. This is also in 1920-03-02-GA321 where the Florence academy of 1657-1667 is described as the cradle of materialism and phenomena were divested of anything extraterrestrial but only look for explanation of physical phenomena in the things themselves (ai in the forms of atoms and molecules).
1920-03-13-GA073
The fact that allmost no element has an integer atomic weight points to the fact that the atomic weight oscillates or trembles around an average, and with it also the whole periodic system.
1920-03-26-GA312
important
Earthly mineral substances are not to be explained by means of atomic or molecular forces but by the effect of cosmic forces (metals by certain constellations of the planets).
1921-03-22-GA324
is on memory and imagination .. and how the tendency to explain phenomena using sense-perceptible auxiliary constructions such as atoms "destroys the imaginative capability"
1922-07-15-GA213
1922-12-25-GA326
compares Greek atomists such as Democritus and their view of atoms with that of the 19th century (also in GA018)
1922-12-27-GA326
On the necessity that a science of atomitisation, desintegration, reduction to microscopic parts, a science of the dead had to come about .. that now has to advance to the point where the spiritual in nature can be found again.
Also on the infertile quarrel on atomism in Die Drei.
1923-01-06-GA326
It matters little whether or not modern speaks of atoms or not, what matters is that when it does, it speaks of them, it regards them as velocity changes. That is what counts.
1923-01-28-GA220
.. we make the atoms, while we electrify them, the bearers of evil, not only the bearers of the dead. We make them the bearers of the dead, while we allow them to be atoms generally, and imagine matter atomistically.
https://anthroposophy.eu/The_nature_of_atoms
1905-10-05-GA093
humanity transforms every atom on earth .. in the past, atoms became more and more solidified, now however they are becoming increasingly separated. Radioactivity did not exist in earlier times and could therefore not be discovered. It has only existed for a few thousand years, because now the atoms split up more and more.
1907-12-04-GA098
The first elementary kingdom gives minerals their form, their atomistic forces of attraction and repulsion come from the group-I's (see also L19 of GA094, 94-19)
1911-10-01-GA130
What we call chemical action, is projected into the physical world from the music of the spheres in the spirit world. In the combination of two substances according to their atomic weight, we have a reflection of two tones of the harmony of the spheres. The numerical ratios in chemistry express the numerical rations of the harmony of the spheres.
1913-03-28-GA145
Atoms are simply the forces of Ahriman.
1913-09-03-GA266
The whole of atomism has validity only on the physical plane, and to a limited extent in the elemental world, but none in the spiritual world.
1914-04-17-GA154
If materialistic views continue to persist for several generations more ... people will actually see little grey atoms vibrating as an atomic whirl, not because they exist, but because they will have trained themselves to see them. See also 1922-07-15-GA213
1915-10-16-GA254
The cause of atomism lies in the human nature: atomism is a projection into space of the process that the astral body is touching the nerve-ends, which does not come into consciousness.
1916-06-13-GA169
discusses atomism, the reductionism of the human mind
The world of atoms outside is nothing but a projection of the nervous system. We project ourselves into the world and thus think of it as consisting of atoms, and our nervous system as composed of many individual ganglion-globules. Science will always tend to atomism for it originates in nerve sustance. By contrast, mysticism, religion etc come forth from the blood and do not look for the divide but always for unity.
See also 1920-03-21-GA312 where the atomistic approach in anatomy is described in a scientific-historical context. This is also in 1920-03-02-GA321 where the Florence academy of 1657-1667 is described as the cradle of materialism and phenomena were divested of anything extraterrestrial but only look for explanation of physical phenomena in the things themselves (ai in the forms of atoms and molecules).
1920-03-13-GA073
The fact that allmost no element has an integer atomic weight points to the fact that the atomic weight oscillates or trembles around an average, and with it also the whole periodic system.
1920-03-26-GA312
important
Earthly mineral substances are not to be explained by means of atomic or molecular forces but by the effect of cosmic forces (metals by certain constellations of the planets).
1921-03-22-GA324
is on memory and imagination .. and how the tendency to explain phenomena using sense-perceptible auxiliary constructions such as atoms "destroys the imaginative capability"
1922-07-15-GA213
1922-12-25-GA326
compares Greek atomists such as Democritus and their view of atoms with that of the 19th century (also in GA018)
1922-12-27-GA326
On the necessity that a science of atomitisation, desintegration, reduction to microscopic parts, a science of the dead had to come about .. that now has to advance to the point where the spiritual in nature can be found again.
Also on the infertile quarrel on atomism in Die Drei.
1923-01-06-GA326
It matters little whether or not modern speaks of atoms or not, what matters is that when it does, it speaks of them, it regards them as velocity changes. That is what counts.
1923-01-28-GA220
.. we make the atoms, while we electrify them, the bearers of evil, not only the bearers of the dead. We make them the bearers of the dead, while we allow them to be atoms generally, and imagine matter atomistically.
1923-01-30-GA257
discusses a quarrel concerning atomism (are there atoms or not) settled in the magazine 'Die Drei'.
1923-08-31-GA227
People can be lead by ahrimanic beings out of nature into occult captivity if they form atomistic ideas on nature.
1924-08-16-GA311
Atomism arose as a result of the tendency that arose at the end of the middle ages to build up a whole from single parts, instead of the opposite way
1 - Bubbles in the ether
1917-08-07-GA176
The courage shown today so admirable in regard to external issues must be extended to the inner life. In this respect modern man is far from courageous. He draws back from all aspects of spiritual reality with the consequence that so many human beings experience inner dissatisfaction and insecurity. Very much has to be done it is true, before distorted ideas give way to sound ones. Nowadays there is, for example, still a preoccupation with atomic theories, even though the earlier crude form has given way to ions and electrons.
The modern view is that everything consists of atoms. Many are of the opinion that everything can be traced back to minute atomic structures. Matter is thought to consist of the tiniest of particles; i.e., atoms. And many scientists, in fact most, endow matter with force so that the particles of matter are supposed to attract and repel one another. At this point investigations come to an end. The 19th Century will be seen as a significant period in mankind's evolution: the time when the universe was explained as a structure of matter and force, a view that has been given classical expression in innumerable works. This example shows the extent to which ideas must be readjusted before it is possible to evaluate what is needed now. Let us hold on to the fact that there are those whose speculations are mainly concerned with matter; they imagine that the world consists of atoms.
How does this view compare with what spiritual science has to say? Certainly natural physical phenomena do lead us back to atoms, but what are these atoms?
They reveal what they are at the moment the very first stage of spiritual perception has been attained. At the stage of imaginative perception atoms reveal what they truly are. I have spoken about this in various connections many years ago in public lectures. Those who speculate on matter come to the conclusion that space is empty and atoms whirl around in this empty space. Atoms are supposed to be the most solid entities in existence. That is simply not the case, the whole issue is based on illusion.
To imaginative cognition atoms are revealed as bubbles and the reality is where the empty space is supposed to be. Atoms are blown up bubbles. In other words, in contrast to what surrounds them they are nothing. You know that where bubbles are seen in soda-water there is no water. Atoms are bubbles in that sense; where they are the space is hollow, nothing is there. And yet it is possible to push against it; impact occurs precisely because, in pushing against hollowness, an effect is produced.
How can nothing produce an effect?
Take the case of the space, practically empty of air, within an air-pump; there you see how air streams into nothingness. A wrong interpretation might imagine the empty space in the bulb of the air pump as containing a substance that forced in the air. That is exactly the illusion prevailing in regard to the atom. The opposite is true: atoms are empty — yet again not empty. There is after all something within these bubbles. And what is it? This is also something about which have already spoken: what exists within the atom bubbles is ahrimanic substance. Ahriman is there. The whole system of atoms consists of ahrimanic substantiality. As you see this is a considerable metamorphosis of the ideas entertained by those who theorize about matter. Where in space they see something material we see the presence of Ahriman.
Maximilian Rebholz - The nature of matter
writes in his essay 'The nature of matter' (translated from unpublished typoscript, ca 1948)
version a
discusses a quarrel concerning atomism (are there atoms or not) settled in the magazine 'Die Drei'.
1923-08-31-GA227
People can be lead by ahrimanic beings out of nature into occult captivity if they form atomistic ideas on nature.
1924-08-16-GA311
Atomism arose as a result of the tendency that arose at the end of the middle ages to build up a whole from single parts, instead of the opposite way
1 - Bubbles in the ether
1917-08-07-GA176
The courage shown today so admirable in regard to external issues must be extended to the inner life. In this respect modern man is far from courageous. He draws back from all aspects of spiritual reality with the consequence that so many human beings experience inner dissatisfaction and insecurity. Very much has to be done it is true, before distorted ideas give way to sound ones. Nowadays there is, for example, still a preoccupation with atomic theories, even though the earlier crude form has given way to ions and electrons.
The modern view is that everything consists of atoms. Many are of the opinion that everything can be traced back to minute atomic structures. Matter is thought to consist of the tiniest of particles; i.e., atoms. And many scientists, in fact most, endow matter with force so that the particles of matter are supposed to attract and repel one another. At this point investigations come to an end. The 19th Century will be seen as a significant period in mankind's evolution: the time when the universe was explained as a structure of matter and force, a view that has been given classical expression in innumerable works. This example shows the extent to which ideas must be readjusted before it is possible to evaluate what is needed now. Let us hold on to the fact that there are those whose speculations are mainly concerned with matter; they imagine that the world consists of atoms.
How does this view compare with what spiritual science has to say? Certainly natural physical phenomena do lead us back to atoms, but what are these atoms?
They reveal what they are at the moment the very first stage of spiritual perception has been attained. At the stage of imaginative perception atoms reveal what they truly are. I have spoken about this in various connections many years ago in public lectures. Those who speculate on matter come to the conclusion that space is empty and atoms whirl around in this empty space. Atoms are supposed to be the most solid entities in existence. That is simply not the case, the whole issue is based on illusion.
To imaginative cognition atoms are revealed as bubbles and the reality is where the empty space is supposed to be. Atoms are blown up bubbles. In other words, in contrast to what surrounds them they are nothing. You know that where bubbles are seen in soda-water there is no water. Atoms are bubbles in that sense; where they are the space is hollow, nothing is there. And yet it is possible to push against it; impact occurs precisely because, in pushing against hollowness, an effect is produced.
How can nothing produce an effect?
Take the case of the space, practically empty of air, within an air-pump; there you see how air streams into nothingness. A wrong interpretation might imagine the empty space in the bulb of the air pump as containing a substance that forced in the air. That is exactly the illusion prevailing in regard to the atom. The opposite is true: atoms are empty — yet again not empty. There is after all something within these bubbles. And what is it? This is also something about which have already spoken: what exists within the atom bubbles is ahrimanic substance. Ahriman is there. The whole system of atoms consists of ahrimanic substantiality. As you see this is a considerable metamorphosis of the ideas entertained by those who theorize about matter. Where in space they see something material we see the presence of Ahriman.
Maximilian Rebholz - The nature of matter
writes in his essay 'The nature of matter' (translated from unpublished typoscript, ca 1948)
version a
In the cycle The Spiritual Beings in the Heavenly Bodies and in the Kingdoms of Nature (GA136), it is shown how a material planet actually arises. From the sun, which in reality emanates space by transferring the cosmic forces from the non-spatial into the etheric spatial, the Spirits of Form work in such a way that each one forms his ether sphere, and these all have their common center in the sun. These ether spheres are in reality the planets of our solar system. But now Ahrimanic Spirits of Form from the cosmos throw themselves against the activity of the normal Spirits of Form that emanates from the sun, and at the periphery of the ether sphere, they produce an invagination, which appears to us as the physical planet. Where we see this planet, there is actually a hole in the ether sphere of the normal Spirits of Form that is filled with Ahrimanic forces.
What is true of the physical planet as a “hole in the ether” on a large scale is equally true of every atom of matter on a small scale. The atoms also appear as “holes in the ether” to the imaginative vision that perceives the ether.
...
version b
In the cycle The Spiritual Beings in the Heavenly Bodies and in the Kingdoms of Nature (GA136), it is shown how a material planet actually arises. The cosmos of the normal Spirits of Form would consist only of variously extended etheric spheres, all centered in the sun. These etheric spheres are really the “planets” of our solar system. But now Ahrimanic Spirits of Form throw themselves against these from outside and cause invaginations on the periphery of the etheric spheres, which appear to us as the physical planets. Where we see these, there are in truth holes in the etheric spheres of the normal Spirits of Form that are filled with Ahrimanic forces.
This description in GA136 is also important because it shows us on a large scale what has to be thought of an “atom” on a small scale.
Dr. Steiner also called atoms “holes in the ether.”
1917-08-07-GA176
How does this view compare with what spiritual science has to say? Certainly natural physical phenomena do lead us back to atoms, but what are these atoms? […]
To imaginative cognition atoms are revealed as bubbles and the reality is where the empty space is supposed to be. Atoms are blown up bubbles […], in contrast to what surrounds them they are nothing. You know that where bubbles are seen in soda-water there is no water. Atoms are bubbles in that sense; where they are the space is hollow, nothing is there. And yet it is possible to push against it; impact occurs precisely because, in pushing against hollowness, an effect is produced.
[… A]toms are empty — yet again not empty. [… W]hat exists within the atom bubbles is ahrimanic substance. Ahriman is there. The whole system of atoms consists of ahrimanic substantiality.
Imaginative clairvoyance first perceives only the supersensible, etheric-astral realm but not yet the subsensible, which, as all matter, is perceived by imaginative clairvoyance as a hollow space in the ether. The comparison with water bubbles is quite valid: for in these, too, is air, which is only not seen.
What is true of the physical planet as a “hole in the ether” on a large scale is equally true of every atom of matter on a small scale. The atoms also appear as “holes in the ether” to the imaginative vision that perceives the ether.
...
version b
In the cycle The Spiritual Beings in the Heavenly Bodies and in the Kingdoms of Nature (GA136), it is shown how a material planet actually arises. The cosmos of the normal Spirits of Form would consist only of variously extended etheric spheres, all centered in the sun. These etheric spheres are really the “planets” of our solar system. But now Ahrimanic Spirits of Form throw themselves against these from outside and cause invaginations on the periphery of the etheric spheres, which appear to us as the physical planets. Where we see these, there are in truth holes in the etheric spheres of the normal Spirits of Form that are filled with Ahrimanic forces.
This description in GA136 is also important because it shows us on a large scale what has to be thought of an “atom” on a small scale.
Dr. Steiner also called atoms “holes in the ether.”
1917-08-07-GA176
How does this view compare with what spiritual science has to say? Certainly natural physical phenomena do lead us back to atoms, but what are these atoms? […]
To imaginative cognition atoms are revealed as bubbles and the reality is where the empty space is supposed to be. Atoms are blown up bubbles […], in contrast to what surrounds them they are nothing. You know that where bubbles are seen in soda-water there is no water. Atoms are bubbles in that sense; where they are the space is hollow, nothing is there. And yet it is possible to push against it; impact occurs precisely because, in pushing against hollowness, an effect is produced.
[… A]toms are empty — yet again not empty. [… W]hat exists within the atom bubbles is ahrimanic substance. Ahriman is there. The whole system of atoms consists of ahrimanic substantiality.
Imaginative clairvoyance first perceives only the supersensible, etheric-astral realm but not yet the subsensible, which, as all matter, is perceived by imaginative clairvoyance as a hollow space in the ether. The comparison with water bubbles is quite valid: for in these, too, is air, which is only not seen.
ETHER DOES NOT MEAN RAREFIED SUBSTANCE
Rudolf Steiner - MAN — HIEROGLYPH OF THE UNIVERSE - GA 201 - Lecture Four
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA201/English/RSP1972/19200416p01.html
"We have, on the one hand, our world as it is generally observed; and we have in addition, the materialistic superstition that, for instance, if we gaze upwards, we see the Sun, a ball of gas, as it is described in books. This is nonsense. The Sun is not a ball of gas; but in that place where the Sun is, there is something less than empty space — a sucking, absorbing body, in fact, while all around it is that which exerts pressure. Consequently in that which comes to us from the Sun we have not to do with anything constituting a product of combustion in the Sun; but all that has been transmitted to the Sun from the Universe is rayed back.
Where the Sun is, is emptier than empty space. This can be said of all parts of the Universe where we find Ether. For this reason it is so difficult for the physicist to speak of Ether, for he thinks that Ether is also matter, though more rarefied than ordinary matter. Materialism is still very busy with this perpetual ‘rarefying’, both the materialism of natural science as well as the materialism of Theosophy. It distinguishes first, dense matter; then etheric matter — more rarefied; then astral matter — still more rarefied; and then there is the ‘mental’ and I do not know what else — always more and more rarefied!
The only difference (in this theory of rarefying) between the two forms of materialism is that the one recognises more degrees of rarefaction than the other. But in the transition from ponderable matter to Ether we have nothing to do with rarefaction. Anyone who believes that in Ether we have to do merely with a ‘rarefying’ process is like a man who says: ‘I have here a purse full of money; I repeatedly take from it and the money becomes less and less. I take away still more till at last none remains.’ Nothing is left — but yet he can go on! The ‘nothing’ can become less still; for if he gets into debt, his money becomes less than nothing. In the same way not only does matter become empty space, but it becomes negative, less than nothing — emptier than emptiness; it assumes a ‘sucking’ nature. Ether is sucking, absorbing. Matter presses. Ether absorbs. The Sun is an absorbing, sucking ball, and wherever Ether is present we have this absorbent force.
Here we step over into the other side, the other aspect of three-dimensional space — we pass from pressure to suction. That which immediately surrounds us in this world, that of which we are constituted as physical man and ether man, is both pressing and sucking or absorbing. We are a combination of both; whereas the Sun possesses the power of suction only, being nothing but ether, nothing but suction. It is the undulating wave of pressure and suction, ponderable matter and ether, that forms in its alternation a living organisation. And the living organism continually breathes in the astral; the breathing expresses itself through the Moon's motion or nutation. And here we begin to divine a second member or principle of the world's construction; the one member — pressure and suction, physical and etheric; the other, the second — astral. The astral is neither physical nor etheric but is continually inhaled and exhaled; and the nutation demonstrates this process."
Rudolf Steiner - MAN — HIEROGLYPH OF THE UNIVERSE - GA 201 - Lecture Four
https://rsarchive.org/Lectures/GA201/English/RSP1972/19200416p01.html
"We have, on the one hand, our world as it is generally observed; and we have in addition, the materialistic superstition that, for instance, if we gaze upwards, we see the Sun, a ball of gas, as it is described in books. This is nonsense. The Sun is not a ball of gas; but in that place where the Sun is, there is something less than empty space — a sucking, absorbing body, in fact, while all around it is that which exerts pressure. Consequently in that which comes to us from the Sun we have not to do with anything constituting a product of combustion in the Sun; but all that has been transmitted to the Sun from the Universe is rayed back.
Where the Sun is, is emptier than empty space. This can be said of all parts of the Universe where we find Ether. For this reason it is so difficult for the physicist to speak of Ether, for he thinks that Ether is also matter, though more rarefied than ordinary matter. Materialism is still very busy with this perpetual ‘rarefying’, both the materialism of natural science as well as the materialism of Theosophy. It distinguishes first, dense matter; then etheric matter — more rarefied; then astral matter — still more rarefied; and then there is the ‘mental’ and I do not know what else — always more and more rarefied!
The only difference (in this theory of rarefying) between the two forms of materialism is that the one recognises more degrees of rarefaction than the other. But in the transition from ponderable matter to Ether we have nothing to do with rarefaction. Anyone who believes that in Ether we have to do merely with a ‘rarefying’ process is like a man who says: ‘I have here a purse full of money; I repeatedly take from it and the money becomes less and less. I take away still more till at last none remains.’ Nothing is left — but yet he can go on! The ‘nothing’ can become less still; for if he gets into debt, his money becomes less than nothing. In the same way not only does matter become empty space, but it becomes negative, less than nothing — emptier than emptiness; it assumes a ‘sucking’ nature. Ether is sucking, absorbing. Matter presses. Ether absorbs. The Sun is an absorbing, sucking ball, and wherever Ether is present we have this absorbent force.
Here we step over into the other side, the other aspect of three-dimensional space — we pass from pressure to suction. That which immediately surrounds us in this world, that of which we are constituted as physical man and ether man, is both pressing and sucking or absorbing. We are a combination of both; whereas the Sun possesses the power of suction only, being nothing but ether, nothing but suction. It is the undulating wave of pressure and suction, ponderable matter and ether, that forms in its alternation a living organisation. And the living organism continually breathes in the astral; the breathing expresses itself through the Moon's motion or nutation. And here we begin to divine a second member or principle of the world's construction; the one member — pressure and suction, physical and etheric; the other, the second — astral. The astral is neither physical nor etheric but is continually inhaled and exhaled; and the nutation demonstrates this process."
rsarchive.org
Lecture IV — GA 201. Man - Hieroglyph of the Universe (1972) - Rudolf Steiner Archive
Rudolf Steiner Archive: An electronic Library and Archive site for the over 6000 collected works of the Austrian philosopher and founder of Anthroposophy, Rudolf Steiner
Morphic Resonance : The Theory of Formative Causation | Formscapes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AejwVSMJWYw
04:07 Rupert Sheldrake's Early Life and Academic Journey
- Rupert Sheldrake's upbringing and early interest in zoology and botany.
- Sheldrake's shift from religious beliefs to atheism during his adolescence.
- His academic pursuits, including studying biology, biochemistry, philosophy, and history of science at various prestigious institutions.
08:10 Development of the Theory of Morphic Resonance
- Sheldrake's disillusionment with mechanistic explanations for plant morphogenesis.
- The publication of "A New Science of Life" (1981) and its significance in introducing the theory of morphic resonance.
- Sheldrake's argument against DNA molecules as the primary units of heredity, proposing instead the concept of morphogenetic fields.
10:27 Concept of Morphogenetic Fields in Developmental Biology
- The origin of the concept of morphogenetic fields by Alexander Gurwitsch in 1910.
- Ambiguities and debates surrounding the definition and interpretation of morphogenetic fields in early 20th-century biology.
- Sheldrake's redefinition of morphogenetic fields as causal entities beyond mechanistic explanations.
13:12 Neo-Darwinian Synthesis and Paradigm Shifts in Biology
- The rise of the Neo-Darwinian synthesis, emphasizing DNA as the primary determinant of heredity and evolution.
- The ideological and scientific dominance of Neo-Darwinism in 20th-century biology.
- Critiques of Neo-Darwinism and its challenges from recent developments in epigenetics and developmental biology.
17:08 ️ Michael Levin's Research on Bioelectric Fields and Morphogenetic Fields
- Michael Levin's experiments with planarian flatworms demonstrating the role of bioelectric fields in regeneration and memory retention.
- The inheritance of hereditary mutations through manipulation of morphogenetic fields without altering DNA sequences.
- Insights from Levin's research challenging the exclusive role of DNA in determining phenotypic traits and suggesting a role for morphogenetic fields in organismal development.
24:58 Evolutionary implications of morphogenetic fields
- Genetic characteristics may be alterable through interaction with the environment.
- Macromutation's role in evolution could be more significant than assumed within the neo-Darwinian paradigm.
- Punctuated equilibrium theory challenges gradualism in evolution and suggests rapid speciation.
27:14 ️ Criticism of punctuated equilibrium and fitness landscape model
- Punctuated equilibrium theory proposes periods of rapid speciation punctuated by stability.
- Critics argue against the theory due to the improbability of macromutations and favor gradualism.
- Fitness landscape models depict evolutionary changes based on fitness advantages.
30:14 Organisms as self-organizing systems
- Organisms may self-organize and adapt to mutations purposively.
- Phenotypic characteristics are not solely determined by DNA mutations.
- Organisms exhibit purposive self-organization, unlike computational machines.
35:35 Introduction to morphic resonance theory
- Morphic resonance theory proposes non-local morphogenetic fields' influence across space and time.
- Self-resonance suggests an organism's past influences its present morphic field.
- Morphic resonance extends beyond individual organisms to influence collective behavior.
41:03 Morphogenetic fields and shaping living systems
- Morphogenetic fields condition the likelihood of events, shaping organic systems' development.
- Morphic resonance operates through similarity within multi-dimensional living forms.
- Living processes influence each other's development through morphic resonance.
50:05 Morphic Resonance and Synthetic Chemistry
- Morphic resonance predicts that older morphological structures are more stable than novel ones.
- Synthetic chemical compounds initially face difficulties in formation without past influences.
59:46 Protein Folding Problem and AlphaFold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AejwVSMJWYw
04:07 Rupert Sheldrake's Early Life and Academic Journey
- Rupert Sheldrake's upbringing and early interest in zoology and botany.
- Sheldrake's shift from religious beliefs to atheism during his adolescence.
- His academic pursuits, including studying biology, biochemistry, philosophy, and history of science at various prestigious institutions.
08:10 Development of the Theory of Morphic Resonance
- Sheldrake's disillusionment with mechanistic explanations for plant morphogenesis.
- The publication of "A New Science of Life" (1981) and its significance in introducing the theory of morphic resonance.
- Sheldrake's argument against DNA molecules as the primary units of heredity, proposing instead the concept of morphogenetic fields.
10:27 Concept of Morphogenetic Fields in Developmental Biology
- The origin of the concept of morphogenetic fields by Alexander Gurwitsch in 1910.
- Ambiguities and debates surrounding the definition and interpretation of morphogenetic fields in early 20th-century biology.
- Sheldrake's redefinition of morphogenetic fields as causal entities beyond mechanistic explanations.
13:12 Neo-Darwinian Synthesis and Paradigm Shifts in Biology
- The rise of the Neo-Darwinian synthesis, emphasizing DNA as the primary determinant of heredity and evolution.
- The ideological and scientific dominance of Neo-Darwinism in 20th-century biology.
- Critiques of Neo-Darwinism and its challenges from recent developments in epigenetics and developmental biology.
17:08 ️ Michael Levin's Research on Bioelectric Fields and Morphogenetic Fields
- Michael Levin's experiments with planarian flatworms demonstrating the role of bioelectric fields in regeneration and memory retention.
- The inheritance of hereditary mutations through manipulation of morphogenetic fields without altering DNA sequences.
- Insights from Levin's research challenging the exclusive role of DNA in determining phenotypic traits and suggesting a role for morphogenetic fields in organismal development.
24:58 Evolutionary implications of morphogenetic fields
- Genetic characteristics may be alterable through interaction with the environment.
- Macromutation's role in evolution could be more significant than assumed within the neo-Darwinian paradigm.
- Punctuated equilibrium theory challenges gradualism in evolution and suggests rapid speciation.
27:14 ️ Criticism of punctuated equilibrium and fitness landscape model
- Punctuated equilibrium theory proposes periods of rapid speciation punctuated by stability.
- Critics argue against the theory due to the improbability of macromutations and favor gradualism.
- Fitness landscape models depict evolutionary changes based on fitness advantages.
30:14 Organisms as self-organizing systems
- Organisms may self-organize and adapt to mutations purposively.
- Phenotypic characteristics are not solely determined by DNA mutations.
- Organisms exhibit purposive self-organization, unlike computational machines.
35:35 Introduction to morphic resonance theory
- Morphic resonance theory proposes non-local morphogenetic fields' influence across space and time.
- Self-resonance suggests an organism's past influences its present morphic field.
- Morphic resonance extends beyond individual organisms to influence collective behavior.
41:03 Morphogenetic fields and shaping living systems
- Morphogenetic fields condition the likelihood of events, shaping organic systems' development.
- Morphic resonance operates through similarity within multi-dimensional living forms.
- Living processes influence each other's development through morphic resonance.
50:05 Morphic Resonance and Synthetic Chemistry
- Morphic resonance predicts that older morphological structures are more stable than novel ones.
- Synthetic chemical compounds initially face difficulties in formation without past influences.
59:46 Protein Folding Problem and AlphaFold
⚡2
- The protein folding problem persists despite decades of research and computational attempts.
- AlphaFold, an AI system, achieves some success in predicting protein structures but lacks explanatory power.
01:05:01 Metaphysical Paradigms and Mechanistic Reductionism
- Metaphysical paradigms shape scientific discourse and interpretation of empirical data.
- Mechanistic reductionism, rooted in the metaphor of the machine, dominates scientific thinking.
01:11:10 Dualism in Early Scientific Thinking
- Early scientific thinking bifurcated reality into objective matter and subjective mind.
- Matter was considered deterministic, reducible, and devoid of freedom or subjectivity.
01:14:19 The Evolution of Materialism and Dualism
- Materialist monism emerged as a rejection of mind-matter dualism, advocating that the world consists only of matter.
- Conscious agency and freedom were considered illusory in the materialist monist worldview, reducing consciousness to mechanical processes.
01:16:11 Contrasting Views on Free Will
- Materialistic perspectives often argue that free will is illusory, attributing human behavior solely to deterministic neural processes.
- Morphic resonance proposes a form of formative causation, suggesting that wholes can direct their own development, including cognition and behavior.
01:22:31 Process Philosophy and Whitehead's Metaphysical Framework
- Process philosophy, exemplified by Alfred North Whitehead, offers an alternative to mechanistic materialism by conceptualizing the world as consisting of self-generative events.
- Whitehead's philosophy of organism proposes that the world comprises organic processes, including subjective experiences, at all levels of existence.
01:29:11 Morphic Resonance in the Context of Process Philosophy
- Morphic fields, as proposed by Rupert Sheldrake, align with Whitehead's metaphysical framework, portraying nature as fundamentally organic and self-organizing.
- Animacy is inherent in the basic elements of the world, and morphic fields organize themselves into nested hierarchies to generate complex forms of agency and experience.
01:38:04 Understanding Memory in Different Frameworks
- Memory viewed through mechanistic materialism
- Carl Lashley's experiments on memory storage in the brain
01:43:59 Memory and Consciousness in Bergson's Philosophy
- Henri Bergson's perspective on memory and consciousness
- Mind and matter integration in Bergson's ontology
01:47:24 Understanding Memory through Morphic Resonance
- Rupert Sheldrake's theory of morphic resonance
- Memory as presence of the past rather than stored information
01:52:36 Parapsychological Phenomena and Morphic Resonance
- Parapsychological phenomena as natural features in a morphic resonance world
- Sheldrake's perspective on telepathy and out-of-body experiences
02:00:17 Sheldrake's Telephone Telepathy Experiment
- Sheldrake conducted telephone telepathy experiments involving nominees and recipients.
- Nominees were asked to call recipients who had to guess who would call them before the call.
02:05:31 Sheldrake's Dog Waiting Experiment
- Sheldrake studied dogs' behavior awaiting their owners' return.
- Dogs exhibited increased anticipation during pre-return and return periods, suggesting non-local interaction.
02:08:17 EEG Correlation Experiments
- EEG correlation experiments demonstrated non-local interaction between human minds.
- Results consistently showed statistically significant correlations between brain activities of sender and receiver subjects.
02:11:06 Extensive Parapsychological Research
- Over 750 studies analyzed indicate evidence comparable to established psychological phenomena.
02:14:03 Collective Unconscious and Morphic Resonance
- The collective unconscious, as described by Carl Jung, suggests a shared psychic realm.
- Morphic resonance offers insights into non-local interactions that shape individual and collective psyches.
02:22:02 Insights into Anomalous Phenomena
- AlphaFold, an AI system, achieves some success in predicting protein structures but lacks explanatory power.
01:05:01 Metaphysical Paradigms and Mechanistic Reductionism
- Metaphysical paradigms shape scientific discourse and interpretation of empirical data.
- Mechanistic reductionism, rooted in the metaphor of the machine, dominates scientific thinking.
01:11:10 Dualism in Early Scientific Thinking
- Early scientific thinking bifurcated reality into objective matter and subjective mind.
- Matter was considered deterministic, reducible, and devoid of freedom or subjectivity.
01:14:19 The Evolution of Materialism and Dualism
- Materialist monism emerged as a rejection of mind-matter dualism, advocating that the world consists only of matter.
- Conscious agency and freedom were considered illusory in the materialist monist worldview, reducing consciousness to mechanical processes.
01:16:11 Contrasting Views on Free Will
- Materialistic perspectives often argue that free will is illusory, attributing human behavior solely to deterministic neural processes.
- Morphic resonance proposes a form of formative causation, suggesting that wholes can direct their own development, including cognition and behavior.
01:22:31 Process Philosophy and Whitehead's Metaphysical Framework
- Process philosophy, exemplified by Alfred North Whitehead, offers an alternative to mechanistic materialism by conceptualizing the world as consisting of self-generative events.
- Whitehead's philosophy of organism proposes that the world comprises organic processes, including subjective experiences, at all levels of existence.
01:29:11 Morphic Resonance in the Context of Process Philosophy
- Morphic fields, as proposed by Rupert Sheldrake, align with Whitehead's metaphysical framework, portraying nature as fundamentally organic and self-organizing.
- Animacy is inherent in the basic elements of the world, and morphic fields organize themselves into nested hierarchies to generate complex forms of agency and experience.
01:38:04 Understanding Memory in Different Frameworks
- Memory viewed through mechanistic materialism
- Carl Lashley's experiments on memory storage in the brain
01:43:59 Memory and Consciousness in Bergson's Philosophy
- Henri Bergson's perspective on memory and consciousness
- Mind and matter integration in Bergson's ontology
01:47:24 Understanding Memory through Morphic Resonance
- Rupert Sheldrake's theory of morphic resonance
- Memory as presence of the past rather than stored information
01:52:36 Parapsychological Phenomena and Morphic Resonance
- Parapsychological phenomena as natural features in a morphic resonance world
- Sheldrake's perspective on telepathy and out-of-body experiences
02:00:17 Sheldrake's Telephone Telepathy Experiment
- Sheldrake conducted telephone telepathy experiments involving nominees and recipients.
- Nominees were asked to call recipients who had to guess who would call them before the call.
02:05:31 Sheldrake's Dog Waiting Experiment
- Sheldrake studied dogs' behavior awaiting their owners' return.
- Dogs exhibited increased anticipation during pre-return and return periods, suggesting non-local interaction.
02:08:17 EEG Correlation Experiments
- EEG correlation experiments demonstrated non-local interaction between human minds.
- Results consistently showed statistically significant correlations between brain activities of sender and receiver subjects.
02:11:06 Extensive Parapsychological Research
- Over 750 studies analyzed indicate evidence comparable to established psychological phenomena.
02:14:03 Collective Unconscious and Morphic Resonance
- The collective unconscious, as described by Carl Jung, suggests a shared psychic realm.
- Morphic resonance offers insights into non-local interactions that shape individual and collective psyches.
02:22:02 Insights into Anomalous Phenomena
- Anomalous phenomena and experiences are widespread and challenging to explain solely through mechanistic causation.
- Experiences with substances like Noo-noo offer insights into dissociating mental processes from immediate sensory orientations, potentially allowing connection with surrounding environments.
02:23:25 Understanding Noo-noo's Effects
- Noo-noo may dissociate mental processes from immediate sensory stimuli, enabling practitioners to connect with surrounding environments.
- Environmental contexts, like religious buildings, can influence mental processes, guiding them into morphological spaces shaped by collective experiences.
02:25:41 Exploring Clairvoyance and Telepathy
- Gorman's experience with wild boars suggests a form of clairvoyance, where he perceived future events.
- Substances like Noo-noo might induce experiences that tap into animals' intentions or memories, offering insights into future events.
- Experiences with substances like Noo-noo offer insights into dissociating mental processes from immediate sensory orientations, potentially allowing connection with surrounding environments.
02:23:25 Understanding Noo-noo's Effects
- Noo-noo may dissociate mental processes from immediate sensory stimuli, enabling practitioners to connect with surrounding environments.
- Environmental contexts, like religious buildings, can influence mental processes, guiding them into morphological spaces shaped by collective experiences.
02:25:41 Exploring Clairvoyance and Telepathy
- Gorman's experience with wild boars suggests a form of clairvoyance, where he perceived future events.
- Substances like Noo-noo might induce experiences that tap into animals' intentions or memories, offering insights into future events.
YouTube
Morphic Resonance; The Theory of Formative Causation
Rupert Sheldrake Morphic Resonance: The Nature of Formative Causation
https://www.amazon.com/Morphic-Resonance-Nature-Formative-Causation/dp/1594773173
Peter Gorman Sapo In My Soul: The Matsés Frog Medicine
https://www.amazon.com/Sapo-My-Soul-Mats%C3%A9s…
https://www.amazon.com/Morphic-Resonance-Nature-Formative-Causation/dp/1594773173
Peter Gorman Sapo In My Soul: The Matsés Frog Medicine
https://www.amazon.com/Sapo-My-Soul-Mats%C3%A9s…
👍1
Stanley Jordan Plays the Periodical Table (Ionization Energies)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnMEOD4zZDc
The ionization energy is the amount of energy required to remove a single electron from an atom. If the atom has more than one electron, each one requires more energy than the previous one. The result is a series of increasing energy levels, and in the quantum world these energies correspond to frequencies, as in a musical scale.
This raises an interesting question: if we could hear these frequencies how would they sound? I created an app to find out, and in this video I used my app to share what I learned. As it turns out, the results are quite musical.
Important note: This audio includes some very low frequencies, which you might not hear through typical cell phone or laptop speakers. I recommend listening with headphones or a high-quality playback system.
The app was created using the APL programming language.
This video was uploaded in 2021, and changed from unlisted to listed in July 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnMEOD4zZDc
The ionization energy is the amount of energy required to remove a single electron from an atom. If the atom has more than one electron, each one requires more energy than the previous one. The result is a series of increasing energy levels, and in the quantum world these energies correspond to frequencies, as in a musical scale.
This raises an interesting question: if we could hear these frequencies how would they sound? I created an app to find out, and in this video I used my app to share what I learned. As it turns out, the results are quite musical.
Important note: This audio includes some very low frequencies, which you might not hear through typical cell phone or laptop speakers. I recommend listening with headphones or a high-quality playback system.
The app was created using the APL programming language.
This video was uploaded in 2021, and changed from unlisted to listed in July 2024.
YouTube
Stanley Jordan Plays the Periodical Table (Ionization Energies)
The ionization energy is the amount of energy required to remove a single electron from an atom. If the atom has more than one electron, each one requires more energy than the previous one. The result is a series of increasing energy levels, and in the quantum…
A Cartoon Introduction to Whitehead's Organic Cosmology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwxOTAr0e2Y
Whitehead's organic cosmology is best described through the analogy of Indra's net, where reality is composed of interconnected nodes or dew drops, each reflecting the whole infinitely. Whitehead's cosmology aligns more with Buddhist understanding than traditional Western thought, emphasizing the mutual reflection and dependent origination of these nodes, or drops of experience. He calls these drops "actual occasions of experience," which are interrelated through "prehensions," the simplest form of non-conscious feeling. Whitehead's universe is a web of these occasions, interconnected in a fractal or holographic manner, all participating in a process he terms the "creative advance." Creativity, for Whitehead, is the ultimate principle, with God emerging from it, not as a creator but as a creature of creativity, providing order and direction towards beauty. Whitehead challenges the traditional subject-object relationship, proposing that subjects emerge from the interrelations of objects. His cosmology incorporates both the spatial and temporal contexts of our existence, suggesting that every moment of experience enfolds the entire universe. This view demands a metaphysical approach that deepens and elucidates our experience, acknowledging the creativity and interconnectedness underlying all of nature.
#whitehead #processontology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwxOTAr0e2Y
Whitehead's organic cosmology is best described through the analogy of Indra's net, where reality is composed of interconnected nodes or dew drops, each reflecting the whole infinitely. Whitehead's cosmology aligns more with Buddhist understanding than traditional Western thought, emphasizing the mutual reflection and dependent origination of these nodes, or drops of experience. He calls these drops "actual occasions of experience," which are interrelated through "prehensions," the simplest form of non-conscious feeling. Whitehead's universe is a web of these occasions, interconnected in a fractal or holographic manner, all participating in a process he terms the "creative advance." Creativity, for Whitehead, is the ultimate principle, with God emerging from it, not as a creator but as a creature of creativity, providing order and direction towards beauty. Whitehead challenges the traditional subject-object relationship, proposing that subjects emerge from the interrelations of objects. His cosmology incorporates both the spatial and temporal contexts of our existence, suggesting that every moment of experience enfolds the entire universe. This view demands a metaphysical approach that deepens and elucidates our experience, acknowledging the creativity and interconnectedness underlying all of nature.
#whitehead #processontology
YouTube
A Cartoon Introduction to Whitehead's Organic Cosmology
Some images to help orient you in the midst of Whitehead's categoreal forest.
Space in Whitehead's Process-Relational Philosophy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2el8H7M7Dc
Whitehead's view of space or space-time was influenced by Einstein's theory of relativity, yet he differed by questioning the implicit metaphysics rather than the physics. Unlike Einstein, who related space and time to material bodies, Whitehead's ontology was event-based, with space and time being abstractions from relationships among events. For Whitehead, events are concrete experiences, and space and time emerge from the relationships between these events, serving as a field of potential that holds events in tension. He envisioned the universe as a network of events, each contributing to a dynamic process of creativity, where the many become one and are increased by one. Whitehead saw space as woven from bonds of feeling and experience, shaped by social relationships and emotional vectors, and viewed the quantum vacuum as a creative plenum full of potential. Space, in Whitehead's understanding, is not pre-given but brought forth through collective experience, continually recreating the universe in new ways through each unique event.
Supplemental Articles:
1. https://footnotes2plato.com/2015/10/19/the-interrupted-irruption-of-time-towards-an-integral-cosmology-with-help-from-bergson-and-whitehead-abstract-for-gebser-society-conference-ciis-october-16-18-2015/
2. https://footnotes2plato.com/2014/04/21/latours-space-time-experiment/
#whitehead #processontology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2el8H7M7Dc
Whitehead's view of space or space-time was influenced by Einstein's theory of relativity, yet he differed by questioning the implicit metaphysics rather than the physics. Unlike Einstein, who related space and time to material bodies, Whitehead's ontology was event-based, with space and time being abstractions from relationships among events. For Whitehead, events are concrete experiences, and space and time emerge from the relationships between these events, serving as a field of potential that holds events in tension. He envisioned the universe as a network of events, each contributing to a dynamic process of creativity, where the many become one and are increased by one. Whitehead saw space as woven from bonds of feeling and experience, shaped by social relationships and emotional vectors, and viewed the quantum vacuum as a creative plenum full of potential. Space, in Whitehead's understanding, is not pre-given but brought forth through collective experience, continually recreating the universe in new ways through each unique event.
Supplemental Articles:
1. https://footnotes2plato.com/2015/10/19/the-interrupted-irruption-of-time-towards-an-integral-cosmology-with-help-from-bergson-and-whitehead-abstract-for-gebser-society-conference-ciis-october-16-18-2015/
2. https://footnotes2plato.com/2014/04/21/latours-space-time-experiment/
#whitehead #processontology
YouTube
Space in Whitehead's Process-Relational Philosophy
More on Space and Spacetime in Whitehead:
https://footnotes2plato.com/2015/10/19/the-interrupted-irruption-of-time-towards-an-integral-cosmology-with-help-from-bergson-and-whitehead-abstract-for-gebser-society-conference-ciis-october-16-18-2015/
https…
https://footnotes2plato.com/2015/10/19/the-interrupted-irruption-of-time-towards-an-integral-cosmology-with-help-from-bergson-and-whitehead-abstract-for-gebser-society-conference-ciis-october-16-18-2015/
https…
Participatory Research and the Cosmology of the Future
By Ashton Kohl Arnoldy and Matthew David Segall
https://footnotes2plato.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/toward-a-particpatory-cosmology.pdf
Whitehead's organic cosmology is elucidated through the analogy of Indra's net, depicting reality as an interconnected web where each dew drop reflects the entirety of the net. This cosmology aligns more closely with Buddhist thought, emphasizing the mutual reflection and dependent origination of these nodes, or "actual occasions of experience." In Whitehead's view, these occasions are interrelated through "prehensions," which are the simplest forms of non-conscious feeling. The universe, thus, is a dynamic web of these occasions, engaged in a continuous "creative advance." Central to Whitehead's philosophy is the concept of creativity, with God emerging not as a creator but as a creature of creativity, providing order and a lure toward beauty. Whitehead redefines the traditional subject-object dichotomy, proposing that subjects emerge from the interrelations of objects. His cosmology integrates both spatial and temporal contexts, suggesting that every moment of experience contains the entire universe, thereby advocating for a metaphysical approach that deepens and elucidates our experience, recognizing the creativity and interconnectedness inherent in nature.
By Ashton Kohl Arnoldy and Matthew David Segall
https://footnotes2plato.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/toward-a-particpatory-cosmology.pdf
Whitehead's organic cosmology is elucidated through the analogy of Indra's net, depicting reality as an interconnected web where each dew drop reflects the entirety of the net. This cosmology aligns more closely with Buddhist thought, emphasizing the mutual reflection and dependent origination of these nodes, or "actual occasions of experience." In Whitehead's view, these occasions are interrelated through "prehensions," which are the simplest forms of non-conscious feeling. The universe, thus, is a dynamic web of these occasions, engaged in a continuous "creative advance." Central to Whitehead's philosophy is the concept of creativity, with God emerging not as a creator but as a creature of creativity, providing order and a lure toward beauty. Whitehead redefines the traditional subject-object dichotomy, proposing that subjects emerge from the interrelations of objects. His cosmology integrates both spatial and temporal contexts, suggesting that every moment of experience contains the entire universe, thereby advocating for a metaphysical approach that deepens and elucidates our experience, recognizing the creativity and interconnectedness inherent in nature.
PERIODIC FRACTAL OF ELEMENTS
https://superliminal.com/pfractal.htm
The article presents an alternative version of the Periodic Table of the Elements developed by the author, who critiques the standard table for its artificial row breaks and gaps. The author’s version arranges elements in a spiral, starting with Hydrogen at the center, to maintain an unbroken linear list of atomic numbers while aligning element families along radial arcs. This approach highlights the periodicity and self-similarity in the elements more clearly than the standard chart, revealing patterns of repetition at periods of 8, 18, and 32. Named the "periodic fractal of the elements," this representation is compared with other alternate diagrams, such as Emil Zmaczynski's triangular form and Professor Theodor Benfey's spiral treatment, with discussions on their predictions for new element positions. The article concludes by emphasizing the educational value and philosophical discussions surrounding these alternative representations.
https://superliminal.com/pfractal.htm
The article presents an alternative version of the Periodic Table of the Elements developed by the author, who critiques the standard table for its artificial row breaks and gaps. The author’s version arranges elements in a spiral, starting with Hydrogen at the center, to maintain an unbroken linear list of atomic numbers while aligning element families along radial arcs. This approach highlights the periodicity and self-similarity in the elements more clearly than the standard chart, revealing patterns of repetition at periods of 8, 18, and 32. Named the "periodic fractal of the elements," this representation is compared with other alternate diagrams, such as Emil Zmaczynski's triangular form and Professor Theodor Benfey's spiral treatment, with discussions on their predictions for new element positions. The article concludes by emphasizing the educational value and philosophical discussions surrounding these alternative representations.
🌩 UPDATE: It started raining right when I was about to have internet installed this morning. Had to redchedule for Thursday morning. Will do my best to post from phone, but link descriptions may be fairly limited.
Full-time astrophotographer! Trying to capture unique views of the night sky and help others do the same.
https://www.astrobin.com/users/astrofalls/
Image Processing Guide: https://astrofalls.com/\
Discord: https://discord.gg/vm7ZvrRH
Website: https://astrofalls.com
https://www.astrobin.com/users/astrofalls/
Image Processing Guide: https://astrofalls.com/\
Discord: https://discord.gg/vm7ZvrRH
Website: https://astrofalls.com
AstroBin
Bray Falls's gallery
Astrophotography by Bray Falls on AstroBin
👍1
Michael Clarage: Solar Filaments and You! | Thunderbolts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JA38XKOVpA
"There are filaments originating from the Sun that connect matter, energy, and information out and back to every planet in the solar system. These coronal filaments have been known for decades, but only recently it was discovered that they encompass our entire solar system.
Everything in the solar system lives inside the Body of the Sun—including you. If you traveled to that bright orb in the sky, you would arrive at the Heart, or the Brain, or nucleus of the Sun.
The Body of the Sun stretches to the Heliopause—but may even stretch further. Every year new data shows more connection between the stars, so if someone says the science is settled how stars are aligned in the galaxy, do not feel obliged to believe them.
Astrophysicist Michael Clarage, PhD, describes solar filaments as plasma structures. When plasma is imbued with electromagnetic fields and currents—membranes and tubes are formed. This fact of nature occurs both in our biological Human Body—and in the Body of the Sun."
Supporting Article: https://michaelclarage.substack.com/p/those-pesky-solar-filaments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JA38XKOVpA
"There are filaments originating from the Sun that connect matter, energy, and information out and back to every planet in the solar system. These coronal filaments have been known for decades, but only recently it was discovered that they encompass our entire solar system.
Everything in the solar system lives inside the Body of the Sun—including you. If you traveled to that bright orb in the sky, you would arrive at the Heart, or the Brain, or nucleus of the Sun.
The Body of the Sun stretches to the Heliopause—but may even stretch further. Every year new data shows more connection between the stars, so if someone says the science is settled how stars are aligned in the galaxy, do not feel obliged to believe them.
Astrophysicist Michael Clarage, PhD, describes solar filaments as plasma structures. When plasma is imbued with electromagnetic fields and currents—membranes and tubes are formed. This fact of nature occurs both in our biological Human Body—and in the Body of the Sun."
Supporting Article: https://michaelclarage.substack.com/p/those-pesky-solar-filaments
YouTube
Michael Clarage: Solar Filaments and You! | Thunderbolts
There are filaments originating from the Sun that connect matter, energy, and information out and back to every planet in the solar system. These coronal filaments have been known for decades, but only recently it was discovered that they encompass our entire…