How the Non-Physical Influences Physics and Physiology: a proposal

Expanded from talk on July 24 at SSE-PA Connections 2021:

A combined meeting of the Society for Scientific Exploration and the Parapsychological Association. 

Prerecorded video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA5ssfmzn90 

The causal closure of the physical world is assumed everywhere in physics but has little empirical support within living organisms. For the spiritual to have effects in nature, and make a difference there, the laws of physical nature would have to be modified or extended. I propose that the renormalized parameters of quantum field theory (masses and charges) are available to be varied locally in order to achieve ends in nature. This is not adding extra forces to nature but rescaling the forces which already exist. We separate metric time in 4 dimensions from process time as the order of actualization of potentialities. This is to allow iterative forward and reverse steps in metric time to influence intermediate variations in the vacuum permittivities to move charged bodies towards achieve specific targets at a later time. Then mental or spiritual influx could have effects in nature, and these should be measurable in biophysics experiments. With this proposal, we see after some centuries how ‘final causes’ could once again be seen active in nature.

PhilPapers link

At ianthompson.org

How Spiritual Influx into the Natural Shows Itself in Physics

At this meeting there is a presentation of our new ideas for the interface between the mental and the physical. More specifically: How Influx into the Natural Shows Itself in Physics.

These are new ideas based on inspiration from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, who seems of all history to have the best lead-in to these issues.

Breaking The Shell: Connecting the Spiritual Cascade to the Physical with New Church Science

There will be a Theistic Science Symposium, Oct. 12, 2019 at the Bryn Athyn college, PA.

The Swedenborg Scientific Association (SSA) and the Theistic Science Group (TSG) are pleased to extend an invitation to the Theistic Science Symposium, Oct. 12, 2019 at the Bryn Athyn college. This event is free for everyone. Sure to be a very fascinating day, please see the agenda for details. Registration requested at http://www.theisticscience.com/BreakingTheShell.htm.

For me this will be very important.  It will be an opportunity to explain in more details my idea for Can minds have effects in nature? How? as described in the previous posting.

The first part of the day will be taken my talks from my colleagues to lay the groundwork, so we can understand how spiritual influx into the natural can and must make sense even within science.  We are discussing our ideas every week in a group Skype call, and we will coordinate the details of our talks to make them easier to follow.

So many people think that materialism is inadequate to understand how minds and spirits might exist and live in relation to the world, but have no good ideas how this might take place. Some think that revealing the quantum physics is important for physical measurements and/or biological operations is the important step to going beyond materialism. In a sense that is true, but the effects of quantum physics are either absolutely essential for even ordinary processes (e.g. in sub-atomic and nuclear physics - my day job), or make only extremely small differences compared with classical physics.

So now I want to show how electric processes of attraction and repulsion could themselves be modified and managed by influx coming from outside the physical.  These effects are much larger than quantum effects, and could well be very important for producing the detailed molecular reactions that occur in cells -- or at least the timing of the molecular processes that need to be managed for the successful life of a cell.

So my talk, and the end of the day, will give more details of what I have in mind for how spiritual and mental things can influence the physical. And do so in a way that minimizes the number of laws of physics that have to be changed to allow this to occur. If you come, you will see!

The event will be live streamed and later available on youtube. Details of that to come.