Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How does memory work? Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogue 90
No one knows. Repeated experiments have failed to locate where memories are stored in the brain, casting doubt on the conventional assumption that memories are stored as material traces. In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon discuss various kinds of memory, from episodic memory to habits. They consider how memory is linked to emotion and place, drawing on insights from Aristotle to AN Whitehead. Rupert’s own work has led to the theory of morphic fields, within which all self-organising systems dwell. They also ask about Indian ideas of memory and how that is related to ideas about reincarnation and the possibility that everything that exists lives, in some way, in the memory of God.
Chapter List
00:00:00 - Introduction and Overview of Memory
00:00:31 - Memory as a Fundamental Principle of Nature
00:01:22 - Psychological Aspects and Types of Memory
00:03:41 - Western Philosophical Views on Memory
00:04:13 - Aristotle's Perception of Memory
00:05:33 - Medieval and Early Christian Views on Memory
00:08:03 - Memory, Place, and Emotion in Psychotherapy
00:10:48 - Scientific Studies on Memory Storage
00:13:56 - Challenges in Finding Memory Traces
00:17:26 - Alternative Theories: Memory Beyond Materialism
00:19:22 - Morphic Resonance and Collective Memory
00:22:31 - Memory in All Nature: Eastern Philosophies
00:27:08 - Recollection in Plato and Indian Thought
00:30:10 - Memory and Reincarnation in Buddhist Philosophy
00:33:25 - Influence of Eastern Views on Western Thought
00:35:32 - Quantum Theory and Memory in Nature
00:36:31 - Idealist Worldview: Memory in the Divine Mind
00:38:11 - Conclusion: Memory as Fundamental to Nature and the Divine
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Dr Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, is a biologist and author best known for his hypothesis of morphic resonance. At Cambridge University, as a Fellow of Clare College, he was Director of Studies in biochemistry and cell biology. As the Rosenheim Research Fellow of the Royal Society, he carried out research on the development of plants and the ageing of cells, and together with Philip Rubery discovered the mechanism of polar auxin transport. In India, he was Principal Plant Physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, where he helped develop new cropping systems now widely used by farmers. He is the author of more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and his research contributions have been widely recognized by the academic community, earning him a notable h-index for numerous citations. On ResearchGate his Research Interest Score puts him among the top 4% of scientists.
sheldrake.org/about-rupert-sheldrake?svd=89
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Dr Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist and writer with a rich academic background in physics, theology, and philosophy. He contributes to programmes on the radio, writes and reviews for newspapers and magazines, gives talks and podcasts. His books have covered themes including friendship and God, ancient Greek philosophy and wellbeing. His new book, out August 2019, is "A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness". He has a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, and other degrees in physics and in theology, and works as a psychotherapist in private practice. He used to be an Anglican priest.
Mark's latest book is...
A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling, and the Evolution of Consciousness
markvernon.com/books/a-secret-history-of-christianity?svd=90
How does memory work? Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogue 90
No one knows. Repeated experiments have failed to locate where memories are stored in the brain, casting doubt on the conventional assumption that memories are stored as material traces. In this episode of the Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon discuss various kinds of memory, from episodic memory to habits. They consider how memory is linked to emotion and place, drawing on insights from Aristotle to AN Whitehead. Rupert’s own work has led to the theory of morphic fields, within which all self-organising systems dwell. They also ask about Indian ideas of memory and how that is related to ideas about reincarnation and the possibility that everything that exists lives, in some way, in the memory of God.
Chapter List
00:00:00 - Introduction and Overview of Memory
00:00:31 - Memory as a Fundamental Principle of Nature
00:01:22 - Psychological Aspects and Types of Memory
00:03:41 - Western Philosophical Views on Memory
00:04:13 - Aristotle's Perception of Memory
00:05:33 - Medieval and Early Christian Views on Memory
00:08:03 - Memory, Place, and Emotion in Psychotherapy
00:10:48 - Scientific Studies on Memory Storage
00:13:56 - Challenges in Finding Memory Traces
00:17:26 - Alternative Theories: Memory Beyond Materialism
00:19:22 - Morphic Resonance and Collective Memory
00:22:31 - Memory in All Nature: Eastern Philosophies
00:27:08 - Recollection in Plato and Indian Thought
00:30:10 - Memory and Reincarnation in Buddhist Philosophy
00:33:25 - Influence of Eastern Views on Western Thought
00:35:32 - Quantum Theory and Memory in Nature
00:36:31 - Idealist Worldview: Memory in the Divine Mind
00:38:11 - Conclusion: Memory as Fundamental to Nature and the Divine
------
Dr Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, is a biologist and author best known for his hypothesis of morphic resonance. At Cambridge University, as a Fellow of Clare College, he was Director of Studies in biochemistry and cell biology. As the Rosenheim Research Fellow of the Royal Society, he carried out research on the development of plants and the ageing of cells, and together with Philip Rubery discovered the mechanism of polar auxin transport. In India, he was Principal Plant Physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, where he helped develop new cropping systems now widely used by farmers. He is the author of more than 100 papers in peer-reviewed journals and his research contributions have been widely recognized by the academic community, earning him a notable h-index for numerous citations. On ResearchGate his Research Interest Score puts him among the top 4% of scientists.
sheldrake.org/about-rupert-sheldrake?svd=89
------
Dr Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist and writer with a rich academic background in physics, theology, and philosophy. He contributes to programmes on the radio, writes and reviews for newspapers and magazines, gives talks and podcasts. His books have covered themes including friendship and God, ancient Greek philosophy and wellbeing. His new book, out August 2019, is "A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling and the Evolution of Consciousness". He has a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, and other degrees in physics and in theology, and works as a psychotherapist in private practice. He used to be an Anglican priest.
Mark's latest book is...
A Secret History of Christianity: Jesus, the Last Inkling, and the Evolution of Consciousness
markvernon.com/books/a-secret-history-of-christianity?svd=90
