The Sheldrake Vernon Dialogues
Biologist Dr. Rupert Sheldrake and psychotherapist Mark Vernon explore the frontiers where rigorous science meets life's deepest mysteries. Through original research and thoughtful dialogue, they investigate consciousness, memory, spiritual practices, and the nature of reality itself—questioning the materialist assumptions that have dominated science for centuries. Their conversations bridge empirical investigation with ancient wisdom, offering fresh perspectives on everything from prayer and dreams to the extended mind and humanity's role in nature.
The Sheldrake Vernon Dialogues
The Evolution of Religion
The origins of religion lie deep in the story of human evolution. But as Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon discuss in this new episode of The Sheldrake-Vernon Dialogues, the scientific study of our encounter with other worlds is changing. It has been proposed that humans believe in gods because punishing presences keep individuals in check, but that's discredited. New research is turning back to an older idea that our ancestors developed the ability to enter altered states. It’s fascinating partly because new evidence puts spiritual questing in the driving seat of human evolution. It also takes us back to reflections made by Darwin that qualities like beauty are active right across the animal kingdom.