Beyond Biocentrism: Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death

Beyond Biocentrism: Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death by Robert Lanza
English | 2016 | ISBN: 194295221X | 224 pages | EPUB | 3 MB

Biocentrism shocked the world with a radical rethinking of the nature of reality.

But that was just the beginning.

In Beyond Biocentrism, acclaimed biologist Robert Lanza, one of TIME Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in 2014,” and leading astronomer Bob Berman, take the reader on an intellectual thrill-ride as they re-examine everything we thought we knew about life, death, the universe, and the nature of reality itself.

The first step is acknowledging that our existing model of reality is looking increasingly creaky in the face of recent scientific discoveries. Science tells us with some precision that the universe is 26.8 percent dark matter, 68.3 percent dark energy, and only 4.9 percent ordinary matter, but must confess that it doesn’t really know what dark matter is and knows even less about dark energy. Science is increasingly pointing toward an infinite universe but has no ability to explain what that really means. Concepts such as time, space, and even causality are increasingly being demonstrated as meaningless.

All of science is based on information passing through our consciousness but science hasn’t the foggiest idea what consciousness is, and it can’t explain the linkage between subatomic states and observation by conscious observers. Science describes life as an random occurrence in a dead universe but has no real understanding of how life began or why the universe appears to be exquisitely designed for the emergence of life.

Biocentrism isn’t a rejection of science. Quite the opposite. Biocentrism challenges us to fully accept the implications of the latest scientific findings in fields ranging from plant biology and cosmology to quantum entanglement and consciousness.

By listening to what the science is telling us, it becomes increasingly clear that life and consciousness are fundamental to any true understanding of the universe. This forces a fundamental rethinking of everything we thought we knew about life, death, and our place in the universe.

Eine Demokratie haben wir schon lange nicht mehr: Abschied von einer Illusion

Wolfgang Koschnick, “Eine Demokratie haben wir schon lange nicht mehr: Abschied von einer Illusion”
German | ISBN: 3864891272 | 2016 | 256 pages | EPUB | 1 MB

„Politik kann man in diesem Land definieren als die Durchsetzung wirtschaftlicher Zwecke mit Hilfe der Gesetzgebung“ – Kurt Tucholsky Wir alle finden Demokratie toll, die bestehenden Verhältnisse aber stoßen uns ab. Zu Recht, denn unter der Oberfläche formaler Demokratie herrscht eine politische Kaste, die ein System stützt, das Ungleichheit, Armut und Ausgrenzung erzeugt. Die Reichen werden immer reicher, die Armen immer ärmer und die „Demokratie“ ist zu einer Oligarchie, zu einem elitären Herrschaftssystem verkommen. Die etablierten Demokratien stecken in einer Fundamentalkrise, die letztlich zu ihrem Untergang führen wird. Am Beispiel Deutschlands macht Wolfgang Koschnick deutlich, dass unsere ach so entwickelte repräsentative Demokratie in einer Systemkrise erstarrt ist, verursacht durch die wachsende Kluft zwischen den Interessen der Repräsentanten und der Bevölkerung. Durch permanenten Lobbyismus haben Konzerne und Wirtschaftsinteressen weltweit die Kontrolle über demokratische Politik und Staaten übernommen, während Berufspolitiker auf ihre Wiederwahl hoffen und für Selbstinszenierungen Milliarden ausgeben. Höchste Zeit für den Umbruch: Nur wenn wir radikal umdenken und erkennen, dass eine funktionierende Demokratie schon lange zur reinen Illusion geworden ist, können wir die staatliche Bevormundung beenden und unsere demokratischen Freiheiten zurückerobern.

Art and Illusion

Art and Illusion

Princeton University Press | 2000 | ISBN: 0691070008 | English | 514 pages | PDF | 64.4 MB

Considered a great classic by all who seek for a meeting ground between science and the humanities, Art and Illusion examines the history and psychology of pictorial representation in light of present-day theories of visual perception information and learning. Searching for a rational explanation of the changing styles of art, Gombrich reexamines many ideas on the imitation of nature and the function of tradition. In testing his arguments he ranges over the history of art, noticing particularly the accomplishments of the ancient Greeks, and the visual discoveries of such masters as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt, as well as the impressionists and the cubists. Gombrich’s triumph in Art and Illusion arises from the fact that his main concern is less with the artists than with ourselves, the beholders.