Science has been remarkably successful in describing the material world, from the smallest scales of particle physics to the largest scales of cosmology, and even claims to be close to a ‘Theory of Everything’. Curiously, mind and spirit are completely absent from this picture, even though there are grounds for believing that these are fundamental rather than incidental features of the Universe. So can the ‘Theory of Everything’ be expanded to accommodate mind, spirituality and non-material realms? It is argued that a common feature of these realms is that they involve some form of space and time, albeit different from physical space and time, and this could be the basis of a new post-materialist science
BERNARD CARR is Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy at Queen Mary, University of London. He studied for his PhD under Stephen Hawking at Cambridge. His professional area of research is cosmology and astrophysics and includes such topics as the early universe, black holes, dark matter and the anthropic principle. His recent books include “Universe or Multiverse?” and “Quantum Black Holes”. He also has a long-standing interest in psychical research, the role of consciousness in the universe and the link between science and spirituality. He is developing a new psycho-physical paradigm, linking matter and mind, which accommodates normal, paranormal and mystical experiences. He is a former President of the Society for Psychical Research and a former Chairman of the Scientific and Medical Network.
