Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe

In “Biocentrism,” a prominent biologist teams with a prominent astronomer to tackle the most fundamental set of questions science can ask: “What explains the existence of anything?”I love and respect science. All the tremendous, beneficial and downright fascinating discoveries we have made on behalf of mankind! I trust deeply upon my Christian faith and understanding of Scriptures to make overall sense of everything I take in. I probably should pay more attention to both faith and science. This book provided a wonderful incentive to do just that.“Biocentrism” made the most recent discoveries of quantum physics accessible to a person who never had to take a single physics course to graduate high school, college or post-graduate studies. Fascinating evidence that nothing truly “exists” in the absence of a conscious observer, except as waves of probability.Lanza writes with honesty and in places, surprising humor. He gives us glimpses of the parts of his own consciousness a Christ-believer such as I might call “soul” – as when he tells of the loss of two loved ones, and how he relates his thoughts and experience of these losses to his theory of biocentrism.Lanza and Berman consistently eschew “religion,” preferring to insist on scientific method, undergirded by secular philosophy, as the keys to understanding ultimate reality (make no mistake, this is about ultimate reality). This is a respectful treatment of the epistemological gap between empiricism and faith, from the empiricist’s viewpoint. Lanza even provides us with a plausible scientific basis for belief in an afterlife, though he encourages us to realize it’s his own speculation. I think of the authors as looking across that narrow but very distinct chasm between what St. Augustine called the “city of man” and the “city of God.” And longing for what’s on the other side.Lanza peers into the realm of what science does not know. He admits that quarks, seemingly pure energy and the smallest, most indivisible particles we’re aware of, have observable features suggesting that even they may have a knowable structure of sub-parts. He says “… one must consider the endless ongoing attempts at creating GUTs- grand unified theories… without much success except as a way of financially facilitating the careers of theoreticians and grad students. Nor have they even “felt right.”At least in this book, that step (not a leap!) across the narrow chasm is not taken. To what extent is that because the authors felt pressure to hold to a certain decorum in order to not completely lose standing among their scientific peers, or is it truly the state of their soul? I find myself cheering for them to play Nicodemus, the Pharisee who was so intrigued with Jesus that he waited until night so he could visit him, undetected. Nicodemus, the apostle John tells us, helped to embalm the crucified Christ’s body.Most intriguing to me in this book, were the connections I found between the discoveries of quantum physics over the last 20-30 years regarding the prerequisite of an observer in order that matter “materialize” from probability waves of energy, and the Judaeo-Christian Bible’s description of the things we can know about God.Is there a place for the honest scientist to consider Lanza’s perception that the best “theories of everything” have not felt right? In a biocentric universe, consciousness is everything and “feelings” are indeed a component of consciousness. Even the most rigorously empirical scientist must allow that at the end of the data analysis, it is her “feelings” about those empirical findings that lead her into the next set of questions, the next area of inquiry.As a person of faith, I read with interest the details of the double-slit experiment and the simultaneously opposite behavior of entangled photons even when miles apart. I could not stop my mind from going to the Nicene Creed and its teachings on the nature of the triune God. Or to the first chapter of John’s gospel, which spoke of Christ’s ultimate nature 1900 or so years before mankind’s capacity to study quantum physics:“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind… the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.”Lanza’s Biocentrism would seem to require an omniscient, omnipresent and eternal observer. On the other side of the narrow gap between empiricism and theism, which can be negotiated with a rational step as well as with Kierkegaard’s desperate leap, we call that observer, “God.” It is consistent with Biocentrism that the distance to cross, is a matter of what each person perceives it to be.I left Lanza and Berman’s work wondering if the more we learn from today’s quantum physics, and the more we acquaint ourselves with the millenniums-old Judaeo-Christian teachings on God, the easier that step to take.

Challenging assumptions is always excellent mental exercise. In this book Robert Lanza takes on one of the key tenets of modern thinking: that all scientific disciplines ultimately reduce to physics. In its place he offers the provocative thesis that biology is primary, and the Universe literally flows from the conscious perceptions of living creatures.On its face this sounds absurd, which demonstrates all the more just how brilliant this man is. He draws on findings from quantum physics and anatomy studies to establish a series of foundational principles for his biocentric theory, which he then elaborates on and defends.He begins by reminding us of something we all know but rarely think about: that reality is literally "all in our heads." We don't see the sunset, we see the interpretation of it our brain creates. We don't smell the rose, we experience the sensation of a scent created by a neural network.We believe that these impressions are imposed on us by what Stephen Hawking calls the RWOT (Real World Out There). But our evidence for this belief amounts to subjective internal experiences! In pointing this out Lanza shifts the burden of proof to the physicalists, who assert that the outside world is what is truly real, while our qualia are illusory.He expands on this thought by citing evidence from quantum physics.The famous two slit experiment, observations of split photons switching spin directions simultaneously, and observations of true backwards causation (the present determining the past) are all cited. Einstein once asked a colleague if he truly believed that the moon wasn't in the sky if no one was looking at it. Lanza would reply "of course it's not!"In reading this book I was reminded of some of the implications of Relativity. It occurred to me that there are no absolute measurements of length. What my tape measure says is three feet would not be that at allfor someone traveling at 99.99% of light speed. Nor would my estimation of the distance from my living room to Disneyland be the same as theirs. And their figures would be just as valid as mine! If space and time are completely dependent on the perspective of the observer, then in what sense are they real?I have to also comment on Lanza's excellent writing style. He makes esoteric concepts understandable to laypeople like me. He also injects quite a bit of his life story into the text, talking about how he escaped from a less than ideal upbringing to become a medical doctor and a highly regarded research scientist. Being from a very similar background, I was able to identify with his struggles, though my resume is nowhere near as impressive as his.This book so successfully challenged my current view of reality that it actually left me feeling a little unsettled, "creepy." But it also gave me an abundance of food for thought. Am I convinced he's right? Not yet. But I suspect he may be. So will you. This book gets my highest recommendation.

I found this book, Biocentrism, by Dr. Lanza, to be fascinating. I knew nothing of biocentrism prior to reading it, nor did I have any understanding of consciousness. If you possess an inquisitive mind, have a thirst for knowledge, are a deep thinker, or seek an understanding of the true nature of our Universe, our existence, time, and space, then you will love this book. My science background is limited, yet Dr. Lanza laid things out in terms that I could understand. He did a wonderful job at summarizing and explaining even those complex areas, so don’t worry if you experience moments of vacuity, as I did, while trying to wrap your mind around the astounding things you will read. This book addresses things that most of us have questioned about our existence, and the nature of the Universe, and he provides answers that will amaze you. When you sit down to read this book, bring your logic, and an open mind but leave the normal human way of looking at things aside.This book will also have you feeling connected with Dr. Lanza, on a personal level, as he candidly talks about his life and his family. He speaks openly about some of the childhood strife that he and his sister endured and relates some heart-wrenching tragic events. Follow him along through some key moments in his life when he demonstrates how being inquisitive, brave, bold, and tenacious can lead you to great rewards and open up your true potential and purpose. Read carefully, as you don’t want to miss the humor that is also spattered throughout the book. Thank you, Dr. Lanza, for bringing this book to us.I loved this book so much that I ordered a copy for my son, and I also bought the next two books he wrote, titled, Beyond Biocentrism and The Grand Biocentric Design.Submitted by,Edward Bicket,Author of Fragments of Life

I’ve always been interested in this puzzle of life, since I was a child. When my grandpa dyed, I was 11 years old and I wondered where did he go… I couldn’t accept he was gone for always. One night shortly after that, I saw him in my dreams, and I asked him where he was, because I knew he was still out there. He said to me: it’s a beautiful place, one day on your birthday I’ll take you to show it to you. My mom and grandma got scared when I woke up very happy and told them about my dream. I didn’t understand why they did, at that age. This book revived me those memories, those things we just know… where do they come from? Like when you have a feeling the train will delayed and then you check your app and… yeah, it’s delayed. I’m happy to see that science people realised its more to it that only math and formulas. It is a puzzling whole and some people are more aware of it than others…

I like the way Robert writes, with amazing examples that are easily understandable for any public. Is refreshing to see a scientific approach to understand life and everything it entails with this amount of detail, which is not definitive but provides a lot of food for thought.

Illuminante, da leggere.

Can't rate this book enough. Excellent content, well researched and very well presented by the author. Well done.