Richard L. Thompson Lecture Series
The Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies is hosting an ongoing lecture series based on the books of Richard L. Thompson (Sadaputa dasa) at the BIHS Headquarters in Gainesville, FL, on alternate Saturdays at 11am – 12pm EST (see schedule below for dates)
Six of Thompson’s books will be covered chapter by chapter with a lecture summarizing the contents and highlighting the chapter’s essential messages, followed by a discussion session. The series is currently presenting his first book, Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science: An Investigation Into the Nature of Consciousness and Form (1981). In this publication, Thompson discusses how the mechanistic theories dominating modern science have difficulty explaining phenomena like consciousness, complex biological form, and inspiration, and how these disparate phenomena could be unified through engaging the non-mechanistic analytical paradigms offered in the Bhagavad-gita.
This work makes a sober, thorough, carefully reasoned, and well-documented case that the prevailing theories of physics and biology have grave shortcomings which can be traced to their reliance on an underlying mechanistic framework. Dr. Thompson shows how physics is incapable of dealing with the phenomenon of consciousness and how biology is unable to account for the existence of complex living forms. Arguing that valid scientific theory does not have to be mechanistic, Thompson outlines a nonmechanistic science that would complement mechanistic science and round out the human quest for understanding.
Zoom Info
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88307659311?pwd=WVI4Tk9HeFFTcElJQldtc2c4NEUyQT09
Meeting ID: 883 0765 9311 Passcode: 0204
To attend in person
Please register in advance. Spaces are limited and will be reserved for registrants only.
Register here: https://forms.gle/kH2ZtFKx8f7bfL679
Schedule for Mechanistic and Nonmechanistic Science
| All dates are 2023, all times are 11am EST | ||
| February 4 | Importance of Sadaputa’s books, MNS Introduction – Bob Cohen (Brahmatirtha) | |
| February 18 | Ch 1. Searching Past the Mechanics of Perception – Purushottam Goel (Parama Karuna) | |
| March 4 | Ch 2. Thinking Machines and Psychophysical Parallelism – Partha Biswas (Parama Rupa) | |
| March 18 | Ch 3. Dialogue on Consciousness and the Quantum – Vasyl Semenov (Dvija Govinda) | |
| April 1 | Ch 4. Karl Popper on the Mind-Body Problem – A Review – Prishni Sutton | |
| April 15 | Ch 5. Information Theory and the Self-organization of Matter – Vasyl Semenov (Dvija Govinda) | |
| April 29 | Ch 6. Chance and the Unity of Nature – Krishna Narasimhan (Narasimhadeva) | |
| May 13 | Ch 7. On Inspiration – Christopher Beetle (Krishna Kripa das) | |
| May 27 | Ch 8. The Doctrine of Evolution – S.E. Kreitzer (Sthita-dhi-muni) | |
| June 10 | Ch 9. The Epistemology of Transcendental Consciousness – Christina Kelly and Tomas Chapaprieta (Tamra) | |
Upcoming
Five more of Thompson’s books will be included in the Lecture Series, in chronological order:
- Vedic Cosmography and Astronomy (1989)
- Parallels [Alien Identities]: Ancient Insights into Modern UFO Phenomena (1993)
- Mysteries of the Sacred Universe: The Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana (2000)
- Maya: The World As Virtual Reality (2003)
- God & Science: Divine Causation and the Laws of Nature (2004)