SHELDRAKE, Rupert

Rupert Sheldrake is a British biologist and author who gained prominence for his controversial theory of "morphic resonance," which proposes that biological forms and behaviors are shaped by invisible fields that transcend conventional genetic and environmental factors. While trained as a conventional scientist with a PhD from Cambridge University and postdoctoral research experience, Sheldrake's later work has placed him outside mainstream scientific consensus.

Sheldrake's morphic resonance theory, first presented in his 1981 book *A New Science of Life*, suggests that all biological systems inherit a collective memory from previous similar systems through "morphogenetic fields." According to this theory, when organisms learn new behaviors or develop new forms, this information becomes available to other members of the species through resonance with these fields, regardless of physical proximity or genetic relationship.

The theory attempts to explain various phenomena including instinctive behaviors in animals, the rapid spread of learned behaviors across populations, and the increasing ease of crystallizing new chemical compounds after their initial discovery. Sheldrake argues that morphic resonance provides a better explanation for these observations than conventional biochemical and genetic mechanisms.

The scientific community has largely rejected Sheldrake's theory due to lack of a demonstrated physical mechanism and failure to produce reproducible experimental evidence. Critics argue that the proposed morphic fields have no basis in known physics and that the phenomena Sheldrake attempts to explain can be better understood through conventional evolutionary biology, genetics, and learning theory.

Sheldrake has conducted various experiments attempting to demonstrate morphic resonance, including studies of telepathic communication between pets and owners, but these have not met accepted scientific standards for controlling variables and eliminating alternative explanations. His work continues to attract interest in parapsychology and New Age circles while remaining unaccepted in mainstream biology.