Customer Reviews

The Purpose-Guided Universe: Believing In Einstein, Darwin, and God

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Bernard Haisch has written a beautiful book in the tradition of other respected scientists, such as Dr. Gerald L. Schroeder and Dr. Hugh Ross, who have written of the scientific evidence for the Divine as source of and immanent presence in our world. And, while the Judaic and Christian biases are evident in the works of Schroeder and Ross, Dr. Haisch approaches his subject, not from a bias toward a singular scripture-based religious tradition, but from the mystic's perspective, citing the perennial philosophy that embraces a universal experience-based perspective on spiritual knowledge. His focus is on the inescapable conclusions of current empirical science, and the recognition of the many `finely-tuned' physical constants that allow for a universe where life is capable of evolving. Science does not seek metaphysical implications, but when all empirical evidence points to a metaphysical conclusion, there is a moral imperative to acknowledge that fact. Dr. Haisch writes knowledgeably and eloquently of the pertinent science, explaining some of the most complex issues of contemporary physics in a refreshingly comprehensible and original manner, and leads the reader to the inexorable conclusion that `in Him we live and move and have our being'. If you need convincing, or just wish to see the evidence from the vantagepoint of an able and thoughtful scientist, you will greatly enjoy and profit from a reading of The Purpose-Guided Universe.
--Swami Abhayananda

I had been looking forward to this book with great anticipation ever since I read (and reread twice) Bernard Haisch's The God Theory, for which I wrote a very positive review for Amazon. I am sorry that I can not do the same with Purpose Guided Universe.
I wholeheartedly embrace most aspects of the Dr. Haisch's God Theory having to do with:
- the Goldilocks universe vs multiverses
- the intellectual dishonesty of the "new atheists" in their thinking that their debunking of traditional versions of God effectively debunks the possibility of any "reasonable" conception of the Divine
- the absurdity of writing off the possibility of a Divine Reality/Godhead reality in light of the discovery of dark matter/energy making up the greater part of the matter/energy of the Universe and the
admission that there is no scientific basis for defining it
- the dead-end of string theory
- the likely truth of the Perennial Philosophy as a result of the scientific method applied to mystical experience = subjects placed under the same conditions have universally the same results
(culturally skewed, of course) in their experience of the Divine.
My main problem with The Purpose-Guided Universe is the arrogant and dogmatic assurance with which Bernard Haisch proclaims the ABSOLUTE TRUTH of his interpretation of quantum mechanics and for which he quotes selectively chosen expert confirmation, as if the matter is closed. The categorical, absolute nature and tone of his statements regarding human consciousness creating reality are scarily similar to that of the proclamations of fundamentalist Christians on one hand or new atheists on another.
I recently read The Quark and the Jaguar by Murray Gell-Mann. His discussion of interference, consistent histories, and decoherence casts very reasonable doubt on the traditionally accepted MEANING of Schroedinger's Cat and the experiments that Dr. Haisch cites as PROOF that consciousness creates reality. And sorry, Dr. Gell-Mann cannot be cavalierly written off as a just another materialist reductionist. Murray Gell-Mann, the Nobel prize winning developer of the concept of quarks has continued to elaborate this alternative understanding with James Hartle (co-discoverer of the Brill-Hartle geon and co-developer of the Hartle-Hawking wavefunction of the Universe), both now of the Santa Fe Institute, hardly a hotbed of material reductionist convention.
Just as Christian fundamentalists would have us believe that THEIR interpretation of the Gospels is the ONLY valid interpretation and that the conclusions they draw are the ONLY valid ones, so Dr. Haisch would have us believe that his interpretation of quantum mechanics is the ONLY possibly valid interpretation and the conclusion that human consciousness creates reality is the ONLY valid conclusion.
The question is by no means closed.
Why must the question of the nature of reality be framed as another black and white, either/or zero sum game: namely, either the Universe is entirely classically Newtonian or entirely Copenhagen quantum. It is reminiscent of Dawkins et al who argue that since the God of the Old Testament is obviously wrong, there is no GOD at all. Just as there are reasonable conceptions of God that the new atheists ignore, so there are other reasonable interpretations of quantum theory that Dr. Haisch ignores.
Dr. Haisch is certainly right in rejecting material reductionism and its assumption that things, systems, etc are nothing more that the sum of their parts, especially in light of newer understandings of chaos and complexity, particularly complex adaptive systems. Perversely, his argument ends up being a mirror of materialist reductionism, only it is morphed into quantum particle reductionism = if particles exhibit quantum effects and therefore lack classical reality, all of reality MUST share the same attributes! Why? Because reality consists of particles? It's the same reductionist type argument, only this time in the service of his insistence that quantum theory supports his "human consciousness creates reality" position.
I had hoped for more from Bernard Haisch.

After finishing this book, the titular lyric as sung by Louie Armstrong: "And I think to myself, what a wonderful world" went coursing through my mind. Bernard Haisch, whom is a well respected and published astrophysicist; copiously quotes from sources as wide and varied as The Upanishads, The Bhagavad Gita, The Bible, Einstein, Schrodinger, James Jeans, Aldous Huxley, Freeman Dyson and the list goes on; with the premise that all these sources are explaining or at least expounding upon the same thing, that is: Consciousness creates matter, not -repeat, not - the other way around. Citing Bell's theorem and Legget's inequality (or is that Bell's inequality and Legget's theorem??) it is now an empirical fact that consciousness directly impacts, even creates, matter! This insightful, illuminating work purports that God, Einstein and Darwin are not mutually exclusive, but naturally interdependent. This book is not dogmatic but accommodating, not religious but spiritual, not scientistic (i.e. reductionist) but scientific - that is looking at the evidence that is starring one right in the face.

Dogmatists, reductionists and fundamentalists will not like this book because it has the power to turn their world on its head. Dr. Haisch argues that we are all part of an indivisible, interrelated, interdependent whole that was/is born of consciousness. It logically follows then that our individual and collective borders are arbitrary at best and illusory (and delusive) at worst. Thus we have good reason to stop blaming, maiming and killing each other; we have good reason to stop making others wrong; we have good reason to "let it be" and "give peace a chance." Sadly, too many people cringe at those thoughts. As Dr. Haisch illustrates in this piece, science has a wonderful knack for exposing the "how's" of the universe but the "why's" are just as untenable and elusive as ever. And although science may never be able to prove the existence of God, or The Source, it certainly can point the way.

Very well written, using data and differential diagnoses as well as humor and humility and some exceptionally uncommon sense; this work in my humble opinion is a grand slam 5 star home run, complete with a dog & a beer.

The Purpose Guided Universe is a must read novel, period. Not just for scientists, not just for agnostics, not just for athiests, or theists, but for anyone who exists in this world and has the capacity to pick up a book and read script. Bernard Haisch manages to support the existence of some "Spinozan" God with principles of quantum theory, and does so with amazing simplicity and clarity. During the 20th century, Newtonian physics seemed to paint a rather dim picture of a hard-deterministic world where our thoughts, emotions, dreams, and triumphs are nothing more than the firing of neurons in response to preceding stimuli. This was a world where Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" was written note for note when the Big Bang created our universe. Fortunatley, with the discovery of observational deviation in quantum physics, science suddenly seemed to support a world where consciousness CREATED reality, a world where things were a little more grey and had a potenial meaning. To Haisch, this fact is everything. He conceives of a world where mankind is a fruition of God's flame meant to experience and discover his potential. This book is an exploration of just that idea.

This book is also studded with riveting quotes and awe-inspiring factoids, which not only corroborate Haisch's hypothesis, but also demonstrate how connected all of the world's religions are. This connection, epitomized by the Perrenial Philosphy, is also at the core of The Purpose Guided Universe. Within the 208 pages, the author also responds to such works as "God is not Great" and "The God Delusion," lingering on the idea that human misuse of religion is far different from the existence (or lack thereof) of a God. I simply recommend this book to anyone. Even if you can't garner the slightest wisdom from its word on God and religion, at least you can benefit from the simple explanations of quantum physics, the Big Bang, anti-matter, dark energy, and spacetime curvature. Haisch writes this book so that an 8th grader can understand concepts that might otherwise seem unaccesible to the masses. Likewise, he touches on the concept of science itself; the academic discpline, the defualt method of finding truth, the "enemy" of religion. He strikes a key point that science has recieved to much credibily over the ages and is often obstinate and haughty in the face of anything that can't be proven by "scientific" means.

Read this book. You wont find anything more stimulating and credibly life-affirming of the bookshelf.

In this timely new book, astrophysicist Dr. Bernard Haisch breaks the materialistic scientism myth by constructing a rational, scientific and philosophical basis for the existence of a Godhead. This book basically carries on where 'The God Theory' left off. But it goes even further down the rabbit-hole!

For those who think that the only viable alternative to dogmatic fundamentalist religions is to embrace materialistic atheism, please read this book. As a former "intellectually fulfilled, yet spiritually impoverished" atheist of almost 7 years (who was tired of traditional religious fundamentalism and literalism), this book is a breath of fresh air.

Incorporating the Perennial Philosophy, the mystery of Consciousness, Quantum Theory and the Goldilock Enigma of modern astrophysics, the author brilliantly debunks the absurd and illogical claim of people like Dawkins & company: that the likelihood of God is like that of a fairy or a unicorn. While the God characters of various scriptures are indeed mythological like fairies and unicorns, the plausibility of a Godhead is very much real and likely.

I agree with much of Dr. Haisch's views and I have tremendous respect for his humility in acknowledging the mysteries of the Godhead and how He/She works. Yet he argues very convincingly that 'The God Theory' and the Primacy of Consciousness is a far more reasonable philosophical framework of reality than that of a blind, purposeless universe(or multi-verse).

Again, like his earlier book, its TWO-THUMBS UP for this book as far as I am concerned! Simply outstanding!

All in all, I enjoyed this book, - mostly thanks to the author's optimistic worldview :)

A disclaimer: I am a physicist, but nothing related to quantum mechanics. I am not following the literature on quantum mechanics, string theory etc so I can only rely on whatever books like this tell me. I also cannot say anything for Haisch's logic: there may well be logical loopholes that I haven't noticed, not being sufficiently educated in philosophy.

The bad:
1) There are far too many repetitions! The book is designed so that you could literally pick up a few months later from where you were. Its contents could be condensed 10 times and still be readable. Not a big deal, though, since it's so easy to read anyway.
2) Haisch presents his own (subjective!) worldview. This worldview mostly relies on modern science (while keeping an open mind and reverence to mystical traditions), which is great from my perspective. I am happy to hear his personal interpretation, but I am somewhat unpleasantly surprised that he also sometimes resorts to arguments clearly based on wishful thinking.

The good:
If the author is right in his interpretation that consciousness creates reality (matter) on the quantum level, than this would have profound implications to my worldview, and I am grateful to this book for making me aware of this possibility. I had never realized that scientific experiments had been performed (or even could be designed) to test this hypothesis. I am also a believer, brought up a Christian, and I wholeheartedly embrace the mystical traditions of Orthodox Christianity, even though I can no longer associate myself with much of the other central Christian beliefs. This is my first encounter with the concept of "Perennial Philosophy", which seems to more or less summarize my beliefs about this world and our place in it. In fact, this is the first time in years when I was able to fully associate myself with anybody's understanding of God and the universe. (Well, maybe not fully, but close enough!) So I am glad I read this: it opened up a few roads of thinking for me that I never knew existed.

The perennial questions about "Life, the Universe and Everything" are usually in the background of most people's minds. For those who believe that the scientific method is perhaps the greatest human achievement to date, it is hard to take the usual answers offered throughout history on faith. Still there seems something right about the kernel of the traditional answers which can't be explained by observation and physical analyses. Enter Bernard Haisch, a scientist who has pondered these questions and has done a lot of legwork trying to tie together the kernels of historical thought using a scientific skepticism. In The God Theory, and The Purpose-Guided Universe he condenses religious history and modern science to come up with a possible explanation of Douglas Adams' question (it isn't 42).

Like Haisch I was not comfortable with the idea that my consciousness was the result of storms of synapse in a sea of chemicals. I am still me no matter which hormones squirt or what environment my brain is in. My mood may change but wherever I go, there I am. I don't become Brad or Janet. I am also not comfortable with monkey gods. So the idea that we are all some small spark of a bonfire of universal consciousness resonates with me. Not that I'm going to hang my hat on it, but I like the idea. Haisch does a wonderful job of describing this possibility and tying historical thought and modern reason to create a plausible feel-good "theory". I wholeheartedly recommend reading his books!

This book gets a prominent spot on my bookshelf. If you have any interest whatsoever in questions of whether or not there is a greater purpose than brain chemistry at work in life's experiences, then put this book at the top of your reading list.

It does not start with any 'revealed truth' from one of the many religions of the world. Rather, it starts with the discoveries of modern physics and the apparent paradoxes and puzzles uncovered there, then searches for the meaning of those in the common mystical and spiritual experiences of humans throughout history.

I once listened to an interview with Richard Dawkins regarding his book The God Delusion. Compared to the concept of God that Haisch proposes, all the visions of God that Dawkins seeks to discredit are but flimsy straw men. Haisch would apparently agree with Dawkins, if the only God that were possible is the one that Dawkins argues against. But Dawkin's arguments become irrelevant against the concepts discussed in this book.

Highly recommended!

We are now seeing a number of best selling books written by top scientists that have pushed back the frontiers of science. They translate recent discoveries down to the understandable and awe us with their mumbo jumbo, which I take as true. Then they take off their white cloaks and speak out as philosophers. This is how I view Bernard Haisch who writes a very easy to read and well written book. For me, Haisch puts forth an easy to understand view that science has now proven that there is a designer. He has clearly shown that the burden of difficult proof has switched from the intelligent design camp to the atheist. The only way the atheist can deny a designer is to hypothesize a mutiverse, that is an infinite number of universes, a mental gymnastic that humbles the most extreme religious bible story.

Quantum Theory Works! Every prediction it makes for the outcome of an experiment has always turned out to be correct. On the other hand, some of our most brilliant scientists have said: "No one UNDERSTANDS Quantum Theory." The best interpretations of it that we have, are obviously nonsensical. And there are still things that we not only don't know, but probably can not know. This book presents a clear explanation of the the current thinking about Quantum Theory, including the most recent theory of how the Big Bang was caused by the collision of two (mem)Branes. The author presents a cogent theory of a conscious creator (NOT "Creationism")that is worth considering by anyone.