EXPERIMENTS WITH GOD. ESSAY REVIEW OF CORNELIS W. RIETDIJK'S 'EXPERIMENTEN MET GOD' (JOOP M. HOUTKOOPER)

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Journal of the Society for Psychical Res pproved For Releaselidb05/b&P5$ IA-RDP96-0QJ 2Re0W6b830001-9
chology. In addition, there is much philosophical discussion on its possible
participation in the constitution and operation of consciousness. However, this
Note deals with a completely non-technical aspect of the relationship and
consequently an understanding of quantum th ory is quite unnecessary,
providing the conclusions drawn from quantum ex riments are accepted. Some
of these conclusions might seem to a layman eve more preposterous than the
claims of parapsychology appear to a physicist, ut there is no escaping their
veracity. Quantum physics is one of the most rmly established branches of
science and its validity has been confirmed by th work done on it, which ranges
from sub-atomic experi nts to many types of ndustrial application.
The main types of para ormal mental act ity are telepathy and PK and
included in the former are enomena suc as crisis apparitions which are
probably visual 3-dimensional anifestatio of it. The materialist maintains
there is no indisputable evidence suggest hat there can be any communica-
tion, apart from the established hysica means, between two individuals
separated by hundreds of miles. (Of ur , even Sir Isaac Newton in his day,
would have agreed it was utterly impo si le for somebody in Europe to hold a
conversation with a person in the Ne World!). Little attention is paid to
anecdotal accounts or the results of no repeatable experiments. There is no
answer to questions asking how a sign e anating from an agent in Brighton
knows how to locate a recipient in Bir ing am, and yet disregard every other
possible recipient. Distance between gent nd percipient does not appear to
affect the signal's effectiveness, there sugges 'ng that telepathy must break one
of the fundamental laws of science- he invers square law. Again, nothing has
ever been discovered in the brain ich could related to telepathy, and one
cannot have an informatory radia on without so e means of transmitting it.
The scientific attitude is rather rprising in vie of the fact that there exist in
the physical world virtual duplic tes of these `impo ible' criteria. If an atomic
particle explodes into two fragm ts, A and B, which re allowed to travel apart
for a great distance, then an tion, such as a mea rement of one particle,
immediately produces a reac on in the second par .cle, irrespective of its
distance away. (A detailed ex ple of a particular form f interference with the
first particle A, and the react* of the second B, is describe by Davies, I but only
the principle involved is rel vant here.) There therefore xists in physics the
equivalent of the basis of lepathy. The first particle A orresponds to the
telepathic agent, and is abl to locate and communicate with article B without
regard to the inverse squa e law and without affecting any other particles in its
sphere of influence. In ad ition, the disturbance created in particle A induces a
configuration in B whit is dependent on the type of influence exerted on A,
thereby suggesting the transmission of an informatory signal. All this is
indisputable, yet it rats is exactly the same questions which it is claimed render
telepathy an impossibility. By what means does the first particle A communicate
with B? How does it know where to find it and avoid extraneous particles?
Particle A can be influ ed in various ways and B always makes the appropriate
response, which suggests an informatory signal from A to B. The parallel with
telepathy is obvious.
One of the most extraordinary characteristics of the quantum factor is that the
act of conscious observation can affect the properties of the observed particles,
Approved For Release 2000/08/15: CIA-R~
being able, for example, to convert what is referred to as a `ghost' electron into a
concrete reality. It is sometimes claimed that this is confirmation of PK on the
grounds that if consciousness can affect hysical matters in one set of
circumstances, then it can operate in PK xperiments, although it does not
necessarily follow that the behaviour of a ingle atom will be duplicated in the
case of the imm sely larger molecular rouping of a dice.
More important y, wever, is the i lication of this situation for dualism and
accordingly for parapsyc . N -Cartesian dualism presumes there is an
interaction between a possibly physical consciousness and a material brain.
This hypothesis has been unacc pt le to many scientists for several reasons: it
is impossible to conceive the ture o non-physical entity, it is impossible to
comprehend how anything insubstanti could modify a physical system, it is
impossible to suggest the urce of the nec ary energy and how it is utilised,
and so on. In short, th whole situation is terly impossible, yet quantum
experiments show it do s take place. .r ',,
The quantum facto does not suggest that the min ' not physica9, nor does it
indicate how the m' d might interact with the brain, o ven if it does so, but
what it clearly pro es is that it could, and thus makes it impossible for responsible
scientists to dismis ualism and parapsychology out of hand on the grounds that
mental influence on a physical body at a distance cannot exist in nature.
Ashford, Kindlestown Hill.
Delgany, Co. Wicklow, IRELAND
REFERENCE
1. Davies, P. (1983). God and the New Physics. London: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
EXPERIMENTS WITH GOD. ESSAY REVIEW OF CORNELIS W.
RIETDIJK'S EXPERIMENTEN MET GOD*
by Joo M. HOUTKOOPER
There may be as many as a few dozen SPR members that know the Dutch
language, but this review is intended to be of interest, not only for them, but also
for the general reader of the JSPR.
We no longer live in a classical world. Like a hundred years ago, apples fall
down, cannonballs follow parabolic trajectories, and planets move in a
predictable way in the sky, but this no longer reflects natural law in a
fundamental manner. Though we may not be aware of it, our daily lives are more
and more shaped by the applications of quantum mechanics and the theory of
relativity.
We also live in an age which may be characterized as moral. The limits on
pollution, natural resources are visible on a global scale. Economy develops on a
global scale, and, as some say, the Third World War has just ended, having been
fought by economic means. The most prominent question society has to deal
* BRT Press. Brussels 1989 (In Dutch) 269pp. Dft. 41.50.
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Journal of the Society, for Psychical Research [Vol. 57, No. 822
with may be: What to do if we want humanity to stay on its feet? That is, for those
who have a hang for morality.
`Experiments with God' carries as its motto the well known citation from
Einstein: `God doesn't play dice' (1), to which Rietdijk has added `with the
world', thereby indicating a tendency in his thinking.
A few words from the biographical note the book contains: Rietdijk is a
physicist and a mathematician. During and following his long career as a physics
teacher, he has published, first, books and journal articles about social and
cultural philosophy, and second, articles and conference contributions on
theoretical physics.
About the first, Rietdijk shows concern about the fate of society in its broadest
sense, often expressing rather libertarian and controversial views. (At the end of
the sixties he wrote that we should, in the interest of human happiness, spend ten
per cent of our GNP on parapsychological research!)
About his, over a dozen, publications in physics: since 1966 he has written on
retro-active effects (in a.o. Philosophy of Science and Foundations of Physics),
and on matter-wave interference. I have heard his publications been described as
`controversial, but technically sound'.
In `Experiments with God', Rietdijk bridges the gap between these two
aspects of his writing. He certainly succeeds in being controversial, and we shall
see to what extent he is technically sound.
`Experiments with God' consists of three parts, entitled: `1. The new physics',
`2. Are there laws in human destiny? Parapsychology comes of age', and `3. The
new science and religion'. Each part consists of five chapters, each chapter being
preceded by an abstract.
Part 1 may be compared to Zukav's well-known `The dancing Wu-li masters'.
Rietdijk doesn't dance however, he sets a brisk pace. So he succeeds in the first
twelve-page chapter to give a very clear picture of the Bohr-Einstein
controversy, the EPR-paradox, the Bell-inequalities and Aspect's experiments
validating the strange non-local character of quantum mechanics. To me,
Zukav's dance suddenly seemed to be a sluggish meandering.
The second chapter of Part 1 gives an expose of relativity theory. Rietdijk gives
a note on the existence of the four-dimensional space-time continuum, implying
that the future already exists. (Very sensibly he adds a remark on the problem of
the free will.) In chapter 3, he gives an account of his proof of the retro-active
effect in quantum mechanics, underpinning the above implication.
In chapter 4, the non-locality of quantum mechanical systems is viewed from a
new angle, showing the significance of the concept of `action-distance' of events
in the four-dimensional space-time continuum. The action-distance of non-
locally related events is shown to be zero. Planck's quantum of action is the
yardstick of action-distance.
At this stage we have all the elements at hand of the idea how distant events
may physically (!) interact, other than through the known physical forces such as
the gravitational and electromagnetic. Moreover, we are introduced to the
possibility that the non-local interactions may take the form of feed-back
relations and this allows the formation of patterns of events, otherwise separated
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in space and time. This formation o~fpatterns throu h non-loca
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termed the `super-local co-ordinatiG 'pr41YectiFgF Wisgf~QAPI08/15 : CIA-RDPI96-00792 0001 @?890'E li'F
January 19911
In chapter 5 Rietdijk localizes his ideas with respect to others. He tackles on
the one hand, the proponents of Eastern-intuitive and holistic approaches,
exemplified by Capra's `The Tao of Physics' and, on the other hand, the
positivists who maintain that everything in physics is said by measurement
results and the formulas to predict them, foregoing understanding and
model-formation.
Both groups are dealt with, fairly but severely. Rietdijk most extensively treats
the view of the positivists, including the historical development of a conservative
trend and, finally, its self-defeating nature.
Rietdijk returns' to the Bohr-Einstein controversy and concludes that both
were right to a large extent. Both the dependency on the observation (Bohr) and
the objective reality (Einstein) can be maintained about quantum phenomena.
Retro-active effects allow pattern formation and `orchestration' of events. While
he admits that he cannot bring the role of the observer to very much,.elarity,
Rietdijk hypothesizes that the retro-active effects play the role oC the `hidden
variables' that describe the randomness in quantum mechanical events.
To what extent this very fundamental randomness is determined by the retro-
active effects, Rietdijk cannot say, bit `it cannot be excluded that God plays dice
with the world to an even lesser extent than as implied by the local causal laws of
classical physics'!
At the end-of chapter 5 Rietdijk puts forward the idea that the `orchestration'
of events, as allowed by physics, may connect with aspects of nature usually
termed psychical, to integrative forces, tendencies and, purposes.
This form of holism, Rietdijk emphasizes, this occurrence of integrating
aspects of nature, is not a paradigm, but a phenomenon, that can be revealed by
the normal scientific method. There is nothing vague here, like the term
`complementarity' for instance, but a real improvement of our world-picture,
which becomes more consistent and better explainable.
In this way, the gap between rational thought and `integral' or religious
thought can be bridged. There is a perspective that this can be achieved without
`water in the scientific wine', discovering by scientific means a `deeper, lawful
consistency' of events, showing that `something we could name Arch-Cause or
God does not play dice with the fate of the world and that of mankind'.
This is at the end of Part 1, still under the heading `the new physics'.
My opinion is that this can all be called `technically sound', as Rietdijk care-
fully distinguishes fact and inference from hypothesis and speculation, but the
latter always as allowed by the facts. There is one exception, and that is the
hypothesis of realism, implicit in his proof of retro-active effects, to which I will
return later.
Part 2 starts with an account of parapsychology. In view of the preceding
chapters it is not surprising that Walker's version of observational theory is
adopted as a theoretical approach. Rietdijk sees the tendency for coincidences to
occur as most fundamental. In the case of PK the coincidence is between the goal
pursued by the agent and the actual outcome. With clairvoyance it is between
the impression of the percipient and the actual situation. Super-local pattern
formation is put forward as the possible mechanism to achieve this.
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While Rietdijk acknowledges the special role p
nhauer. Von
 ,Journal of the Society for Psychical Research 822 January 19911
Scholz and Koestler to argue that there are integrative forces working to achieve
meaningful coincidences.
The integrative forces run from the simple `like attracts like'-hypothesis of
Kammerer, to a more teleological version. For many years, Rietdijk has collected
meaningful coincidences in his own experience. To facilitate their explanation he
puts forward three further hypotheses: The first is introducing a dualistic
element, namely that consciousness is just as primary as matter and playing a
role in super-local pattern formation. The second is about God as pattern
forming agent with the whole universe as a body and human beings possibly
playing the role of cells. The third hypothesis is building upon Jung's collective
unconscious, stating that cultures, nations or other smaller or larger groups of
human beings may act to some extent as integrated `supersouls'.
In the following chapters of Part 2, the role of super-local pattern formation is
related to parapsychological concepts, like goal-orientedness, the psychical
inductor, voodoo, experimenter effects, psi-missing and the cross-correspon-
dences described by W. H. Salter. The main thrust is that quantum mechanical
randomness propagates into real-life events and this provides room for the
`orchestration' of events. The findings of parapsychology support this view.
Coincidences can be seen as exemplary to the fact that the integrative forces
produce events that show likenesses, often of a meaningful character. Moreover,
Rietdijk sees a sense of purpose in all this, at the level of the individual, the group
and the universe.
When Rietcijk introduces religiosity, morality and the Grand Pattern of
events in which we all take part, this reviewer is subject to mixed feelings. Of
course, religious experiences and feelings are known to exist widely and morality
may be founded as I suggested in the introduction of this review. Nevertheless,
moral judgments cannot logically be derived from existential judgments. Here
Rietdijk is not clear. His religious notions are of a general Christian nature and
bear some similarity to Einstein's. However, as he tries to convince the reader
that scientific and religious world views are part of the same pattern, apparently
it becomes difficult to stick to his own `No water in the scientific wine'.
In the last part of the book Rietdijk gives his view on trends in society and how
this relates to his view on religion. Of course, he turns against nihilism,
relativism and the like, but nowhere does he become dull. His ideas bear much
resemblance to the Enlightenment, but with an underlying religious foundation
which implies a continuing `creation' and an increasing degree of integration and
organization.
He is wise enough to see that the `orchestration' of events may well play a role
in less beneficent developments, like, for instance, that of Nazism. Such might be
seen as a consequence of operating within the limits of quantum uncertainty and
the course of development from primitive to more integrated forms of matter.
I have to criticize the book on a few points: Unlike other assumptions made,
there is implicit in the proof of the retro-active effect the hypothesis of realism,
namely of unobserved quantum mechanically random events. I take issue with
this hypothesis. In its place, I have advocated the hypothesis of indefinite reality
(2), from which a very different world-view might be developed. Most valuable is
the fact that we have an unobvious choice between two alternatives which might
be settled by experiment.
Furthermore, about the Grand Pattern, it might be asked what it has to say
about humanity that is different than could be said about the dodo. But that's
mere uneasiness with the result, not an argument against it.
More problematic are the introduction of consciousness as a primary concept,
which is in my opinion unnecessary, and the introduction of morality which is
shaky.
Concluding, I cannot resist to borrow from the book a citation of Giordano
Bruno: `Si non e veto, e bene trovato.' That is to say, Rietdijk's choice of
hypotheses is not necessarily that of the reader. The book argues for an
enlightened form of Christian belief, which is maybe nothing new, but it is
applaudable that the assumptions needed are so clearly distinguished as such.
This makes the book a pleasure to read, even while disagreeing with it. The
arguments, primarily developed from modern physics, are such that they are
understandable to the interested lay-person.
For parapsychologists, the book contains interesting connotations to.,
events, like meaningful coincidences, but also to observational theory, such as
the above-mentioned hypothesis of realism. Rietdijk suggests all" his assumptions
are experimentally testable. The crucial experiment, determining whether there
is an omniscient observer looking over our shoulder, still