He has some straaange ideas about a universal consciousness-field
I would say this is not so much Chopra as Rupert Sheldrake:
Morphic field - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Morphic field is a term introduced by British biologist Rupert Sheldrake, the major proponent of this concept, through his Hypothesis of Formative Causation in the early 1980's. It is described as consisting of patterns that govern the development of forms, structures and arrangements. As a new theory challenging established concepts, Sheldrake's theories have received criticism by some members of the scientific establishment, have been ignored by others and have been taken as a possible new line of research by borderline researchers.
I do not like Chopra very much, he is not an original thinker - he is taking his ideas from different sources, what he sales has been thought by others before him, however, he is good at marketing.
He was talking about the "extra sensory perception" of animals. ie things they "pick up" that we don't.
There are plenty of things out there relating to human and animal consciousness etc that science cannot currently explain. "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
Like different sizes and shapes of vocal elements and auditory elements allowing for the production and perception of sounds humans cannot? Or the fact that bees can see in the ultaviolet, or snakes in the infrared? Or the fact that dogs have much more sensitive smell, both in intensity and variety? Or...?
How is that extra sensory? Maybe extra human-sensory, but still not unphysical nor supernatural. We have met the enemy, and he is us — Pogo
The Register: Cat senses impending death
Dr David Dosa, also of of Brown University, elaborated that on one occasion Oscar had curled up on a female patient's bed, prompting staff to "make calls and set up vigil". When the family arrived, the grandson asked his mother why the cat was there, and she explained: "He is here to help Grandma get to heaven." Grandma died an hour later. Thomas Graves, a feline expert and chief of small animal medicine at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, described Oscar's actions as "such a cat thing to do", but admitted: "Those things are hard to study. I think probably dogs and cats can sense things we can't." Dr Teno concluded: "I don't think this is a psychic cat. I think there's probably a biochemical explanation."
Dr David Dosa, also of of Brown University, elaborated that on one occasion Oscar had curled up on a female patient's bed, prompting staff to "make calls and set up vigil". When the family arrived, the grandson asked his mother why the cat was there, and she explained: "He is here to help Grandma get to heaven." Grandma died an hour later.
Thomas Graves, a feline expert and chief of small animal medicine at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, described Oscar's actions as "such a cat thing to do", but admitted: "Those things are hard to study. I think probably dogs and cats can sense things we can't."
Dr Teno concluded: "I don't think this is a psychic cat. I think there's probably a biochemical explanation."
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
Wikipedia: Ethology
Lorenz's collaborator, Niko Tinbergen, argued that ethology always needed to pay attention to four kinds of explanation in any instance of behaviour: Function: how does the behaviour impact on the animal's chances of survival and reproduction? Causation: what are the stimuli that elicit the response, and how has it been modified by recent learning? Development: how does the behaviour change with age, and what early experiences are necessary for the behaviour to be shown? Evolutionary history: how does the behaviour compare with similar behaviour in related species, and how might it have arisen through the process of phylogeny?
Lorenz's collaborator, Niko Tinbergen, argued that ethology always needed to pay attention to four kinds of explanation in any instance of behaviour:
You are absolutely right about his marketing and I am still staying out of discussing other sciences, about which he could be a heretic. Our knowledge has surpassed our wisdom. -Charu Saxena.
taying out of discussing other sciences, about which he could be a heretic.
Now I am curious what that might be, I have read some of his work, but didn't consider anything heretic - but then maybe I am heretic too. :-)
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Deepak Chopra
He claims to be influenced by the teachings of Vedanta and the Bhagavad Gita from his native India, and quantum physics. ... Principal themes Many of Chopra's themes and beliefs are stated in his first book, "Creating Health" in 1986. He launched himself as a staunch advocate of the interconnection between mind and body, advocating meditation and self-awareness as primary factors in both illness and healing. He deepened these themes in "Quantum Healing" (1989), where he examined the mysterious phenomenon of spontaneous healing of cancer. Here he introduced quantum physics as a means of understanding the mind-body connection, arguing -- as he would in many other books -- that consciousness is the basic foundation of nature and the universe. ... Criticism Chopra has been both appreciated and criticized for his frequent references to the relationship of quantum mechanics to healing processes, a connection that has drawn skepticism from some quarters because it can be considered as possibly contributing to the general confusion in the popular press regarding quantum measurement, decoherence and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.[7] Biologist PZ Myers has also criticized these claims in depth. [11] In October 2006, Myers again criticized a blog post by Chopra [12] for displaying a lack of understanding of genetics. [13] Fellow science blogger Orac has also criticized Chopra's views [14] In 1998, Chopra was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in physics for "his unique interpretation of quantum physics as it applies to life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic happiness." [15]
...
Principal themes
Many of Chopra's themes and beliefs are stated in his first book, "Creating Health" in 1986. He launched himself as a staunch advocate of the interconnection between mind and body, advocating meditation and self-awareness as primary factors in both illness and healing. He deepened these themes in "Quantum Healing" (1989), where he examined the mysterious phenomenon of spontaneous healing of cancer. Here he introduced quantum physics as a means of understanding the mind-body connection, arguing -- as he would in many other books -- that consciousness is the basic foundation of nature and the universe.
Criticism
Chopra has been both appreciated and criticized for his frequent references to the relationship of quantum mechanics to healing processes, a connection that has drawn skepticism from some quarters because it can be considered as possibly contributing to the general confusion in the popular press regarding quantum measurement, decoherence and the Heisenberg uncertainty principle.[7]
Biologist PZ Myers has also criticized these claims in depth. [11] In October 2006, Myers again criticized a blog post by Chopra [12] for displaying a lack of understanding of genetics. [13] Fellow science blogger Orac has also criticized Chopra's views [14]
In 1998, Chopra was awarded the Ig Nobel Prize in physics for "his unique interpretation of quantum physics as it applies to life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic happiness." [15]
