The Flip

It’s time for mainstream scientists to wake up and realize how a great mind is made of. This little book is a starting point for highly prejudiced minds to wake up in the modern world.

Jeffrey Kripal's notion of "the Flip" is basically an experience that "flips" one's world view. In essence, this "flip" seems to be one in which the universe is revealed to be something more than just a material world governed by Newtonian physics and Darwinian evolution. Kripal opens the first of his five chapters with an account of unusual experiences that various people have had that have "flipped" their worldview due to the unusual or anomalous nature of these experiences. These "flip" experiences are what psychiatrist Carl Jung called "synchronicities" or meaningful coincidences. These unusual, or "paranormal/beyond normal" experiences may be said to transform one's world view and create moments of, or "epiphanies" of, meaning. Kripal contends that these synchronicities signify a deep connection between mind and nature or, as he says, they signify that the physical world can become dreamlike, reflecting our imagination, just as science has found that the physical world can mirror or reflect the workings of our own minds. For those interested in the idea that the world is infused with the imaginal, the work of philosopher, theologian, Henry Corbin (whom I am sure Kripal is well aware of) is someone who's work one may want to explore.Kripal than moves on to look at the wider philosophical interpretation of how these anomalous "flips" may occur. Here, Kripal looks at such events from the philosophical doctrines of panpsychism, dualism, idealism and dual aspect monism. If you don't know what these theories entail, it is explained in the book. Kripal does not necessarily commit to one interpretation, but he contends that all of these metaphysical perspectives move the goal posts of thinking in a positive direction compared to the materialist/physicalist perspective. Kripal contends that physicalism, so popular in modern secular culture and academia, has robbed our understanding of the natural world and the inherent meaning that it is to be found from contemplating our existence in the world.Kripal contends that even in the world of physics, the breakthroughs in quantum mechanics research further support the idea that consciousness or the conscious observer is both fundamental in nature and also implies, through the concept of quantum entanglement, that we are all interconnected in a very deep and fundamental way. Kripal is aware that there are those in physics community and even the wider social community who would see this his view on the implications of quantum theory as nothing more than a fanciful "New Age Woo Woo," but Kripal is undeterred by the critics. Kripal not only critiques physicalist reductionist doctrines, but also postmodernist philosophies that claim that knowledge and values are determined by mere cultural/social convention. His is also critical of fundamentalist religious practices, that he says remain closed to new ideas and lead to prejudices against other religious, racial, gender or ethnic groups.Central to Kripal's agenda in this book is to argue that study of the humanities should be put on an equal footing to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), in order for people to develop a more rounded and ethical understanding of the world we live in and to create a world where people can learn to live productively in an environment that is not only full of uncertainty, but also, not always fully open to understanding by the rational mind.I am sympathetic to much of what Kripal has to say and the arguments he makes for saying it. He opens the book with an account of what is known as the "filter theory of consciousness" or the "transmission thesis" of consciousness as he calls it. This theory contends that the brain acts more like a receiver or filter for conscious states and the creation of our perceived reality. The filter/transmission theory acts counter to the popular notion, often promoted in contemporary neuroscience and cognitive science, that the brain somehow constructs our reality. As Kripal correctly points out, theories that contend that somehow our brain "generates" our consciousness have no evidence to support them and the Transmission theory of consciousness potentially entails that consciousness and the reality we experience is more than just a phenomenon linked to the brain and body. To reveal my bias, I am always sympathetic to academics who promote the idea that filter/transmission models of consciousness are a better model of mind and brain than the so-called "neural doctrine" of the mind. I share Kripal's view that neuroscience (and Artificial Intelligence research) will not and cannot make the breakthroughs in modelling the mind that many researchers claim.Having read many of Kripal's books before, plus plenty of philosophy of mind, I would have to say that I did not find much within the pages which was novel to me. However, it is short read and Kripal is an engaging writer, he does not waffle, and for people not familiar with many of the ideas he discusses, I think there is plenty in this short little book to excite their imagination.

Brilliant book!!! To be read by as many people as possible to « flip » over into another way of being in the world.

On my second reading now. This is definitely a text that I would recommend to anyone. Very interesting work. If you are interested in the nature of being read it.

Became a fan of Kripal with _Authors of the Impossible_ and _Mutants and Mystics_. Sadly this book is nothing like as good (though very few books by any authors are!!!). Reads like a 'pot boiler' dashed off after the publisher's deadline had passed, with too little effort at deductive reasoning and way too much shrill hectoring.

Utter brilliance. Walks you through so much, so clearly. Proper philosophy, told so well.

The paradigm is shifting ...