Anthony Peake
Encyclopedia
Anthony Peake is a British writer whose work focuses on near-death experience, deja vu
and the nature of reality
.
Peake has suggested a different explanation as to what happens to human consciousness
at the point of death
. This theory, which he terms Cheating the Ferryman was first published in the International Journal of Near Death Studies in 2004. The theory involves Peake's unorthodox interpretation of the latest theories of quantum mechanics
, neurology
and consciousness studies and concludes that at the point of death the dying person is presented with a literal minute-by-minute recreation of their life in 'real time' from their subjective viewpoint. This inwardly generated 'reality' is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Peake proposes that four seemingly conflicting theories of quantum physics - the Implicate Order of David Bohm
, the Many-Worlds Interpretation
of Hugh Everett
, the Copenhagen Interpretation
of Niels Bohr
and the Anthropic Principle
of Brandon Carter
- can be seen as complementary.
Peake terms this new version of reality the Bohmian IMAX in recognition of Daniel Dennett
's Cartesian Theater
and the work of David Bohm
. Peake therefore suggests proportedly scientifically rational explanations for such puzzling phenomenon as déjà vu
, synchronicity
and precognition
.
Peake describes the science behind this theory in great detail in his first book Is There Life After Death? The Extraordinary Science Of What Happens When We Die (2006) and his new book The Daemon: A Guide To Your Extraordinary Secret Self (2008)
These books are an attempt to merge spiritual and philosophical ideas with scientific and quantum concepts into consciousness studies.
Déjà vu
Déjà vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined...
and the nature of reality
Reality
In philosophy, reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined. In a wider definition, reality includes everything that is and has been, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible...
.
Peake has suggested a different explanation as to what happens to human consciousness
Consciousness
Consciousness is a term that refers to the relationship between the mind and the world with which it interacts. It has been defined as: subjectivity, awareness, the ability to experience or to feel, wakefulness, having a sense of selfhood, and the executive control system of the mind...
at the point of death
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
. This theory, which he terms Cheating the Ferryman was first published in the International Journal of Near Death Studies in 2004. The theory involves Peake's unorthodox interpretation of the latest theories of quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
, neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
and consciousness studies and concludes that at the point of death the dying person is presented with a literal minute-by-minute recreation of their life in 'real time' from their subjective viewpoint. This inwardly generated 'reality' is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Peake proposes that four seemingly conflicting theories of quantum physics - the Implicate Order of David Bohm
David Bohm
David Joseph Bohm FRS was an American-born British quantum physicist who contributed to theoretical physics, philosophy, neuropsychology, and the Manhattan Project.-Youth and college:...
, the Many-Worlds Interpretation
Many-worlds interpretation
The many-worlds interpretation is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that asserts the objective reality of the universal wavefunction, but denies the actuality of wavefunction collapse. Many-worlds implies that all possible alternative histories and futures are real, each representing an...
of Hugh Everett
Hugh Everett
Hugh Everett III was an American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation of quantum physics, which he termed his "relative state" formulation....
, the Copenhagen Interpretation
Copenhagen interpretation
The Copenhagen interpretation is one of the earliest and most commonly taught interpretations of quantum mechanics. It holds that quantum mechanics does not yield a description of an objective reality but deals only with probabilities of observing, or measuring, various aspects of energy quanta,...
of Niels Bohr
Niels Bohr
Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...
and the Anthropic Principle
Anthropic principle
In astrophysics and cosmology, the anthropic principle is the philosophical argument that observations of the physical Universe must be compatible with the conscious life that observes it. Some proponents of the argument reason that it explains why the Universe has the age and the fundamental...
of Brandon Carter
Brandon Carter
Brandon Carter, FRS is an Australian theoretical physicist, best known for his work on the properties of black holes and for being the first to name and employ the anthropic principle in its contemporary form. He is a researcher at the Meudon campus of the Laboratoire Univers et Théories, part of...
- can be seen as complementary.
Peake terms this new version of reality the Bohmian IMAX in recognition of Daniel Dennett
Daniel Dennett
Daniel Clement Dennett is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of...
's Cartesian Theater
Cartesian theater
The Cartesian theater is a derisive term coined by philosopher Daniel Dennett to pointedly refer to a defining aspect of what he calls Cartesian materialism, which he considers to be the often unacknowledged remnants of Cartesian dualism in modern materialistic theories of the mind.Descartes...
and the work of David Bohm
David Bohm
David Joseph Bohm FRS was an American-born British quantum physicist who contributed to theoretical physics, philosophy, neuropsychology, and the Manhattan Project.-Youth and college:...
. Peake therefore suggests proportedly scientifically rational explanations for such puzzling phenomenon as déjà vu
Déjà vu
Déjà vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined...
, synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance and that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner...
and precognition
Precognition
In parapsychology, precognition , also called future sight, and second sight, is a type of extrasensory perception that would involve the acquisition or effect of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information or laws of physics...
.
Peake describes the science behind this theory in great detail in his first book Is There Life After Death? The Extraordinary Science Of What Happens When We Die (2006) and his new book The Daemon: A Guide To Your Extraordinary Secret Self (2008)
These books are an attempt to merge spiritual and philosophical ideas with scientific and quantum concepts into consciousness studies.