Ervin László

[[File:Laszlo Ervin.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Ervin László in 2005]]
{{pseudosciencenav}}
Dr '''Ervin László''' (1932-) is a [[Hungary|Hungarian]] [[pseudoscience]] promoter and systems theorist. He has published books endorsing [[spiritual evolution]] and [[quantum woo]].

==Biography==

László publishes [[woo]] articles in the [[Huffington Post]].<ref>[https://www.huffpost.com/author/ervin-laszlo?guccounter=1 Ervin Laszlo] ''HuffPost''</ref> His article ''Evolution Presupposes Design, So Why the Controversy?'' argues for [[intelligent design]].<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ervin-laszlo/evolution-presupposes-des_b_537507.html Evolution Presupposes Design, So Why the Controversy?] ''HuffPost'' 15 June 2010</ref> Similar to [[Deepak Chopra]], he is a supporter of quantum woo and [[new age]] claims about [[quantum consciousness]] and [[spirituality]].<ref name="Deepak">[http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2010/05/06/move-over-deepak-theres-a-new-woo-meiste/ Move over, Deepak, there’s a new woo-meister at HuffPo] ''ScienceBlogs'' 6 May 2010</ref>

László is a believer in [[psychic]] phenomena.<ref>[http://www.soulsofdistortion.nl/tors2.html Subtle Connections: Psi, Grof, Jung, and the Quantum Vacuum by Ervin Laszlo] ''Souls of Distortion''</ref> In his books ''Evolution: The Grand Synthesis'' (1987) and ''The Creative Cosmos: A Unified Science of Matter, Life and Mind'' (1996), he proposed a universal "[[psi]]-field" underlying and interconnecting all of [[matter]] to explain [[paranormal]] and quantum phenomena.<ref>[http://www.bizcharts.com/stoa_del_sol/conscious/conscious4.html Perspective of Mind: Ervin Laszlo] ''Stoa del Sol''</ref> This idea is similar to the morphic fields of [[Rupert Sheldrake]].

László jumped on the [[2012 apocalypse|2012]] bandwagon with his book ''WorldShift 2012: Making Green Business New Politics & Higher Consciousness Work Together''.

Ervin László has indicated a belief in psychic phenomenon such as remote [[healing]], and [[Spiritualism|talking to the dead]] in [[prophesy]] and has disseminated pseudoscience.<ref name="SwansOne">[http://www.swans.com/library/art19/barker132.html The Mystical Genius of Ervin Laszlo (Part I of II)] ''Swans Commentary'' 20 May 2013</ref> He has been criticized for his prophesy that there was going to be a critical tipping point in the Akashic Field in 2012,<ref name="Worldshift">[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/worldshift-movement_b_850307 The Worldshift Has Started] ''HuffPost'' 18 April 2011</ref> which is akin to [[religious]] [[millennialism]] and also his misrepresentation of [[Darwin]]'s [[Theory of Evolution]] incorporating [[teleological argument]] (physico-theological argument which replaces God with the Akashic Field).<ref name="Worldshift"/> Some of László's ideas have been designated as [[pseudoscience]] such as his notion of "quantum consciousness" because he relies on the misuse of quantum physics similar to [[Deepak Chopra]] or [[Stanislav Grof]].<ref name="Deepak"/><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsH1U7zSp7k Richard Dawkins interviews Deepak Chopra (Enemies of Reason Uncut Interviews 6/10)] from the YouTube channel ''Bernardo Segura'' 4 May 2013</ref><ref name="SwansOne"/> Also he misuses the word [[theory]], using it to have the common meaning of a casual untested idea, similar to [[hypothesis]], instead of the precise scientific term of a group of ideas that has systematically (using the [[scientific method]]) shown to explain data, be predictive and be [[falsifiable]] such as [[climate change]] or evolution.

==Akashic Field pseudoscience==

László's 2004 book, ''Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything'' posits a field of information as the substance of the cosmos. He claims the informational field can explain why the [[Universe]] is [[Anthropic principle|fine-tuned]] as to form galaxies and conscious lifeforms and why [[evolution]] is a directed, not [[random]], process.<ref>[http://www.anandavala.info/TASTMOTNOR/The%20Akashic%20Field.html Science and the Akashic Field] ''Anandavala'' </ref> He took the concept from the [[Akashic Records]] a metaphysical belief held in [[Hinduism]] and [[Theosophy]] that claims there is a compendium of mystical knowledge supposedly encoded in a non-physical plane of existence. 

He defines the Akashic Field as:
{{cquote|…an all-encompassing medium that underlies all things and becomes all things. It is real but so subtle that it cannot be perceived until it becomes the many things that populate the manifest world. Our bodily senses do not register Akasha, but we can reach it through spiritual practice. The ancient Rishis reached it through a disciplined, spiritual way of life, and through [[yoga]]. They described their experience, and made Akasha an essential element of the philosophy and mythology of [[India]].<ref>[http://www.dailyom.com/library/000/001/000001142.html Science and the Akashic Field] ''DailyOM''</ref>}}

It has been argued that the Akashic Field is not a theory because it is not-even-scientific ([[Not even wrong]]) because it does not pass the falsifiability test (using the word science in a title does not make a book scientific) and there is no scientific consensus for the Akashic Field let alone evidence<ref name="SwansTwo">[http://www.swans.com/library/art19/barker133.html The Mystical Genius of Ervin Laszlo (Part II of II)] ''Swans Commentary'' 3 June 2013</ref> regarding his "theory". Because of this, his ideas may not only be dishonest and wrong but may be harmful because it is actively [[anti-science]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110110075450/http://blog.johan-mares.be/skeptic/ervin-laszlo-flying-under-the-skeptic-radar/ Ervin Laszlo, Flying Under The Skeptic Radar?] ''Johan's Blog'' 18 September 2010 (archived from the original on the 10 January 2011)</ref><ref>[https://www.scientificexploration.org/docs/23/jse_23_3_mcdaniel.pdf Critical Commentary on Ervin Laszlo’s Paper “In Defense of Intuition”] ''Journal of Scientific Exploration (Volume 23, Number 3)''</ref> Despite this inherent pseudoscience and anti-science in his work he was given the role of science advisor for UNESCO!?<ref name="SwansTwo"/>

Others have jumped on the Akasha bandwagon and offer "Akashic Reading/Clearing… With your permission I can access your [[soul]]'s Akashic Record facilitate removal of blocks/restrictions from this current and past lifetimes so you can move forward quicker in your spiritual development and life's purpose".<ref>[http://jennymannion.com/akashic/ Akashic Readings] ''Jenny Mannion - Author, Intuitive Healer''</ref>

==Publications==
*''The Systems View of the World: A Holistic Vision for Our Time'' (Hampton Press, 1996)
*''The Whispering Pond: A Personal Guide to the Emerging Vision of Science'' (Element Books, Ltd., 1996)
*''Evolution: The General Theory'' (Hampton Press, 1996)
*''The Connectivity Hypothesis: Foundations of an Integral Science of Quantum, Cosmos, Life, and Consciousness'' (State University of New York Press, 2003)
*''You Can Change the World: The Global Citizen's Handbook for Living on Planet Earth: A Report of the Club of Budapest'' (Select Books, 2003)
*''Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything'' (Inner Traditions International, 2004)
*''Science and the Reenchantment of the Cosmos: The Rise of the Integral Vision of Reality'' (Inner Traditions, 2006)
*''The Chaos Point: The World at the Crossroads'' (Hampton Roads, 2006)
*''Quantum Shift in the Global Brain: How the New Scientific Reality Can Change Us and our World'' [Rochester VT: Inner Traditions, 2008]
*''WorldShift 2012: Making Green Business New Politics & Higher Consciousness Work Together'' (McArthur & Company, 2009)
*''The Immortal Mind: Science and the Continuity of Consciousness Beyond the Brain (with Anthony Peake) (Simon and Schuster, 2014)

==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laszlo, Ervin}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2012 woo]]
[[Category:Internet kooks]]
[[Category:Paranormal]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]

Categories: Living people, 2012 woo, Internet kooks, Paranormal, Pseudoscience promoters