Rhawn Joseph

{{pseudosciencenav}}

{{cquote|Rhawn Joseph, is a well-known [[Pseudoscience|pseudo-scientist]] who has twice unsuccessfully sued [[NASA]] for failing to act on his claims regarding life on Mars. He has no apparent affiliation with a university, but is affiliated with Cosmology-dot-com, which is a truly nutty pseudo-science journal.|||Physicist Matthew Szydagis<ref name="Plasma"/>}}

{{cquote|The separation thing is an illusion on the quantum physics level and I believe that plants and trees have consciousness. When I go out in the forest, I can almost, like, feel the consciousness. I think some people mistake that as being fairies or ghosts, but I think there's a collective consciousness among trees and experiments have shown that plants are aware of threat.|||Rhawn Joseph<ref name="Trees"/>}}

'''Rhawn Gabriel Joseph'''<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rhawn-Joseph Rhawn Gabriel Joseph]</ref> is an [[United States|American]] author, [[internet kook]], [[ufologist]] and promoter of [[pseudoscience]] known for his controversial views on the [[origin of life]] on [[Earth]] and the [[Alternative cosmology|origin of the Universe]].<ref name="pub-bio">[http://brainmind.com/publications.html Rhawn Joseph's Scientific Publications & Biography], BrainMind.com</ref><ref name="americanloons">[http://americanloons.blogspot.com/2017/03/1809-rhawn-joseph.html #1809: Rhawn Joseph]</ref> He has filed numerous lawsuits against [[NASA]], Amazon.com, academic publisher Springer and the City of San Jose which have been dismissed.

Joseph is involved with the [[pseudojournal]] ''[[Journal of Cosmology]]'' and is the author of ''Astrobiology: The Origins of Life and the Death of Darwinism'', published in 2001. In the book he writes that "Contrary to [[Darwinism]] … the [[evidence]] now clearly indicates, that the [[evolution]] of life had been genetically predetermined and precoded…" The book appears to be self-published under the deceptive "Publisher: University Pr" -- not Press, but Pr, and, oh, which university -- which does not appear to have published any other books.<ref>{{cite web|author=Amazon |url=https://www.amazon.com/Astrobiology-Origin-Life-Death-Darwinism/dp/0970073380 |title=Astrobiology, the Origin of Life, and the Death of Darwinism}}</ref>

The [[Encyclopedia of American Loons]] describes Joseph as a pseudoscientist and "serious crackpot with a vanity journal".<ref name="americanloons"/> He is an advocate of [[quantum woo]] and has argued that plants have consciousness.<ref name="Trees"/>

==On the origin of life, evolution and the Big Bang==
Joseph is an advocate of directed [[panspermia]] and has developed his own [[hypothesis]] about the origins of life on Earth. He believes that [[life]] did not originate on [[Earth]] but was transplanted here by "cosmic seeds" encased in space debris 700 million years after the formation of the planet. He claims that these genetic seeds filled with [[DNA]] contained the genetic instructions for the metamorphosis of all life, including [[human being]]s. He also rejects the [[Modern synthesis|neo-Darwinian synthesis]], instead advocating a form of [[non-Darwinian evolution]] which he describes as a "pre-determined evolutionary metamorphosis" that is pre-programmed in DNA of all terrestrial life.
 
Joseph has published a number of fringe papers on panspermia with {{wpl|Rudolph Schild}} in the ''Journal of Cosmology''. 

Joseph argues that many of the mainstream scientific positions that he rejects, including [[abiogenesis]] and the [[Big Bang]] are actually [[religion]] masquerading as [[science]]. He argues that the Big Bang is rooted in the [[Genesis]] account of the [[Bible]] and unsupported by cosmological evidence. In his own words:<ref name="pub-bio"/>

{{quotebox|I embrace the theory of evolution but reject Darwinism and the theory of the Big Bang. My views are the antithesis of that held by theologians, the Church, and the scientific establishment. The theory of the Big Bang is [[creationism]]; i.e., the [[universe]] is finite and was created. An eternal, infinite universe, does not require a creator, and this is my position. Most theologians and certainly the Church believe life on Earth originated on Earth, as detailed in the Bible, after a creator [[god]] blessed Earth with life giving powers. I believe the evidence demonstrates conclusively that life on Earth came from other planets.}}

==Ufology==

Joseph believes that [[UFO]]s are intelligent life forms that are associated with electromagnetic activity and have behaviour patterns and characteristics which could be construed as plasmas.<ref name="Biological">[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Biological-UFOs-Evidence-Extraterrestrial-Extremophiles-ebook/dp/B007DBVW0Q Biological UFOs: Evidence for Extraterrestrial Extremophiles and Life in Space]</ref> In 2012, he authored ''Biological UFOs: Evidence for Extraterrestrial Extremophiles and Life in Space'' which argued:

{{quotebox|If the entities described in this report are plasmas, they could also be considered an alternate form of life, or a form of pre-life which provided the cellular framework for life to begin. The morphology and behavior patterns of many of these objects are suggestive of living organisms. Extremophiles have been discovered in almost every conceivable environment on Earth including in highly radioactive environments, and it has been demonstrated that spores and microbes can survive within the thermosphere. Therefore, it is possible that some of these structures could be “extraterrestrial extremophiles” or plasma-like alternate life forms which have adapted to living in the thermosphere.<ref name="Biological"/>}}

Such ideas are not original in the UFO community. For example, {{wpl|Trevor James Constable}} promoted similar ideas in the 1970s. Joseph also believes in the existence of giant algae/amoeboid entities which feed on energy sources, a view also held by Constable. On his website, Joseph has written:

{{quotebox|Although some of these alien extraterrestrials may be (1) star ships and swarms of alien "nano-bots" which keep the inhabitants of Earth under surveillance, the evidence reviewed here supports the likelihood that these are (2) Swarming "clouds" of extraterrestrial bacteria and/or (3) giant algae/amoeboid entities which dwell in space and feed on radiation and other intense energy sources, or (4) they may represent a fourth-domain of life, which is not carbon-based, and is devoid of DNA, but which dwells in space and feeds on and is attracted to electromagnetic activity and intense sources of energy.<ref>[https://archive.is/iU4n2 Astronauts and Extraterrestrials]</ref>}}

===Extraterrestrial Life in the Thermosphere===

In 2024, Joseph co-authored a paper, "Extraterrestrial Life in the Thermosphere" which argued that plasmas engage in life-like behaviours such as "hunter-predatory" behaviour, and these plasmas may account for many [[Unidentified flying object|Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena]] (UAP) sightings including the "[[foo fighter]]s" of [[World War II]].<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/378076432_Extraterrestrial_Life_in_the_Thermosphere_Plasmas_UAP_Pre-Life_Fourth_State_of_Matter Extraterrestrial Life in the Thermosphere: Plasmas, UAP, Pre-Life, Fourth State of Matter]</ref> The paper has been laughed at by many in the academic world for its unrealistic claims. It was published by {{wpl|Scientific Research Publishing}}, a noted predatory publisher.

Matthew Szydagis an associate professor of physics at the University of Albany has dismissed the paper as pseudoscience.<ref name="Plasma">[https://archive.is/NbDTz Plasma Follies?].</ref>

{{quotebox|Question: Prof. Szydagis, do you believe that the paper "Extraterrestrial Life in the Thermosphere" should be taken seriously?

'''Prof. Matthew Szydagis''': No, for multiple reasons. (1) I cannot find a single equation in the entire paper. Not one formula. I tell my students this is one sure-fire way to determine if a physics paper is "real" or not. (2) The lead author, Rhawn Joseph, is a well-known pseudo-scientist who has twice unsuccessfully sued NASA for failing to act on his claims regarding life on Mars. He has no apparent affiliation with a university, but is affiliated with Cosmology-dot-com, which is a truly nutty pseudo-science journal. (3) The new plasma paper appears in the Journal of Modern Physics. This journal has an "impact factor" of less than 1, which means that on average, papers published there are cited elsewhere less than once. Since references are integer numbers, that means this journal publishes lots of papers that nobody cites anywhere. That's considered a joke in physics. (4) A plasma is just a ball of hot gas. It is not well enough organized to engage in complex behavior. Where is the brain, where are the neurons? (5) In my opinion, playing up a paper that is this weak damages credibility of UAP studies.<ref name="Plasma"/>}}

==Lawsuits==

As a pro se litigant Joseph has filed many lawsuits that have been dismissed.

===Amazon===

In 2012, Joseph filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com alleging that Amazon regularly "publishes and copyrights defamatory and libelous statements about competitors including Plaintiff" and Amazon have attempted to defraud him by failing to pay him appropriate advertising referral fees.<ref>[https://casetext.com/case/joseph-v-amazoncom-inc Joseph v. Amazon.Com, Inc.]</ref> The case was dismissed in 2014.<ref>[https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/washington/wawdce/2:2013cv01656/195743/86/ Joseph v. Amazon.com, Inc. et al, No. 2:2013cv01656 - Document 86 (W.D. Wash. 2014)]</ref>

===NASA===

In 2014, Joseph filed a lawsuit against [[NASA]] as he claimed they failed to investigate whether a rock seen on Mars is in fact an alien lifeform.<ref>[https://casetext.com/case/joseph-v-natl-aeronautics-space-admin-nasa Joseph v. Nat'l Aeronautics & Space Admin. (NASA)]</ref><ref>[http://www.popsci.com/article/science/lawsuit-alleges-nasa-failing-investigate-alien-life Lawsuit Alleges NASA Is Failing To Investigate Alien Life]</ref><ref>[https://archive.is/6R20k Hilarious 'Mars Fungus' Lawsuit Filed Against NASA]</ref>

In September 2016, Joseph filed another lawsuit against NASA which was dismissed with prejudice.<ref>[https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/19090692/Joseph_v_National_Aeronautics_and_Space_Administration_NASA_et_al Joseph v. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) et al]</ref>

===Springer===

In 2020, Joseph filed a lawsuit against the academic publisher {{wpl|Springer Nature}} who he contends conspired to cover up his discoveries and defraud him as they retracted some of his papers about extraterrestrial life.<ref>[https://casetext.com/case/joseph-v-nasa-springer-nature-am Joseph v. Nasa, Springer Nature Am.]</ref><ref>[https://retractionwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/joseph-complaint.pdf Case 1:20-cv-04672-JPC-GWG]</ref><ref name="Retraction">[https://retractionwatch.com/2021/12/21/court-tosses-50-billion-suit-by-prince-of-panspermia-against-springer-nature/ Court tosses $50 billion suit by ‘prince of panspermia’ against Springer Nature]</ref> His original complaint was criticized:

{{quotebox|The Complaint is at times difficult to follow. It is littered with speculation, confusing ramblings, conclusory legal assertions, and personal attacks against Defendants.<ref name="Retraction"/>}}

The case was dismissed with prejudice in April 2021.<ref name="Retraction"/><ref>[https://retractionwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/opinion-and-order.pdf Case 1:20-cv-04672-JPC-GWG]</ref><ref>[https://casetext.com/case/joseph-v-nature-2 Joseph v. Nature]</ref> After losing the lawsuit, Joseph bizarrely claimed that the judge who dismissed his case is a "fraud" who was bribed:

{{quotebox|You have (at least) two crooked judges, Cronan who took bribes and Vyskocil who is covering it up. Both judges have conspired with the Defendants to commit fraud against the court, to pervert and obstruct justice, and they have ruled that a "click through agreement" is valid, despite the fact that even the Defendants admit it is fake and it is and was impossible for anyone to "click" "check" "agree" or sign--but that truth doesn't matter to these two black robed criminals--because as Vyskovicil has admitted: The case is fixed. Cronan belongs in a jail cell. Vyskocil is not fit to serve on the bench. And no, I don't expect you to investigate these two gangsters in black robes. I expect you and the Southern District to cover it up and blame the victim. Because, I suspect, there are a lot of judges who are taking bribes--just like Cronan; which is why Vyskocil is covering it up. If these two are representative of the Southern District, then, it's a cesspool of corruption. /s/Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D.<ref>[https://retractionwatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/shawn-letters.pdf Case 1:22-cv-00466-MKV Document 23 Filed 08/01/22]</ref>}}

===City of San Jose===

In 2018, Joseph was involved in a feud with his next-door neighbour over light intrusion onto his property. Joseph has alleged that his neighbour hated him for his "race, religion, and sexual orientation".<ref name="Lawsuit">https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.339367/gov.uscourts.cand.339367.166.0.pdf</ref> He also alleged that San Jose Code Inspector Jason Gibilisco "likely solicited and accepted money from and entered into a conspiracy with [Plaintiff’s neighbor] to [] commit hate crimes against Plaintiff, based on [Plaintiff’s neighbor’s] perceptions of Plaintiff’s race, religion, sexual orientation".<ref name="Lawsuit"/>

Joseph filed a lawsuit against the City of San Jose as he alleged they told him to strip eight of his cypress trees from their base up to five feet as they were in violation of certain municipal code provisions.<ref name="City">https://storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2023/10/12/rhawn_joseph_v._city_of_san_jose.pdf</ref> He alleged that this would affect their aesthetic value and endanger their health, and that the City did not provide him with a code violation. He argued that the [[First Amendment]] should offer free speech protection for his cypress trees as they are symbols of his religious beliefs.<ref name="Trees">[https://archive.is/EeQbF No First Amendment Protection for 12 Cypress Trees]</ref>

{{quotebox|Plaintiff's first claim relies on the First Amendment and suggests that his "trees are expressions, symbols of his religious beliefs and are a protected form of speech" and that "Defendants' demand that Plaintiff destroy these trees is not only unlawful and without any legal authority … but a violation of the First Amendment: Freedom of religion and freedom of speech.<ref name="Trees"/>}}

Joseph alleged that the 12 cypress trees that he planted have a mystical and religious significance:

{{quotebox|Plaintiff did suggest that he planted 12 cypress trees because he thinks the number 12 has both religious and cosmic significance—citing the fact that there were 12 tribes of Israel, 12 disciples of Christ, 12 hours in (part) of the day, 12 signs of the zodiac, and 12 gods of Olympus—he claims that "12 has been seen as a mystical, magical and religious symbol, and again, it has cosmological significance." He added that "as a reflection of my own beliefs, I planted 12 and I made sure it was 12, and then I put [the] Celtic Cross as well as other religious symbols such as a Buddha because I share Buddhist beliefs and those are right there in the front yard between those trees." In short, Plaintiff is quite adamant that his feeling towards his trees is not part of any set of religious beliefs—and certainly not part of any organized or recognized religion; instead, to put it in his own words, he describes trees as such: "they're still religious symbols—well, not religious, spiritual. Let's not use the word 'religious,' other people would because it is a religious symbol, for me it's a spiritual … to me it's a spiritual symbol that happens to have religious significance."<ref name="Trees"/>}}

It turned out however that Joseph has no religious affiliation, but he holds "spiritual beliefs" including the idea that plants have [[consciousness]].

{{quotebox|[A]ctually they're more like spiritual beliefs and those beliefs are embedded in quantum physics in the sense that everything is related and everything is connected. The separation thing is an illusion on the quantum physics level and I believe that plants and trees have consciousness. When I go out in the forest, I can almost, like, feel the consciousness. I think some people mistake that as being fairies or ghosts, but I think there's a collective consciousness among trees and experiments have shown that plants are aware of threat.<ref name="Trees"/>}}

The lawsuit was dismissed in 2023.

{{quotebox|Here, there is no genuine issue of material fact because: (1) the San Jose Municipal Code provisions requiring trees to be kept pruned and below a certain height are valid and neutral regulations of general application that do not constitute a constitutionally cognizable or otherwise substantial burden on the exercise of Plaintiff's beliefs as he has described them in his deposition; (2) Plaintiff specifically disavows religion, and claims that his connection to his trees is rooted in a vague and indeterminate concept of spirituality, quantum physics, and cosmic mechanics; (3) Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that any of the actions complained of in his SAC ever actually impinged on any of his beliefs; and, (4) Plaintiff conceded that he was neither even made to cut his trees, or that he was ever assessed any fine or penalty related to his trees.<ref name="Trees"/>}}

Similar to other lawsuits that Joseph filed that have been dismissed, his summary judgment motions were described as "filled with hyperbole, ad hominem attacks, conclusory statements masquerading as statements of fact along with a generous smattering of irrelevant content".<ref>[https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.339367/gov.uscourts.cand.339367.166.0.pdf Case No. 19-cv-01294-RMI]</ref>

In October 2023, Joseph appealed the dismissal.<ref name="City"/>

=== U.S. Justice Department et al ===

In January 2025, Joseph filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Justice Department, all Federal Judges and Magistrate Judges of the Southern District of New York, NASA, Amazon.com, all of the Judges of the 94 Federal Courts and Bankruptcy Courts, all of the Judge of the 11 Federal Courts of Appeals and District of Columbia Circuit and Federal Circuit and all Federal Judges and Magistrate Judges of the Northern District of California. The lawsuit was dismissed in May 2025 after Joseph had failed to file a IFP application or paid the $405 court filing fee.<ref>https://cdn.pacermonitor.com/public/case/56559096/Joseph_v_US_Justice_Dept_et_al</ref>

==Reception==

Joseph has been criticized by the scientific community for embracing unorthodox mechanisms of evolution. In one instance, the biologist [[P.Z. Myers]] ridiculed a claim by Joseph that a rock found on [[Mars]] is a living organism similar to a type of fungus existing on Earth.<ref>[http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/01/30/funny-looking-rock-found-on-mars/ Funny Looking Rock found on Mars!]</ref> He has also made controversial comments about [[sex]], including "Biologically, [[female]]s serve one purpose: to get [[pregnant]]".<ref>[http://journalofcosmology.com/Mars144.html Sex On Mars: Pregnancy, Fetal Development, and Sex In Outer Space]</ref>

==Selected publications==

*[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10509-019-3678-x Life on Venus and the interplanetary transfer of biota from Earth] (retracted in 2020)<ref>[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10509-020-03860-z Retraction Note to: Life on Venus and the interplanetary transfer of biota from Earth]</ref>

==External links==
*[http://brainmind.com/ BrainMind.com], Rhawn Joseph's website
*[http://www.youtube.com/user/Sarastarlight Sarastarlight], a [[YouTube]] user who uploads RJ's videos

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Rhawn}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Cosmology]]
[[Category:Internet kooks]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience promoters]]
[[Category:Atheists]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Quantum woo]]
[[Category:Ufology]]

Categories: Authors, Cosmology, Internet kooks, Pseudoscience promoters, Atheists, Living people, Quantum woo, Ufology