Why the interest in Ervin Laszlo? It started after reading a column in the Dutch magazine Bliss titled “Design? Yes. Evolution? Yes. Contradiction? No. Why the controversy?” In my previous post, “Design? No. Evolution? Yes. Controversy? Damn Right!” I commented on the article. My comment was over 1500 words, which is a lot for a blog post, so I needed a separate post to discuss the author Ervin Laszlo.
Who is Ervin Laszlo?
Ervin Laszlo
In the magazine Bliss he is introduced as a doctor, scientist, philosopher, musician and author. Some research online revealed no medical or scientific degrees; he is a Doctor of Philosophy and has an honorary doctorate in economic sciences. He is a philosopher of science, but that doesn’t make him a scientist. Ervin Laszlo, or László correctly, has been busy, very busy. Some facts:
- co-founder of the General Evolution Research Group (GERG),
- founder and president of the Club of Budapest
- member of the Darwin Project
- founder and editor of World Futures – Journal of General Evolution
- member of the International Academy of Science
- member of the World Academy of Arts and Science
- adviser of the UNESCO Director General
- co-founder of the WorldShift Network
- author of over 70 books and 400 papers
- promoter of the theory that 2012 will either be the collapse of human civilization or the beginning of a new, quantum consciousness
- former President of the International Society for Systems Sciences
- former program director for the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
- nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize twice
- chancellor-designate of the GlobalShift University
The list is incomplete. I will now discuss some of the organizations and projects. All links can be found in the resource section below.
General Evolution Research Group (GERG, 1984)
The General Evolution Research Group (GERG) began with a secret meeting in Budapest in 1984 of scientists from both sides of the Iron Curtain during a critical juncture in the Cold War. Spurred by the mounting threat to our species of rapid nuclear proliferation and overkill, the purpose was to see if it might be possible to use the chaos theory then coming into vogue to develop a new general theory of evolution that might serve as a road map for our species out of the mounting chaos of our times to the reassuring order of a better world.
The GERG now serves as the research arm to the Club of Budapest, a prestigious group for advancing humanity and is founded by Ervin Laszlo. So, it all started with chaos theory, but by now Ervin Laszlo has moved on to the psi-field, quantum, and Akashic field. Depending on what’s in vogue?
The Club of Budapest (1993)
Founded in 1993 by Ervin Laszlo who is still the president, the mission of the Club of Budapest is to be a catalyst for the transformation to a sustainable world through promoting the emergence of planetary consciousness, interconnecting generations and cultures, integrating spirituality, science, and the arts, and fostering learning communities worldwide.
Like Greenpeace fights for ecological issues, UNICEF for children, and Amnesty International for human rights, the Club of Budapest stands for global consciousness. Its mission is to be a catalyst for the transformation to a sustainable world.
Contrary to Greenpeace, UNICEF, and Amnesty International the goals of the Club of Budapest are rather vague. Distinguished Honorary Members of the Club of Budapest include the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Vaclav Havel, Peter Gabriel, Desmond Tutu, Peter Ustinov, Jane Goodall, Deepak Chopra, Arthur C. Clarke, Paulo Coelho, … Do they even grasp the gist of Ervin Laszlo‘s ideas?
The Darwin Project (2003?)
The mission of The Darwin Project is to speed the shift in our homes, schools, and the media from only teaching destructive “first-half” Darwinism to the inspiring liberation of Darwin’s long lost completing half — along with all the fields of modern science that support and expand Darwin’s original full vision to reveal caring, love, moral evolution, and education as the prime drivers for human evolution.
Darwin’s long lost book? Apparently they are referring to the “Descent of Man“, but this was in part a response to those who wanted to introduce a design in human evolution, not to support it.
Ervin Laszlo and David Loye, author of the new evolution story “The Great Adventure“, must have found Charles Darwin long lost book “The Theology of Species” (see the PS below). Apparently we have misunderstood Darwin, because what Darwin really meant was:
What primarily drives human evolution, Darwin wrote in page after page of the long ignored writings that complete his theory, are “the moral qualities.” These, he said, are “advanced, either directly or indirectly, much more through the effects of habit, by our reasoning powers, by instruction, by religion, etc., than through natural selection.”
Some further reading revealed that “On the Origin of Species” is to be blamed for the Robber Barons, corporate greed, environmental devastation, hate crimes, and Nazism. Not Charles Darwin personally is to be blamed, but the scientists who don’t understand Darwin’s complete work. You have to read the second part of Darwin’s work, “Descent of Man“, to see the whole picture. You can download the new story, “The Great Adventure” by David Loye, from the website of The Darwin Project.
In the beginning there was
the Domination System and the Organism.
Then the Love System entered life and
meaningful Evolution began . . .
Honestly, I am not making this up.
Conclusion
How did someone with such bizarre ideas get to be adviser of the UNESCO Director General or a member of the International Academy of Science? Or did he landed those jobs before he saw the light (quantum or Akashic)?
How did people like Peter Gabriel (musician), Jane Goodall (known for her long-term field study on wild chimpanzees), Mikhail Gorbachev (former President of the USSR), Vaclav Havel (former President of the Czechoslovakia and later on of the Czech Republic), Richard von Weizsäcker (former President of the Federal Republic of Germany), Óscar Arias (former President of Costa Rica), Paulo Coelho (bestselling author), and the list goes on, get involved with Ervin Laszlo? Do they even know the extend of this man’s ideas?
His theory on 2012, that it will either be the collapse of human civilization or the beginning of a new, quantum consciousness, is a safe bet. No matter what happens in 2012 he will come out as a visionary: increased or decreased solar activity, abundant harvests or famine, natural disasters or not, border disputes or peace treaty between North and South Korea, civil war or peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israel, …
The difficulty in understanding his work is hampered by the many hats he wears and the many organizations, but it is all linked. Starting from the Club of Budapest with it’s many famous honorary members, there is a link with his personal website and forum on quantum consciousness, Akashic field, and other fuzzy new age thinking via some of the honorary members like Deepak Chopra and Barbara Max Hubbard. The General Evolution Research Group is the research arm of the Club of Budapest and from there you get to the pseudoscience of the Darwin Project. The main link is Ervin Laszlo, in the center like a spider in its web. It’s not difficult to be the president of several organizations when you founded them. When you stick solely on the information available on the site of the Club of Budapest it is quite respectable, but you will not see the complete picture.
How can you be against a man who wants love, peace, and understanding for all? But at what cost? Must we give up the freedom from Enlightenment and return to the dark ages of superstition, replacing God, the Bible and the Catholic Church for the quantum consciousness and the Akashic field, whatever those may be. Ervin Laszlo compares the Club of Budapest to Greenpeace, UNICEF, and Amnesty International. I think a better comparison for the many organizations of Ervin Laszlo is Scientology!
While most of the honorary members of the Club of Budapest might not grasp the full extent of his vision, his partners in folly are Deepak Chopra, Michael Beckwith, Barbara Max Hubbard, … On his forum you will find articles like “Finding the Holy of Holies: Sticky Particles and the Ground of All Being”, “Geoesthetics: The Spiritualization of Art and Science in the Noosphere”, “Retrieving the Hidden Rays of Light: A Global Partnership is Emerging”, … You get the picture.
How is it possible he has been flying under the skeptic radar for so long? Do you want to give someone like Ervin Laszlo a global platform as Nobel Peace Price winner? Do you want someone as Ervin Laszlo as an adviser on a science committee? Do you want Ervin Laszlo or people affiliated with him as advisers to the EU or UN? I know I don’t.
PS: The reference to Charles Darwin‘s book “Theology of Species” comes from “The Science of the Discworld III – Darwin’s Watch” by Terry Pratchett, Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen. In the series our universe is the result of a failed magical experiment by the wizards of the Unseen University on the discworld. Being who they are, the wizards can’t help but messing with our roundworld. The series discusses evolution, the role of William Shakespeare and the role of Charles Darwin. Each chapter by Terry Pratchett is followed by a chapter by Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen giving the scientific point of view on the event or period. In the third book something goes wrong again and we go extinct in the near future. What happened? It appeared that Darwin wrote the wrong book, the “Theology of Species“. Don’t fear, the wizards of the Unseen University come to our rescue and travel back in time to make sure Darwin gets aboard the Beagle and writes “On the Origin of Species“.
| Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time. |
| Richard Dawkins |
Resources
- Ervin Laszlo
- Wikipedia on Ervin László
- Design? Yes. Evolution? Yes. Contradiction? No. Then Why the Controversy? by Ervin Laszlo
- Design? No. Evolution? Yes. Controversy? Damn Right! by Johan Mares
- WorldShift 2012 – From Global Emergency To Global Emergence
- LEARN USA – Who Is Ervin Laszlo?
- The Darwin Project
- GERG – General Evolution Research Group
- Club of Budapest
- Stock Photo: Radar by KimPouss via stock.xchng
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
glad i came upon your comments. was reading the ITOE and my bullshit detector was ‘vibrating’ alarmingly. Think Francis Wheen could add this guy to his rogues gallery. Scary.
@maeve
Especially scary considering his clout: artists, musicians, (former) politicians.
You are obviously having trouble understanding Laszlo’s ideas and somehow feel qualified to trash them. Do you really think that Jane Goodall, Deepak Chopra, Desmond Tutu, Vaclav Havel, Mikhail Gorbachev, Sir Arthur C Clarke, Dr Thomas Berry, Paolo Coelho, Sri Bhagavan, Peter Gabriel, Bianca Jagger, Liv Ullmann, Dr Hans Kung, Lord Yehudi Menuhin, Dr Edgar Mitchell and many eminent others are somehow less intelligent than you? For Laszlo to have limited his education to the narrowness of classical science would have been a terrible waste for the human race. We need to look at the big picture in the world right now and expand into the all encompassing point of view for the planet that Laszlo is trying to point out to us. Perhaps you should try to read some of his books again (preferably before the end of 2012).
jeez maybe you re right. I better write my will , fast.
seriously though Bonnie I don ‘t know if the people you refer to are more intelligent than I and its really a moot point because Intelligent people can get things wrong , be misled, excercise poor judgement etc. Intelligence or lack thereof does not equate with being right or wrong . I don’ t share your admiration for mr. Laszlo , I think his theories are, to put it mildly, concocted. What scares me most about him is that people with influence in world affairs take him seriously and that people like yourself, genuine people looking to understand and develop your knowledge of the great quetions , accept his musings and bow to his ‘ superior ‘ mind so readily.
I was reading a business book called, “The Answer” and was surprised that the first few chapters were about the science of Newton, Einstein, Galileo and others. The book seemed to be correct in its descriptions of atoms, energy and sub-atomic particles, but I became skeptical when it mentioned Laszlo and an experiment where a man’s blood sample responded to lie detector tests from hundreds of miles away. Obviously if this were really true, the experiment would be repeated and more work would be done in this area, but clearly that’s not how things work.
So, I am not recommending the book called The Answer, because if he is basing his business strategies on junk science then the whole book is called into question.
As for Laszlo, I don’t understand why he has the positions he has or the followers. He must talk a good talk – or there are many uneducated people (with respect to science) looking for something to believe in. Come on 2012!