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Woman stitches her way through mental health challenges with idea for neurodiversity-themed clothing line
Elon University launches Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Beginning in Fall 2026, Elon University will launch a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) at both the university’s main campus and Charlotte national campus to address...
Elon University launches Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Beginning in Fall 2026, Elon University will launch a Master of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (CMHC) at both the university’s main campus and Charlotte national campus to address...
Rules on single-sex spaces pose risk to trans people’s mental health, UK charities say
Fifteen organisations sign letter expressing deep concern over EHRC guidance being considered by ministers
Humans are built for nature not modern life
Human biology evolved for a world of movement, nature, and short bursts of stress—not the constant pressure of modern life. Industrial environments overstimulate our stress systems and erode both health and reproduction. Evidence ranging from global fertility declines to chronic inflammatory diseases shows the toll of this mismatch. Researchers say cultural and environmental redesign, especially nature-focused planning, is essential.
Food influencer Michael Duarte shared about past mental health...
As farmers face trade wars and inflation, calls to mental health hotlines rise
As farmers face historic headwinds, calls to Iowa and national mental health crisis hotlines are increasing.
Older adults are slowly abandoning this hobby — but the health payoff is huge
What’s largely considered a solitary activity can improve communication skills and strengthen empathy and compassion, say experts in mental health and geriatric care.
Submarine mental health nurse celebrates Woman of the Year' award
Leading naval nurse Abigail Wright has organised specialist care for personnel and women's roles.
Headspace CEO: ‘People are using AI tools not built for mental health’
Tom Pickett says care is needed when chatbots take the role of therapists
Oregon Says It’s ‘Open for Business’; Let’s Hope This Time It’s Real — Columbia Community Connection News Mid-Columbia Region
Governor Kotek is saying the right things. She’s acknowledging real problems. Now comes the hard part: steady, practical, bipartisan work to restore predictability, rebuild trust, and confront the housing, addiction, and mental-health challenges that touch every corner of the state.
Inside the push to bring mental health care into American mosques
American Muslim communities are working to reduce stigma around therapy by bringing mental health services into mosques and making counseling easier to access.
Jets’ Gabriel Vilardi opens up about mental health struggles: ‘You just see the negatives’
This story is not about Gabriel Vilardi. He is sharing the details from his life in case he can help somebody else.
Scientists are turning Earth into a giant detector for hidden forces shaping our Universe
SQUIRE aims to detect exotic spin-dependent interactions using quantum sensors deployed in space, where speed and environmental conditions vastly improve sensitivity. Orbiting sensors tap into Earth’s enormous natural polarized spin source and benefit from low-noise periodic signal modulation. A robust prototype with advanced noise suppression and radiation-hardened engineering now meets the requirements for space operation. The long-term goal is a powerful space-ground network capable of exploring dark matter and other beyond-Standard-Model phenomena.
Nike pushes tech-assisted ways to just do it, from Project Amplify to a Mind Science Department
The sporting giant is seeking new ways of amplifying athletic performance, both physical and mental. We explore the world of Project Amplify and the work of the company’s Mind Science Department
Good Sports: 'The Program' aims to prepare Valley athletes for college football
More than standard 7-on-7, the coaches prioritize college prep and mental toughness.
Video Amanda Anisimova: "More people should be watching women's sports"
ABC News' Stephanie Ramos spoke with rising tennis star Amanda Anisimova about her fast moving career, transparency about her mental health and shaping the future of women's tennis.
Salinas residents oppose mental health rehab center near county jail
A proposed mental health rehabilitation center in Salinas is facing opposition from local residents, with key meetings scheduled to discuss the project's future.
'Life being stressful is not an illness' - GPs on mental health over-diagnosis
Hundreds of GPs in England tell the BBC they are also worried about a lack of help for patients.
'Life being stressful is not an illness' - GPs on mental health over-diagnosis
Hundreds of GPs in England tell the BBC they are also worried about a lack of help for patients.
Court blocks Trump administration effort to halt school mental health worker grants
A federal appeals court on Thursday halted an effort by the Trump administration to block grants to hire more school mental health workers. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied the adminis…
GTA Online: A Safehouse in the Hills Coming December 10
Prime luxury real estate comes to GTA Online in A Safehouse in the Hills, the monumental new update arriving December 10 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.
Snowboarder Chloe Kim talks mental health, 2026 Olympics, Myles Garrett
Chloe Kim talked about prioritizing mental health, her offseason training and how she had no idea who Myles Garrett was before they stared dating.
Primary health care
Primary health care is an approach to health and wellbeing centred on the needs and circumstances of individuals, families and communities. It addresses comprehensive and interrelated physical, mental and social health and wellbeing.
Trump, 79, Is Absolutely Furious About Intense Scrutiny on His Mental Decline
Insiders say the president spends days obsessing over reports comparing him to “Sleepy Joe.”
As farmers face trade wars and inflation, calls to mental health hotlines rise
The Iowa Concern hotline provides farmers with support in times of mental health crisis or need and calls to the hotline are increasing.
Scientists Discover The First Single Gene to Directly Cause Mental Illness
Surprisingly simple.
Could aging eggs be 'rejuvenated'? New tool may help pave the way to fertility-extending treatments
Scientists invented a new experimental system to study how age-related changes in egg cells make them more prone to chromosomal errors.
US appeals court rejects Trump administration bid to halt grants for school mental health workers
A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration's bid to halt an order requiring it to release millions of dollars in grants meant to address the shortage of mental health workers in schools
US appeals court rejects Trump administration bid to halt grants for school mental health workers
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected the Trump administration's bid to halt an order requiring it to release millions of dollars in grants meant to address the shortage of mental health workers in schools.
To counter climate denial, UN scientists must be 'clear' about human role: IPCC chief
With US President Donald Trump and other sceptics calling climate change a hoax, the UN's climate science body must tell the world in a "very clear way" that humans are heating the planet, its chairman told AFP. Jim Skea, a Scottish professor, chairs the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which held a five-day meeting in a skyscraper outside Paris this week to begin drafting the next major UN climate assessment.I mean, we concluded in our last report, very simple conclusion: It is
In Laurel, details thin about proposed state-run mental health facility
Details about the state’s proposed psychiatric facility in Laurel have been thin on the ground for local elected officials. The list of unknowns includes where exactly the state wants to build the 32-bed facility, the next steps for the project and what role, if any, local government officials will play in approving the plan.
Dr. Azfar Malik Announces National Grant Advancing the Future of Mental Health–Focused Healthcare
Dr. Azfar Malik Grant Dr. Azfar Malik Grant for Aspiring Healthcare Professionals ST. LOUIS, Dec. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Dr. Azfar Malik Grant for Aspiring Healthcare Professionals is officially accepting applications for the 2025–2026 academic cycle, offering undergraduate students across the United States a meaningful opportunity to further their commitment to careers in healthcare. Created by Dr. Azfar Malik, a respected leader in psychiatry and mental health innovation, the grant r
UVA chief mental health officer: Easy ways to stay healthy, succeed during exams
Eating well and making a study plan are part of the prescription.
I realise now that my view on mental health overdiagnosis was divisive. We all need better evidence
The surge in mental ill health is hugely distressing. That’s why I’ve commissioned a review to find out what’s driving it, says health secretary Wes Streeting
AMC Entertainment CEO remains in charge of world's largest theater chain after stroke
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron suffered a minor stroke last month but is recovering rapidly and will continue to lead the world’s biggest movie theater chain, the company said Thursday. Aron, 71, suffered the stroke while on a business trip in London, where he immediately received emergency medical care, the company said. “Given his mental acuity and physical resilience, Mr. Aron remains in full command at the helm of AMC and continues to perform his duties as chairman, chief executive officer and president,” AMC said in a release.
Lanouette leads collaborative research bridging science education, urban ecosystems
Assistant Professor Kathryn Lanouette is leading a research project to better characterize what outdoor environmental education can look like in urban spaces.
How U.S. Employers Can Meet the Healthcare Needs of Younger Workers
Employers and health systems can do a better job of serving the specific healthcare needs of Millennials and Gen Zers by embracing the following seven approaches: 1) Enlist AI in the design of benefits and the delivery of care; 2) Harness virtual technologies to boost employees’ engagement in choosing and making the most of their healthcare benefits; 3) Shift to prepayment reimbursement models, which emphasize maintaining patients’ health rather than generating revenue when patients become ill; 4) Train physicians to connect with younger patients both technologically and culturally; 5) Combat the physician shortage by supporting educational programs and advocating for legislation to increase residency slots; 6) Treat mental health as an essential part of overall health; and 7) Adopting ways to make care for younger workers more affordable.
The overdiagnosis debate in mental health misses the point
“Focusing on who ‘counts’ as mentally ill will ultimately send us down the wrong path,” Miranda Wolpert, director of mental health at Wellcome, writes.
Special education needs embedded mental health support
As schools struggle to manage emotional and behavioral challenges, a mental health crisis among children in special education grows.
Streeting orders review into mental health and ADHD diagnosis
The health secretary said the aim was to tackle a rising demand for services and the increased pressure on the NHS.
Streeting orders review into mental health and ADHD diagnosis
The health secretary said the aim was to tackle a rising demand for services and the increased pressure on the NHS.
Addressing eminent domain for carbon pipelines among top priorities next Iowa legislative session
Iowa lawmakers are expected to revisit the issue of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines in the upcoming legislative session, with environmental groups and the ethanol industry presenting opposing views.
Idaho judge rules state can cut mental health service that many warn risks public safety
The cut to a critical Idaho Medicaid mental health service for people with severe mental illness took effect Monday, Magellan says.
Wes Streeting orders review of mental health diagnoses as benefit claims soar
Health secretary has asked experts to investigate whether normal feelings have become ‘over-pathologised’
Quin Hillyer: Louisiana should think twice before cutting from Safe Havens for mental health
The St. Tammany Parish Council seems poised to eliminate funding for its Safe Haven mental health campus. That would be a major mistake, this columnist argues, adding that the underfunding of mental health care is a statewide problem.
Having a dog can boost teenagers’ mental health, say scientists
Researchers find children who own dogs score lower for social problems, aggressive behaviour and delinquency
Mental health conditions may heighten liver cancer risk in veterans due to increased hepatitis C, UCLA study finds
A new study led by UCLA Health investigators found that mental health conditions, especially alcohol use disorder and PTSD, significantly increase the likelihood of developing liver cancer among Veterans living with cirrhosis of any etiology.
Smartphones before age 12 tied to poorer health, study says
Parents join 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the impact of smartphones on younger generations and a new study linking early age smartphone use to poorer physical and mental health.
DevvStream and Southern Energy Renewables Announce Business Combination Targeting Low-Cost Production of Carbon-Negative SAF and Green Methanol
SACRAMENTO, Calif. & NEW ORLEANS, December 03, 2025--DevvStream Corp. (Nasdaq: DEVS) ("DevvStream"), a leading carbon management and environmental-asset monetization firm, and Southern Energy Renewables Inc. ("Southern"), a U.S.-based producer of low-cost fuels made from biomass, with a flagship Louisiana project that plans to utilize regional wood-waste biomass to deliver green methanol and carbon-negative sustainable aviation fuel ("SAF") at scale, today announced that they have entered into a
Idaho sheriffs worry Medicaid mental health cuts pose ‘significant public-safety concern’
The Idaho Sheriffs' Association warned elected officials of public safety risks from cuts to Medicaid mental illness services.
Health experts urge awareness as seasonal depression affects South Carolinians
As winter approaches and daylight hours shrink, health experts are reminding South Carolinians to monitor their mental health during what can be a challenging season for many.
Wait times drop in King County for people in mental health crisis
Two years ago, the average wait time for patients to get a mental health evaluation from a Designated Crisis Responder was nearly 5 days. Now, it's 11 hours.
How To Scale Your Business With Influencers
Influencer marketing has evolved from experimental tactics to a channel driving impact across the full funnel, with leaders recognizing its bottom-line value.
Head Start Is a Model for Supporting Child and Family Mental Health
Amid a pronounced youth mental health crisis in the United States, Head Start stands out as a crucial model for addressing the needs of vulnerable young children.
Green Science Alliance Proposes New 3D "Jungle Gym like" Structure for Solar Power Generation
Dr. Ryohei Mori of Green Science Alliance Co., Ltd. - a company engaged in the research and development of cutting-edge environmental and energy technologies for decarbonization and building a carbon-neutral society—has proposed a new solar power generation system utilizing a 3D "jungle gym" structure, with proof-of-concept testing planned in the near future.
Cone Health Earns National Wellbeing First Champion Distinction
Recognition highlights Cone Health’s commitment to removing stigma around mental health care for clinicians.
A short social media detox improves mental health, a study shows. Here's how to do it
Young adults who took just a one-week break from social media showed improvement in depression, anxiety and insomnia symptoms, a new study says. Plus, tips for how to take a break from your feed.
Cleveland Clinic eCoaching Program Shows Promise for PsA-Related Mental Health
Immune Strength ecoaching allows users to take charge of their mental wellness through self-guided modules and support from health coaches.
Former mental health counselor charged with sexually assaulting patients dating back to 1996
Cutting back on social media has proven health benefits. Here are some tips
A recent study underscored the suggestion that taking a break from social media can be beneficial for your mental health — even if it’s just for a short time.
CT LEND Fellows Train to Improve Health Care for People with Developmental Disabilities
Three School of Social Work MSW students are learning to assist children and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities as 2025-26 Connecticut Leadership E ...
The Ten Best Science Books of 2025
From “experimental archaeology” to the mysterious appeal of exploration, the wide-ranging subjects detailed in these titles captivated Smithsonian magazine’s science contributors this year
SSW Launches New Certificate to Address Children’s Mental Health Crisis
The School of Social Work aims to better prepare future social workers to meet the complex mental health needs of children and youth while strengthening the ...
Science Power-up: Where Biomanufacturing Can Take Us This Century
Explore how fundamental science is shaping the future of everyday items we all rely on, from food to plastics – and how artificial intelligence and data will power the technologies of tomorrow in biomanufacturing.
Mapping the exposome: Science broadens focus to environmental disease triggers
After decades of intense focus on genetics, the biomedical research community is undergoing a major shift, focusing on a new framework called "exposomics."
New study finds cancer-linked compounds in common foods
Scientists have found that common foods can contain hidden contaminants formed during cooking or through environmental exposure. A new testing method called QuEChERS helps identify these chemicals more quickly and with greater ease. The research showed strong accuracy and high sensitivity across multiple food samples. This streamlined approach could improve food safety checks while reducing chemical waste.
Clinical Research Unit moves environmental health research forward
New medical director Lawrence Kirschner highlights the CRU’s role as a hub for translational studies connecting environmental exposures, genetics, and human health.
Science must move from materialism to mystery
Theoretical physicist and neuroscientist Àlex Gómez-Marín argues that modern science has become trapped in a framework that mistakes matter for the whole of reality. In this wide-ranging interview, Gómez-Marín challenges the foundations of materialism, defends the scientific study of near-death experiences, and calls for a new type of science grounded in mystery and a renewed sense of the sacred. He suggests that abandoning materialism could open the door to a deeper understanding of consciousness, death, and the purpose of human existence. Simon Custer: You are both a theoretical physicist and a neuroscientist, and you have also been fiercely critical of materialist theories of mind and consciousness. What do you think the ultimate nature of reality is?Àlex Gómez-Marín: I don't know what the ultimate nature of reality is, but what I try to first assess is whether the stories that they [mainstream science] have told us about it are right, or maybe whether there are other alternatives. That's why I've been a fierce critic of materialism. As a scientist, I realized that they had sold us this idea that to be a good scientist you also had to subscribe to many other -isms, like materialism, reductionism, and even secularism. And so first I think one needs to unmount these -isms, and then, as is happening today in consciousness studies, we have a huge landscape where there isn't only one game in town, the idea that matter is the only thing that really exists. But because we are studying the hard problem of consciousness, it may be the case that other views of reality, like idealism, or even dualism, or other theories like dual aspect monism... these are philosophical ideas that now, I think, have room in science to be taken seriously. How does something like materialism relate to dualism or idealism? What is materialism in the first place?Well, materialism is the philosophical position that matter is the only really ‘real’ thing in the universe. And I think that worked kind of well because science started 400 years ago and Galileo made that split, I call it the foundational wound. It was a great business move.He said, let's start doing science on that portion of reality that lends itself more easily to mathematization and measurement. So, for some reason, the solidity of this table or the movement of planets lend themselves very well to this foundational idea of science. But as time went on, 400 years later, we realized that we had forgotten the other side, which is what really matters.What really matters is pain, is love, is feelings, sensation, consciousness, which is very hard to define, but very intimate. We all know what it is. It's that thing that disappears when we go into deep sleep and comes back in the morning. SUGGESTED VIEWING On the edges of knowledge With Michael Shermer, Rupert Sheldrake, Güneş Taylor It's what it is like to be, as Nagel said. It's the feeling of being alive. So, materialism is good to study certain things, but then when it ossifies into this ideology and then is dressed like science, now it's preventing us from understanding these key questions that are really that everybody wants to know.Why are we here? Why do we feel reality? Where do we go when we die? And so we need other ways. We need pluralism. I'm only asking for having more options on the table and taking them seriously. Why does materialism fail to explain consciousness? For example, if you were to lobotomize me, I would not be a functional human being. What do you say to someone who might think that materialism adequately explains the mind?Well, here we could speak about different things. We could talk about physics or about neuroscience. I happen to have training with both.For instance, for neuroscientists, 99% of them, I'm not included in that portion, believe that the brain can only be a productive organ. It's an organ that somehow, somewhere, consciousness emerges. It's like a lamp. And then something happens, magic happens, and then consciousness emerges.That's the position you need to be if you're a materialist because if the only really ‘real’ thing is matter, then you need to say, just give us some more time and money and we'll figure out how mind emerges or is produced from matter. There are many philosophically sophisticated ways of criticizing this.Now there's another option, which is the brain as a permissive organ. This was said by William James more than 100 years ago.Now then the brain wouldn't be like this machine, like for instance, a heat engine whose smoke is consciousness, which is what we would have in the first big model, the productive model. But in the permissive model, the brain would be a kind of a filter. And so the brain would still have a very important role in consciousness, but it wouldn't be a productive role.It would be permissive, much like a filter or much like a prism which would receive light. And - I'm speaking metaphorically - it would receive the light of the mind and then it could reflect it and refract it.Now, with these two big options on the table, I think we can make progress into what I call the edges of consciousness, which are all these experiences, weird experiences that many people have, but we don't talk about enough, like near-death experiences, precognitive dreams, synchronicities. These experiences are very important for humans and they have a place in the permissive hypothesis and they are literally impossible in the productive hypothesis. So that's yet one more reason to explore alternatives to materialism. There may be anecdotal evidence for near-death experiences, but is there robust evidence that would be accepted by the majority of scientists who subscribe to the scientific method?Sure. And the plural of anecdotes, someone said, is data.And there's a lot of data. Actually, this year is the 50th anniversary, half a century, since Dr. Raymond Moody realized that we have two ears and one mouth and started listening to what his patients had to say about their experiences while they were clinically dead.The heart had stopped, breathing had stopped in these patients. These patients would come back and tell him these amazing stories that some people may say are hallucinations, but for the patients were hyper-real, like seeing light at the end of the tunnels, seeing deceased family members waiting for them, feeling bliss.___I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain.___And so he and others started taking them seriously and writing their accounts down. And then you can do a science based on that material of experience that people have. Now, on the more objective side, more recently people have started to measure what's going on in the brain when people are clinically dead and brought back. This has opened a proper field of study, which is near-death studies.Evidence is a difficult word, because sometimes people think that when you say evidence, this is just the final proof. Evidence is like in a jury. You bring testimony, you bring pieces of data that point in one direction or another.I would say the evidence suggests that the mind can survive the death of activity of the brain. When brains are broken or shut off, there can still be mind going on. And that's revolutionary.That would entail that when we die, it's not game over, which, by the way, is the thesis of materialism. If consciousness survives, materialism dies. It's game over for materialism if something of us continues after we die. Do you think that there is mental continuity after death?Well, I think so, and I believe so, and I could also say I may have experienced it myself, because four years ago I had a near-death experience. I was in the hospital, I lost a lot of blood, and I saw those beings at the end of the tunnel, three beings, and there was yellow light. I was in a well, I was looking upwards, and I hadn't read about NDEs by then, but when I came back from this experience, I decided I would try to integrate this also in my professional life. Not just my personal life, of course, but my professional life as a physicist and as a neuroscientist. So I may have had the experience of glimpses of what an afterlife would be, and I'm not ashamed to say it in this way, and then one can do science of it, and then one can do philosophy of it.One can think about what -isms we were discussing, what views on reality would allow those experiences to be really ‘real,’ as opposed to, well, poor guy, the brain was kind of broken, it must have been a hallucination. Do you have a view about whether individuality or “the ego” persists after death, or whether we sort of merge into some sort of cosmic consciousness instead?I don't know, but my view would be along those lines you're suggesting. I think we could speak about a kind of universal mind, and then the problem is not how we emerge from matter, but how we fragment from a more holistic consciousness into these individual eddies and then when we die, this kind of dissipates.But I'm not sure. For instance, idealism would promote that view, but then what would survive of us after these eddies just vanish and become again the big Consciousness, I'm not sure what that would be. I don't know for sure, but I would tell you I believe something of us survives.And there are other lines of research, not just near-death experience, that can address this really hard question of survival. For instance, there are children who remember previous lives. This was studied by Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia for more than 50 years.___Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.___It's amazing research. He went all over the world, especially in the East, and collected all these case studies, all these stories. In plural, these were data of kids, very young age, who would describe up to 40 items that then he could go and verify.There was no internet. There was really no way the kid could know. Why would the kid say that when I was living in this other body and I was a woman and that's how my house would look like or that's how I would die, right? Again, there is evidence, not proof, but there's evidence not only that something weird and interesting is happening as we cross the threshold, but also when we come back to this life.Scientists should not be afraid of studying this, but they are because there's stigma. There's usually stigma upon the enigma, and this is so unfortunate. And one of the reasons is because of the ideology of materialism, because those things cannot be possible. What is wrong with the politics of science such that they have generated this stigma?So many things. Science is a human activity to begin with.So it falls prey to all our passions and ego and greed. That's one thing. Science is a job for the good and for the bad.You need to get a salary. You need to get grants. Research takes place within a selection mechanism that also sometimes reinforces things that are not very scientific.And then, we didn't have time to unpack this, but science for many years become entangled, as I was suggesting before, to other -isms, materialism, secularism. So anything that smells like the afterlife, people may think has to do with God, and then they freak out.Anything that suggests that there's something about the mind that may not need a physical material substrate to exist, it smells like non-materialism. So, all these -isms are ideologically blocking that kind of research, and then there are all these sociopolitical constraints as to what should be studied and what shouldn't be studied.I call it the backstage of science. Sometimes we scientists or science communicators seem to speak as if the data is the only thing that matters. We say, well, data and theory.But then there's a third leg of this stool, which is all the politics that goes behind the scenes. And we often don't speak about this, and it's quite vicious and petty, and it's very real. Why is materialism so attractive to most scientists?Well, an easy answer is because we've grown up with it.It's what the educational system promotes, and that's what you hear when you go to university. So it's like growing in a culture. It feels like the air in which you breathe.So it's very hard to begin with to detect, well, maybe there's another alternative. Maybe there are other ways of doing science, other environments in which one could do science. That's one reason.And other reasons maybe are more profound, and I'm not qualified to explain them, but I could say, looking at this 400-year history of science, since it started around 1623 with Galileo's book The Assayer, that science went and coupled with all what's going on in the West.And so the fall of religion, you could say, and science presented us this new alternative that then could be coupled very well with other -isms, and this idea of growth, and then science losing its good twin brother, which was philosophy. There's a whole natural history of science starting as philosophy, kind of emancipating or breaking out from philosophy, and then marrying technology, and then marrying other social systems.From that point of view, materialism is a very convenient idea to propose. There were attempts, like the German idealists tried to do a more romantic science. But no, the idea prevailed, like Francis Bacon said: You should pursue nature through all her corners, he said, and make her spill her secrets.Our attitude towards nature in the science that dominates is very much reflecting how we treat nature in our society, in our culture, like a resource to extract secrets by force and then dominate it. How is materialism related to the notions of growth and progress? What's wrong with having a productive citizenry?This is another very interesting and very difficult question to answer.But there's this recent book coming out by Paul Kingsnorth. In it, he explains this idea of the machine and this idea of progress. And this, again, this conflation of more is better, of we need to go forward always, and convincing us that the way to do that is to continually extract more from nature. But because we don't have the religious context anymore, because God is dead, then what do we have? We have what we can do as humans with our own gadgets.It's kind of the story of the Promethean fire. We will just build anything to make ourselves God.A good example today is transhumanism. Transhumanism is this pseudo-religion dressed in technoscientific language whose goal is very religious. They promise immortality, they promise redemption, they promise transformation of the entire natural world, but it's done by human means through technology. Are you suggesting that we can't have ethics without religion?Well, we should have ethics with or without religion. That's another pruning that has happened in science. We say, forget about aesthetics, although some physicists still think that beautiful means probably true, and forget about politics. We pretend there's no backstage of science, and even let's forget about ethics.___Science needs to be in the service of mankind.___Scientists, when they become more like engineers, they're just thinking how to make things work so that they can go to the moon, go to Mars, make machines that think, but they don't think whether that's a good idea.And also consider metaphysics. Many scientists for a long time pretended, and maybe that comes from the stream of positivisms, that really one doesn't need metaphysics at all, except that materialism is always the metaphysics running the system.You see, it's not just ethics. It's the pruning of all of these, you could say, five main legs of philosophy that just makes a kind of unconscious science, a science that doesn't really know what it's doing. It's doing it very well locally, but it just doesn't know what it's doing globally. Do you think science has to have an ultimate vision and purpose behind it for it to be effective or for it to be meaningful and transformative?Yes, a way I would say that is that science needs to be in the service of mankind. And it hasn't been that. And we can see it through, you know, when we discovered the secrets of the atom, and all of a sudden, the Manhattan Project, and then we create nuclear weapons.And now we're trying to crack how machines may think, and now we're creating this mess, right? So science needs to be in service of mankind, not in service of a few ideas that maybe want to make more money or just dominate upon nature. What about planes, trains, automobiles, and modern medicine? Hasn't science served mankind by helping us develop those technologies?Yes and no. I see where you're going, and it's fair.I came here by plane, and it's a blessing. When I almost died, the surgeons did their job, and they saved my life. But these two forced choices between Luddites and Silicon Valley types, I think, of course, it's a false dichotomy.Progress, in a way, it's good, but we often don't speak about the dark side of the moon. We say the great things that progress has brought, and we don't speak about the disasters, the side effects that it has come with, and the same when we promise new technologies. We tend to think that any technology is great, that email is going to save us so much time because we don't need to write letters and send them anymore.Is that true? I spend so many hours a week writing emails. Let's just say there are great things about it and bad things about it. People like Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, for example, argue that we've made moral progress over time because of the Enlightenment. Do you think that's totally wrong-headed?I think he's emphasizing a side of the moon, and he does that very well, and you can find tons of plots where there's a slope going up and say it's great. But I think he should also tell the not-so-friendly story.But if your ideology is just to resist and continue to explain that the Enlightenment is the best thing ever and reason is the best thing ever… this feels to me like you're worshipping these abstractions.I'm very critical of it and also of these, again, science communicators and scientists that say, Oh, science says, in the name of science, experts say. It's like, come on, let's be careful because we can shoot ourselves in the foot by putting forth to the people an image of science that we know is not really true. Recently there's been a resurgence of spirituality and of people who say that they're spiritual but not religious, especially in the United States. If materialism is going away, what is going to fill that gap? Are we going to return to traditional religion? Do you see that being connected with the rise of the political right?I'm not a fortune teller, so I don't know what's going to happen. But, yeah, we could say we're in this post-materialist age and even post-secular age. One cannot come back to the past, but maybe just to contact with the roots is a good idea.What do I mean by that? I think we need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method. We need to do so in a culture where we realize humans cannot thrive in a vacuum where there's this idea that the sacred has to be removed.Now, how do we do that without bringing in back all the vices of religion? I don't know. I'm from a Catholic country.Here we are in England, so there are differences and interreligious dialogue has always been a challenge. But I think maybe a way of putting it is: after all these conflicts and branchings I was quickly alluding to, science from philosophy and then also from religion, now there's a time of reconciliation perhaps and maybe debates in the proper sense, like exchange of ideas in service of learning and getting into something higher than both poles. We need science to talk to religious people and it's interesting when people say they're spiritual and not religious.I think this is just a way of saying, no, I don't want to go back, I want to go forward. But at the end of the day, religions have offered us practices and grounding that we now desperately need. Everybody can and should just meditate or pray or do whatever they want, but we're in a crisis and it's time for reconciliation. What do you say to critics that say you are merely projecting our need for meaning onto a fundamentally indifferent universe?Yeah, I know that the typical science communicator says something like this. But we're not projecting. Human beings feed on meaning.It's the other way around. If you're a materialist, because the only thing that there is is matter, all that comes next, free will, consciousness, meaning, this is a kind of illusion that we need to explain.They're just craving for meaning, but there isn't really for them. I would also like to remind my materialist friends that for decades, if not centuries, they've said in the name of science, we know that this and this and this doesn't really exist. I think now they sense they're forced to say, well, actually, we don't know. We've been saying, for instance, that there's nothing after you die, and now probably they need to admit that they don't know the answer.___We need to do a science 2.0, a science that says thank you to Galileo and thank you to materialism, but we need to reinvent even a new kind of scientific method.___So it's a moment to open up possibilities and also to gently but fiercely critique these claims that I think harm society. If you say in the name of science, get on with it, when your father dies, you'll never see him again. Well, what the F do you know about it? You haven't studied the literature, you haven't had any of those experiences, and basically what you're doing is you're just doing marketing on ideology. This needs to stop. Do you think that it's scarier for some people to entertain the thought that there might be life after death, compared to a materialist worldview where you just die, given that there might be consequences for unsavory behaviour?Well, death and dying is scary. It's maybe the ultimate ending. It's a limit on life, and when we're in this conquest mode, we don't like limits.And it also has, there's a shockwave backwards, so I think if you change your notion of what death is or may be, you live differently. It also has consequences, as you're saying, for the future because this is not our only goal here and we come back in whatever form. And again, different religions would say different things. I the East, they are more happy with the idea of reincarnation, and here in the West, there are other preferences. But in any case, it changes how we live, and that's really what matters.It's not about just projecting or imagining what we'll be after, but how we live now and also how we treat those who are dying. So it goes from the individual to the families, to the hospitals.Now in the near-death research I do, this has ramifications at all these levels, all the way to society.But our society is thanatophobic. It has a phobia of death. We don't want to hear about death, and this is another thing we need to put on the table and be willing to talk about it. Do you think that we might get closer to answering ultimate questions like why is there anything at all if we jettison materialism?That’s an excellent question, Simon. Two things: we should stop treating reality, I believe, as a great sudoku, as an enigma, as something that with intelligence, money, and time that we will crack and instead treat reality more like a mystery. And what you do for in front of a mystery is not to be the clever guy in a class and say “I’ll solve you” but more like “I will bow and you will transform me.”I know this sounds a bit like a scientist speaking like a mystic. But I think this reorientation is needed. In the end, we won’t crack the big questions, but they will transform us. If we free ourselves from this prison of materialism, the way we will explore these questions will be freer, more creative, and in service of mankind. Do you think exploring mystery is the reason why we are here?I think we are here because, and this pseudo-theological argument I’m making off the cuff, But the One, the Absolute, if there is such a thing, had everything except limitation. We are that absolute experiencing that contingency. It’s like an act of divine proprioception. It’s a wonderful adventure, it’s just incredible to be alive. Perhaps we have forgotten why we are here and the whole point is to experience the flesh.Let me end by saying this. I criticize materialism harshly. I bang on this dead horse, because I think it’s dead. But matter is a great mystery. So maybe my invitation is as follows: hey materialist friends, come here, let’s work on materialism 2.0! Consciousness is a mystery, but matter is also a mystery. The fact that we can have an intersubjective experience consensus, the fact that we can apply mathematics, that we can measure things... the physical world we take for granted, but it is a great mystery too.Maybe that’s related to your last question: why are we here? Why did spirit decide to incarnate? Being in the flesh may be a great thing if spirit decided to do so.Àlex Gómez-Marín, thank you very much.My pleasure.
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