Ervin László

The native form of thispersonal nameisLászló Ervin.This article usesWestern name orderwhen mentioning individuals.

Ervin László
László (center) with Tamás Paulinyi (left) and Bence László Tarr (right), circa 2007
Born	(1932-06-12)12 June 1932 Budapest,Hungary
Citizenship	Hungarian American
Known for	Quantum consciousness Akashic field
Spouse	Carita Jägerhorn ​ (m.1956)​
Children	2
Awards	honorary doctorate fromUniversity of Pécs
Scientific career
Fields	Philosophy Systems theory Integral theory

Ervin László(Hungarian pronunciation:[ˈɛrvinˈlaːsloː];born 12 June 1932) is an Americanphilosopher of science,systems theorist,integral theorist, originally a classicalpianist.He is an advocate of the theory ofquantum consciousness.

Early life and education

László was born inBudapest,Hungary,the son of a shoe manufacturer and a mother who played the piano; László himself started playing the piano when he was five years old, and gave his first piano concert with theBudapest Symphony Orchestraat the age of nine. AfterWorld War II,he moved to the United States.

Career

László is a visiting faculty member at the Graduate Institute Bethany. He has published about 75 books and over 400 papers,and is editor ofWorld Futures: The Journal of General Evolution.

László participated in theStock Exchange of Visionsproject in 2006. In 2010, he was elected an external member of theHungarian Academy of Sciences.

In Hungary, the minister of environment appointed Laszlo as one of the leaders of the ministry's campaign concerningglobal warming.

Awards and honors

In 2002, László received anhonorary doctoratefrom theUniversity of Pécs.

Personal life

László married CaritaJägerhorn af Spurila16 November 1956. One of their two sons isAlexander Laszlo.

Work

Systems theory

László became a leading exponent ofLudwig von Bertalanffy’sgeneral systems theory.László viewed systems theory not only as scientifically important; he also saw in it the potential to establish an objective basis for humanist values, deriving from a consideration of a natural systems hierarchy and its evolution. In his opinion, “The ethics and natural philosophy of this new world view can help explicate and justify an emerging supranational social ethos: ‘reverence for natural systems’.”

General Evolutionary Research Group

In 1984, László was co-founder withBéla H. Bánáthy,Riane Eisler,John Corliss,Francisco Varela,Vilmos Csanyi,Gyorgy Kampis,David Loye,Jonathan SchullandEric Chaissonof the initially secret General Evolutionary Research Group.Meeting behind theIron Curtain,the group of scientists and thinkers from a variety of disciplines met in secret. Their goal was to explore whether it might be possible to use thechaos theoryto identify a newgeneral theory of evolutionthat might serve as a path to a better world.

Club of Budapest

In 1993, in response to his experience with theClub of Rome,he founded theClub of Budapestto, in his words, "centre attention on the evolution of human values and consciousness as the crucial factors in changing course — from a race towards degradation, polarization and disaster to a rethinking of values and priorities so as to navigate today's transformation in the direction of humanism, ethics and global sustainability".

Akashic field theory

László's 2004 book,Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everythingposits a field of information as the substance of thecosmos.Using theSanskritandVedicterm for "space",Akasha,he calls this information field the "Akashic field"or" A-field ". He posits that the" quantum vacuum "(seeVacuum state) is the fundamental energy and information-carrying field that informs not just the current universe, but all universes past and present (collectively, theAkashic recordsor "Metaverse").

László believes that such an informational field can explain why our universe appears to befine-tunedso as to form galaxies and conscious lifeforms; and whyevolutionis an informed, not random, process. He believes that thehypothesissolves several problems that emerge fromquantum physics,especiallynonlocalityandquantum entanglement.

The Immortal Mind

László became interested in the consciousness theories of Anthony Peake, (who in turn was an admirer of László’s work on the Akashic Field). Peake, whose background was in thesocial sciences,had sought to explain the fact thataltered states of consciousness(such asdeja vu,dreams,psychedelic drugexperiences,meditation,near death experience) sometimes seem to featureprecognitionandpremonitions.Peake had produced a tentative synthesis of the ancient idea of the "Eternal Return"with modern ideas like thesimulation argument,theholographic universe,and themany worlds interpretation.In Peake’s hypothesis, one lives variants of the same life repeatedly but with the ability to make different choices and experience different outcomes, and a premonition is in fact a memory of the past.Peake became a Consciousness Studies Department Member at Ervin László’s Center For Advanced Studies.László collaborated with Anthony Peake on the bookThe Immortal Mind: Science and the Continuity of Consciousness Beyond the Brain.

Macroshift theory

In his bookYou Can Change the World,László promotes a linking ofnon-government organizationspromotingsustainable development,using theInternet.

Autobiography

László has written an autobiography entitledSimply Genius! And Other Tales from My Life,published by Hay House Publishers in June 2011.

Reception

In an essay,Stanislav Grofcompared László's work to that ofKen Wilber,saying "Where Wilber outlined what an integral theory of everything should look like, Laszlo actually created one."

Selected publications

• Introduction to Systems Philosophy: Toward a New Paradigm of Contemporary Thought,Gordon and Breach, 1972; Harper Torchbooks, 1973.
• 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.
• Macroshift: Navigating the Transformation to a Sustainable World,Berrett - Koehler, 2001
• 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,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.
• The Intelligence of the Cosmos,Inner Traditions, 2017.
• Reconnecting to the Source: The New Science of Spiritual Experience, How It Can Change You, and How It Can Transform the World,St. Martin's Essentials, 2020.

External links

• ervinlaszlo.com - The personal site of Ervin Laszlo
• The Life and Career of Dr. Ervin Laszlointerviewed by David William Gibbons December 2011 <http://www.davidgibbons.org/id499.html>