What laws of physics are involved here? — Glenn Turner
I think that's the problem here : not physics, but logic. Sheldrake's Morphic Field hypothesis is philosophical, not scientific -- holistic, not analytic. It seems to assume top-down causation, from field to object. And, I agree that it does seem as-if some invisible hand is enforming living and growing things. But I have come to a different conclusion, in which progressive Evolution is top-down in conception, but bottom-up in execution.
By that I mean the world works like an Evolutionary Program, with general teleology set by the Designer, but specific steps toward the desired end are determined ad hoc and heuristically. This is the thesis of my Enformationism worldview. I sometimes use the metaphor of an Enformation Field, or the force of EnFormAction. But when translated into scientific terminology, it's just plain old erratic Evolution, motivated by Energy. So, most science-minded folks miss the point of the thesis.
