Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
Most people in America at one time or another have a weird experience, which might be labeled psychic, mystical or miraculous. It could be an uncanny UFO citing, an undeniable case of telepathy or an experience with a psychoactive drug, such as DMT, where you see creatures that aren’t supposed to be “there.”
However, most of us are uncomfortable talking about them for fear of being ridiculed as “unscientific.” For example, you are thinking of a long lost friend you haven’t seen in decades who has no way to know where you are right now. Suddenly, she calls you at that exact moment out of the blue.
What is foolish about discussing strange experiences?
Scientism Is Not Science
Scientism is the uncritical belief in science as having all the answers and as the sole means of finding truth. In its own way, it is every bit as fanatical as religious fundamentalism; nevertheless, it is often condoned in academic circles.
Scientism is based upon the centuries-long tradition of rational empiricism that sought to debunk all forms of superstition, such as how many angels can dance on a pinhead. Rational empiricism held that if you can’t see it, hear it, touch it, taste it or smell it, for the purposes of science, it is unreal and can be discounted.
Science, itself, is any systematic, structured inquiry based upon observation and collaboration. The observation need not be based upon precise measurement, if not practical or convenient. It also doesn’t necessarily need to be repeatable. For example, earthquakes, which can be studied scientifically, are not exactly repeatable. Each earthquake is unique.
Science Is More Than the Scientific Method
The scientific method is based upon experimentation and careful observation, with painstaking record keeping and published results. The English word “experiment” is actually translated “experience” in French. It is an experiential method of prediction. If I do this, then that will happen.
The scientific method is all about testing an idea or hypothesis, and seeing if it actually works out under laboratory conditions. What happens will either confirm or disprove the hypothesis. What happens should be repeatable and verifiable by third parties. Successful experiments are written and published in scientific journals, both in print and on the Internet.
The scientific enterprise has taken great inspiration from the experimental approach, but extends beyond it. For example, in evolutionary theory, most of the development studied presumably happened millions of years ago. You can’t actually observe that progress in present time; you must base it upon evidence, such as carbon dating. (Exceptions can be made for studying species with very short lifespans).
Scientists Are Human Beings
You will find tens of millions of scientists all around the world. Physicists, alone, number over four million. Contrary to the stereotype, many of them are deeply religious or spiritual, and more than a few have been extraordinary mystics. One need only think of the early quantum physicists, such as Bohr, Heisenberg and Schrodinger. Niels Bohr actually put the Tai Chi symbol on his coat of arms.
To regard scientists as authorities is dangerous to both science and the truth, every bit as risky as taking everything a Pope says without question. Richard Dawkins, the most colorful scientist of this stripe, has launched a global crusade against all forms of religion, considering it primitive superstition with his book, The God Delusion. Dawkins’ dogmatism jeopardizes the credibility of his own brilliant research. Ironically, his religious atheism suggests he has deep religious convictions he is futilely attempting to exorcise. If you truly believe in something, you need not go around proving it.
If you truly believe in something, you need not go around proving it.
True scientists are distinguished by a profound sense of humility, as well as awe-inspired wonder about the Universe. The great Carl Sagan comes to mind, who, although an atheist, was passionate about the beauty and perfection of nature. Most scientists are highly reluctant to pontificate beyond their own experience. Matthew Fox, a distinguished Episcopalian theologian refers to scientists as yoga practitioners, with yoga viewed as a way to unite with the Creator.
Science Offers No Proof, Only Probability
Mathematics is based upon abstract theorems capable of “proof.” This is a definitional truth having nothing to do with external conditions. For example, 1 + 1 is always 2. Never does 1 + 1 equal 3. That is how we have defined the symbols. As the great philosopher, Immanuel Kant put it; it is “a priori.” Mathematics exists prior to anything we see in the outside world.
While science uses math extensively, especially in the physical sciences, such as physics and chemistry, it never uses the term “proof,” because it is always based upon observation. It deals with a world of uncertainty based upon probability. No experiment “proves” a hypothesis. It demonstrates a principle or offers evidence for a theory.
Thus, if you have an out-of-the-body experience (OBE) or near death experience (NDE), science can never “prove” that this is impossible, false or an illusion. Your own experience can be considered evidence. It is noteworthy that the Dalai Lama, who has been surrounded by prominent scientists for years, proposed in his book, The Universe in a Single Atom, a marriage between inner and outer science. Many Buddhist practices are profoundly experiential, even though they may not be strictly measurable.
Quantum Physics Changed Science Forever
When scientists first began playing around with high-energy particles, it profoundly altered their notion of what was real, what was “out there.” The subatomic particles--protons, neutrons, electrons, as well as quarks and bosons--behaved in ways that utterly defied classical physics. For example, particles can flow from the present back into the past, and they can be several places at once.
With Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, gone was the idea that you could have a perfectly clean experience with observation totally independent of the phenomenon being observed. It was irreversibly recognized that the very process of observation impacts that which is observed. So you can never see a particle as it really is. Furthermore, it became increasingly apparent that the observer, the process of observation and the observed are all essentially one.
*Above image is from the book: Awaken Perfection
A subjective element crept into physics that could never be removed, no matter how meticulous the physicists were with their apparatus. They found that every observation caused a particle to suddenly “collapse” at a particular point. But they couldn’t tell both the speed and the position of the particle at the same time. You could identify one, or the other, but not both.
Objectivity Is a Noble Ideal
As the physicist, James Jeans, put it, “The universe begins to look more like a great thought than like a great machine.” Subjectivity is inherent in our very experience. The man with the white coat in the laboratory is every bit as subjective as you. The only way he can approach objectivity is to share his perspective with others, and look upon knowledge as a perpetual process.
Philosophically, science, along with logic and perception, deal with “tentative truth.” We are forever observing and structuring our knowledge through language. We share and compare our insights with others and gradually learn. We can never be certain about anything. If we walk across the street and no car appears, we take it on faith that we will make it across, but we never know until we have taken that last step.
Life is inherently uncertain and subjective. As Martin Luther put it, “[We] live by faith,” whatever our religious or philosophic background. While honoring our perception and reasoning, we must complement them with our feelings and intuition. Through our right brain, it is possible to receive a kind of revelation into Absolute Truth. Without personal revelation, Absolute Truth is infinitely far from us.
Information Is Not Knowledge
In the last several decades, humanity has witnessed an explosion of data and information beyond anything previously conceivable. As the prophet Isaiah once put it, “The knowledge of God shall cover the earth as the waters of the sea.” We are going beyond terabytes into petabytes, exobytes and zettabytes. Google and Facebook work way overtime to keep up with the velocity of this information.
Raw information is, in itself, not knowledge. Knowledge is structure, well-organized information that is thought out, and put together much like leaves on a tree. It requires perspective, insight and interpretation. Knowledge must be curated to be of much value. Raw facts, by themselves, are rather empty.
The information overload has reached the point where luminaries in the infosphere, such as Arianna Huffington, encourage people to actually switch off all their digital devices from time to time just to keep their sanity. True knowledge requires the guidance of our intuition, and intuition comes through walks by the seashore and closed-eyes meditation.
Knowledge Is Not Wisdom
We now enjoy a proliferation of knowledge well beyond data, information and facts, thanks to an array of learning venues on Facebook, YouTube, iTunes, TedX, Udemy and other sources, such as The Great Courses. You can hear professors in prestigious universities impart knowledge of every kind systematically free or for a nominal charge.
Yet, even the best teachers have a very hard time imparting wisdom to their students, which is inherently holistic, incorporating body, soul, mind and spirit. Wisdom comes with years of experience, trial and error, and many mistakes. It is housed in the great spiritual traditions, and generally requires some kind of inner discipline, whether religious or humanistic.
If we read the news media and watch what is happening in the world today, it is very clear that contemporary humanity has undervalued wisdom to its great detriment. Realizing this is a step toward healing, as you seek wisdom within and practice deep listening. As all the great masters throughout the ages have admonished us, “Seek, and you will find.”
Stay True to Your Own Experience
The old paradigm of scientism, on the one hand, and fundamentalism, on the other, is beginning to loosen its grip on humanity, as both outlooks are distortions of the truth. Scientism is a caricature of true science and fundamentalism of true religion. They are with us longer than expected because of the dislocation, stress and profound uncertainty of global warming and an ever changing technology landscape.
Increasing numbers of people welcome the new paradigm, where consciousness is seen as the heart of reality. Both inner and outer science is welcomed with an open heart and mind. With millions of people disclosing their Near Death Experiences, the reality of spirit is increasingly difficult to deny.
You may still run into a friend, in or outside a university, who tries to put you down when you share a strange experience or two. Realize that many of these people have only a veneer of science, and have largely missed the point. As Einstein put it, “Science without religion is lame.” Reason and perception are no longer enough. The right brain is back, with both emotion and intuition informing our every thought, word and deed.
The next time you are about to be put down by a pseudoscientist who insists you prove it, ask him with a smile, “Have you ever heard of Werner Heisenberg? Nothing is as it appears to be!”
If We Can’t Prove It, Can It Still Be Scientific? appeared first on http://consciousowl.com.
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