Today I have been most inspired and uplifted by a wonderfully accessible, lucid, reasonable, rational and open-minded statement which puts that fundamentalism which has so narrowed the general scope of scientific enquiry firmly in its place – but without being the least bit offensive in the process of doing so.
It also reminds us that we live in an inter-connected, multi-levelled Cosmos; our knowledge both of what we now know and what we do NOT know, should be turning us away from narrow position-taking towards open-mindedly and co-operatively addressing the huge collective issues which we are increasingly facing.
We are one world. In this context, separatism of any kind – political, scientific or religious – has no valid place. Do take the time to read
Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science
It will provide an inspiring counterpoint to the dark, turbulent times we are living through at present…
160 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2014
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page
So true Anne I hope the current events world wide are birthing pains of a new order that recognises this remarkably simple but profound truth. I also hope it can be done with less pain and misery than before in this Age of Aquarius. It may not be in my lifetime as the wheels of such things are slow moving but I hope so for my children and my grandchildren. Thank you for this little jewel of wisdom xXx
Many thanks for this thoughtful reply, Carole. You are right, the wheels of major change such as we are now living through are moving very slowly – it is beyond the scope of a single lifetime to see what the outcome might be. And may the next phase bring us a little more enlightenment than we seem to have at present…x
This totally resonated with me. I hope and pray we can for a change learn from our mistakes in history and move forward together for the greater good.
Amen to that, Sheilagh! And thanks for dropping by…
This is, indeed, good news. It reminds me to have faith in my own 12th house experiences.
Yes indeed, Leslie!
I have found their level of open-minded affirmation of 12th house type experiences very supportive of mine too…
Most interesting. As I read, I found myself thinking of an assortment of people I know who would reject the manifesto — though for very different reasons. I do know some in the sciences who are devoted to the materialist view, but I also know some who would negate the importance of the physical world for our understanding of life.
Little Miss Both/And (me) really appreciates the way different aspects of reality are held in tension here, and held in equal regard. And I couldn’t help but think of the number of people who like to appeal to “settled science” in so many arenas. The point of science is that it’s never “settled” — at best, we have some very, very good working hypotheses, that appear to hold true 100% of the time. But what if they hold true only 99.99% of the time? Oh, my!
On the other subject of the day — I really am getting a kick out of listening to the discussions on the BBC and Skye, and the reports from Glasgow. Isn’t this an amazing world we live in?
Yes, I found this manifesto very exciting and affirming of all the conclusions I have come to myself after many years of reading, listening to a wide range of people’s stories, living my life in an open-minded but not easily convinced sort of way – sceptical in the true sense of the word – and most of all of having had intermittent and unwelcome intrusion over many years into my otherwise ‘normal’ life of a range of very odd experiences which had their own clear reality outwith the narrow frame of materialist science. The last chapter of “Wisps from the Dazzling Darkness”(http://anne-whitaker.com/wisps-from-the-dazzling-darkness/) – my ‘take’ on those experiences, analyses them all, bringing in the insights of contemporary scientists NOT blinkered by ‘scientism’.
I really like what you say here ie “The point of science is that it’s never “settled” — at best, we have some very, very good working hypotheses, that appear to hold true 100% of the time. But what if they hold true only 99.99% of the time?” It brings the philosopher Carl Popper to mind, and his famous observation that it would take but one white crow to demolish the hypothesis we have worked with for centuries that all crows are black…
And on the other subject – didn’t Scotland deliver a mighty Thumbs-Up to democracy with our 84% turnout? I feel very proud of how we conducted the whole process, including the gracious and generous way in which Alex Salmond conceded defeat and Alastair Darling affirmed victory. We needed a decisive result, one way or the other, and we got it. Now we need to push the UK Government to give us the additional devolved powers they had to promise us in their panicked response in the week or so before the vote….and Alex Salmond has just resigned. What a shock. As I said in my article, prepare for the bumpy ride of unintended and unforeseen consequences.
Thanks for your interest in our national turmoil, Linda!
I support the manifesto. This is the direction we need move in. A lot of problems shifting the worldview have to do with at least getting scientists to understand things outside of their narrow specialty, and then there are the politics of funding (Sheldrake covers all this in his latest book).
Thanks, Ellis, and I very much agree with what you say. Rupert Sheldrake’s “The Science Delusion” is a testimony to the refreshing, informative perspectives an open-minded and truly reasonable scientist can offer to people like us who truly wish to learn as much as we can – not just about the 4%, but about the 23% and the 73% as well! Your comment appreciated.
I like that. So you mind if I share this through my Facebook?
Good to hear from you, Ellen. Yes, I thought this might appeal to you. And please do share the Manifesto. The more people know about it, the better.