Albert Einstein famously said that, “belief in an external world independent of the perceiving subject is the basis of all natural science.” This statement has become the governing principle of modern science and, in fact, the very definition of reality. It is echoed by leading modern scientists such as Lee Smolin, who writes in the The Trouble with Physics (p. 6-7), that “Physicists have traditionally expected that science should give an account of reality as it would be in our absence. . . . It cannot be that reality depends on our existence. . . . Philosophers call this view realism. It can be summarized by saying that the real world out there . . . must exist independently of us.” Similarly, the late Stephen Hawking writes in The Grand Design (p. 43)(with Leonard Mlodinow) , that “[c]lassical science is based on the belief that there exists a real external world...
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Webster’s Third New International Dictionary defines the term “radical” as “marked by a considerable departure from the usual or traditional.” In our modern world, the “usual or traditional” takes many forms, including “what most people think,” “what you grew up believing,” “what your religious teachers say,” or, on a grander scale, the governing scientific worldview. It is my premise that the governing scientific worldview underlies and propells all other beliefs. It is the foundation from which the other fields flow, from politics and economics to medicine and cosmology. So if we want to truly change the world, we must change it at the root, we must shake the foundation, and then see how the other fields change to align with this new way of thinking. So what is the “governing scientific worldview?” It is simply the belief that a massive world of matter, composed of tiny little particles, exists independently of human consciousness. This...
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In his famous article, The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics, physicist Eugene Wigner pondered how it is that mathematics is so effective at explaining the workings of the physical world. This is the same topic of the recent NOVA special, The Great Math Mystery, which offers a very well-done and interesting account of how mathematics governs the universe from the smallest particles to the sweeping spiral galaxies of the heavens. The effectiveness of mathematics in mapping the workings of the universe, however, should also give pause to anyone who believes that materialism is the final word not only on how the world works, but on science itself. Today, in science, we see highly educated people pondering the intricate machine-like precision of physical reality yet science has no mechanism to account for how this is possible. Simply put, since materialists have drained mind, spirit, God, and intelligence from the physical world, they have no...
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“I have no need of that hypothesis.” Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827) in reply to Napoleon’s inquiry of why Laplace had left God out of his book on astronomy Our leading scientists are not disclosing all of the facts about what we know and don’t know about the Big Bang theory and are covering up evidence that the universe is in fact finely-tuned. Why is this important? Because a finely tuned universe leads to the conclusion that there is a mind or intelligence behind creation. This conclusion would then mean that science must evolve to incorporate intelligence into the scientific world picture. And I am not talking about what is commonly called, “Intelligent Design.” Rather, I am saying that we must move beyond both science and religion and build a new worldview where mind ¾ our mind ¾- is placed front and center into any explanation of natural phenomena. Using the tools of...
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Brian Greene is undoubtedly one of the finest science writers at work today. His books, The Elegant Universe and The Fabric of the Cosmos, are both well written and provide, for the most part, clear and entertaining accounts of modern cosmology’s cutting-edge theories. Many of these theories may, in fact, turn out to be wrong, but Professor Greene keeps the reader in mind as he makes his way through the confounding theories of modern cosmology, including quantum theory, the inflationary Big Bang, and Greene’s personal favorite, string theory. Professor Greene has recently published a new book, entitled, “The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos” (for which a longer comment will be forthcoming), and to promote the book, agreed to an interview with David Gelernter in today’s (Jan. 31, 2011) Wall Street Journal. This interview (along with the book) will, with luck, mark the end of the road for scientific theorizing within a materialistic framework. The...
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One way to judge the two stories is think them both through with an open mind. And, like a scientist conducting an experiment in a laboratory, we must remove our own beliefs and prejudices from the outcome of the experiment. The reader must try to look at the world purely, like a child. Strive for extreme objectivity; be the perfect neutral judge and make no decisions until the evidence comes in and the arguments weighed against each other.
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