By Pandora
Brief summary following our discussion on: Is there a meeting point between science and spirituality?
A simple definition of both concepts would be that, science is the aspect of human enquiry that investigates the physical realities.
While Spirituality is the aspect of reality that deals with metaphysical phenomena and the uncovering of such truths within the consciousness of intelligent creatures.
Spirituality shouldn't be mistaken for religion or spiritism, as spirituality transcends both.
In discussing with intellectuals from all around the world, some concepts emerged as regards the relationship between science and spirituality.
And I'll share some of those concepts.
A school of thought believes that science and spirituality are two parallel lines going in the same direction.
The justification for this is that the core essence of both are entirely different. Science is aimed at the physical and spirituality aimed at the metaphysical, hence there's no meeting point at this level of conception because once the physical enters the metaphysical it's no more science and when metaphysical enters the physical it's no longer spiritual.
Another school of thought is that at least one of the concept is a straight line and the other is an undulating line, undulating at the level of human understanding. There will be points where the two lines are closer to each other and other points where they are farther from each other, never meeting but going in the same direction.
A third school of thought believes that science and spirituality exist along a continuum, with different individuals leaning towards either directions in varying degrees.
Hence we can have
The very mystical sages who see no use for science at all.
The very scientific intellectuals who see no use in spirituality as an area to explore.
The people in between, people sensitive to Spiritual realities and well vast in Scientific knowledge and understanding.
These people find the union of spirituality and science to be logically coherent as opposed to 1 and 2 that find incoherence in any position apart from where they stand.
Everyone falls into 1 of these 3 categories based on genetic predisposition, ability, interest and reality experience.
The greatest minds in History are well distributed along these 3 categories proving that nature has use for all categories of mind functions.
I'll point out just 2 people from history who exhibited category 3 mind function: Sir Isaac Newton and Emmanuel Swedenborg.
We all know the scientific prowess of Isaac Newton but what most people don't know is that in his later years, he abandoned his scientific career for metaphysical and alchemical pursuits.
Hence his later years affiliation with the Rosicrucian order and Alchemy.
When there was a dispute in the international scientific community with regard to who first discovered Calculus, Libniz or Newton, Newton said he did those things in his younger years, and that now he was invested in other pursuits.
Emmanuel Swedenborg, an engineer, astronomer and anatomist made a rather dramatic exit from the scientific world, resigning from active academic work into mystical and metaphysical enquiries after he claimed to have had a spiritual encounter with a divine being. Today he is known even more for his mystical works than his scientific research.
In response to the prompt; How would one create a harmonious relationship between spirituality and science?
A number of concepts also emerged to represent what X May be in the equation, Spirituality + Science = X
X = Wisdom/Creativity/Logical coherence /Divine intelligence.
When X = Wisdom
This can be interpreted to mean that the union of spirituality and science results in wisdom , a state where both scientific and spiritual realities are recognized and well integrated into the model of reality of the intelligent creature especially for the resolution of life/universe problems.
When X = Creativity
The union of spirituality and science within an individual's frame work of reality has the potential to produce a state of heightened intellectual and spiritual expressivity. That individual becomes a channel or conductor of spiritual and scientific insights and truths.
When X = Logical Coherence.
I think logical coherence is subsequent to X as well as been a product of X. Before X can exist the mind of the cognizing individual most be able to find logical coherence between science and spirituality, this logical coherence would be the foundation on which further union of science and spirituality would be achieved.
In conclusion, spirituality is the underlying mechanism for our reality while science is the understanding of the physical manifestation of such mechanisms in our observable Reality. The perceived relationship between science and spirituality is based on the mind function of the person thinking about both concepts.
So I leave to you to uncover the other conceptions of what X might be from your experience, meditations, study and awareness.
Spirituality
Science
X