vol 1: About
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... to restore theology to the mainstream of science
The hypothesis
Religion
The working hypothesis here is that religion is the force that binds individual, genetically distant human beings together into a peaceful and coherent society. The plan is to examine this hypothesis in the light of the foundation of scientific faith: the world is consistent.
The world fits together. Some of this fit is clear to us. Some remains a mystery. We collectively spend many billions of dollars every year on efforts to explore and map more of the fit. If, as our article of faith says, the universe all fits together, we may say that it is one, and if it is one, knowledge of any part of it contributes to knowledge of the whole.
We assume here that god and the universe are one, open to our gaze, even if beyond our comprehension. The sciences have been very successful over the last few centuries, and have built up a vast archive of information about the world. If the world is one, this information must tell us something relevant to theology and religion
Particles and fields
The universe is one, but it also has many parts, ranging from subatomic particles to galaxies and beyond. We are each parts of the universe. We notice that the universe is built rather like set theory, since a part may both contain smaller parts and be part of something bigger. Set theory thus gives is a static space in which to model the world.
The universe is also dynamic, so that parts that were once bound together are now apart and vice versa. Behind the dance of the parts we suspect the presence of an invisible choreographer. In physics the choreographers are called the fields. In traditional theology, gods.
In physics, the formal descriptions of particles and the fields carry the same information encoded in different ways. They are duals of one another. If we carry this idea over into the human sphere, individual people would be the particles and the fields that guide us would be aspects of the human spirit: the totality of the human spirit would carry the same information as the totality of human individuals.
Matter and spirit
Our aim is to see how human beings may work together as a coherent whole. We proceed by carrying physical ideas of coherence and binding over to the spiritual realm. To do this we first assume that there is no absolute gulf between matter and spirit, but rather than spirit is embodied in complex material systems. We then invoke a notion of symmetry with respect to complexity to build bridges between simple and complex systems. Complex systems, we assume, contain all the features of the simple systems within them and more.
So we hope to shine the light of science on the art of religion in the interest of peace. The devil, of course, is in the detail. First the hypothesis needs to be developed in detail, and the resulting picture compared, in detail, to the world of experience. If the hypothesis fits reality, it becomes a useful guide to practical design and construction. Engineers use physics to construct bridges. Societies use theology to construct humanity.
Books
| Ashby, W Ross, An Introduction to Cybernetics, Methuen 1964 'This book is intended to provide [an introduction to cybernetics]. It starts from common-place and well understood concepts, and proceeds step by step to show how these concepts can be made exact, and how they can be developed until they lead into such subjects as feedback, stability, regulation, ultrastability, information, coding, noise and other cybernetic topics' Amazon back |
| Davis, Philip J, No Way: The Nature of the Impossible, W H Freeman 1987 Introduction: 'Think about the miracles of religion: a virgin gives birth, a man raises the dead and walks on water. Are these possible or are they impossible? Decide. ... what really counts as impossible? ... You can prove logical impossibilities, but do they say anything about the real world? You can assert practical impossibilities, but are they really impossible? Why bother about the question? Because mankind is inspired by the challenge of the impossible ...' [pp xiv, xvi] Amazon back |
| Dirac, P A M, The Principles of Quantum Mechanics (4th ed), Oxford UP/Clarendon 1983 Jacket: '[this] is the standard work in the fundamental principles of quantum mechaincs, indispensible both to the advanced student and the mature research worker, who will always find it a fresh source of knowledge and stimulation.' (Nature) Amazon back |
| Kuhn, Thomas S, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, U of Chicago Press 1996 Introduction: 'a new theory, however special its range of application, is seldom just an increment to what is already known. Its assimilation requires the reconstruction of prior theory and the re-evaluation of prior fact, an intrinsically revolutionary process that is seldom completed by a single man, and never overnight.' [p 7] Amazon back |
| Popper, Karl Raimund, Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge, Routledge and Kegan Paul 1972 Preface: 'The way in which knowledge progresses, and expecially our scientific knowledge, is by unjustified (and unjustifiable) anticipations, by guesses, by tentative solutions to our problems, by conjectures. These conjectures are controlled by criticism; that is, by attempted refutations, which include severely critical tests.' [p viii] Amazon back |
Click on an "Amazon" link in the booklist at the foot of the page to buy the book, see more details or search for similar items
Related sites:
Concordat Watch
Revealing Vatican attempts to propagate its religion by international treaty
