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Uploaded byChaitanya Charan
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Science, spirituality and the search for meaning

The document discusses the interplay between science, spirituality, and the quest for meaning amid modern distress, highlighting the importance of finding purpose in life. It raises critical questions about the universe and consciousness that science has yet to answer, while emphasizing that both scientific understanding and spiritual growth are essential for personal and societal improvement. Ultimately, it posits that science can enhance conditions and spirituality can foster personal growth, suggesting a harmonious relationship between the two.

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Science, Spirituality & The Search for Meaning
What’s missing? Amidst extraordinary progress, why extraordinary distress? Eg 1 million annual suicides
We need meaning “Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure ... or a quest for power, …, but a quest for meaning. The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life.” - Viktor Frankl
Purpose brings power We can face problems. What we can’t bear is pointless problems “What is the point of it all?”
Can science provide meaning? “The more comprehensible the universe becomes, the more it also seems pointless.”  - Physicist Steven Weinberg
What science doesn't know 1. What is the universe made of? 2. What is the biological basis of consciousness? Science, 125th anniversary issue
Why can science know what it knows When lost, 1. find paper 2. written in language that you understand 3. Having the information you need
Why can science know what it knows 1. Nature follows laws 2. Those laws can be expressed in mathematical language 3. We have minds that conceive mathematics
Why can science know what it knows “The miracle of the appropriateness of the language of mathematics for the formulation of the laws of physics is a wonderful gift which we neither understand nor deserve.” - Nobel Laureate Eugene Wigner
Science’s scope empowers and limits Methodological naturalism Eg. Fishing net
Science’s scope empowers and limits Medical Science Eg Painometer, Loveometer
The self – a holistic understanding The body: hardware The mind: software The soul: user
A thought-exercise Close your eyes Look at what appears on the inner screen Look for the seer of the inner screen
Virus of the mind The idea that the physical alone is real and will provide real happiness
Expanding the boundaries of knowledge How quantum physics developed Be open to knowledge wherever it is found
Spiritual Evolution We are sparks of consciousness seeking enduring meaning Life – 100 mile marathon, not 100 m sprint
Science-spirituality harmony Science can make things better; spirituality can make people better