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Buddhism and Modern Science：A Critical Review of Comparisons=佛教與現代科學的比較評論 |
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| Author |
Redmond, Geoffrey P.
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| Source |
International Conference on Buddhist Education(9th)=國際佛教教育研討會(第9屆)
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| Date | 1994.07.16-20 |
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| Pages | 23 - 24 |
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| Publisher | Institute for Sino-Indian Buddhist Studies=華梵佛學研究所 |
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| Location | 臺北市, 臺灣 [Taipei shih, Taiwan] |
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| Content type | 會議論文=Proceeding Article |
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| Language | 英文=English |
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| Note | Chinese and English Abstracts=中英文提要; 中文論文提要：頁21-22 |
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| Keyword | 雷蒙; Redmond, Geoffrey P. |
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| Abstract | The idea that science is somehow compatible with Eastern religion or new ideas in spirituality is at least as old as the writings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky，the founder of Theosophy，a nineteenth century spiritual movement generally looked down upon by scholars but which introduced Buddhism to Western popular culture. The first volumes of Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled is entitled "Science and the idea of a "spiritual science "is common among spiritual and occult writers of the nineteenth as well as twentieth century. In these writings are found themes that's are still presented as new insights：that science cannot explain certain things such as the nature of consciousness or development of the human brain，that science is newly admitted by scientists to be inadequate，that science has introduced a materialistic philosophy that has brought despair to many and taken the meaning out of life，that many great scientists (Newton，Crookes, Einstein，etc.) believed the spiritual matters, that science confirms Eastern philosophy or vice versa. What is common to such ideas is the possibility of release from what is seen as a hopeless worldview presented by science. This release may come because science refutes itself or because science discovers deeper truths that prove the universe is spiritual rather than solely material.
I term "science mysticism" the idea that science (for example，quantum mechanics) confirms the ideas of mysticism and can therefore serve as a source of religious truth. There have been many popular works of science mysticism of which Fritjof Capra's The Tao of Physics is the best known. However the claim of science mysticism that science has independently arrived at the truths of Oriental religion is questionable. Science mysticism uses not the language of science popularisation. It is no coincidence that this resembles mystical language because is adapts a mystical mode of discourse. The argument that science therefore recapitulates mysticism is thus circular.
In a sense science mysticism potentially concedes the field to science by making its truths contingent upon scientific verification. From a religious perspective，the truths of religion are independent of science. This was not true when the world's great religious were being founded because there was no science. Therefore religion was called upon to account for such questions as how the universe came to be. However these are now placed outside religion and can be studied more powerfully with the methods of science. However there remain fundamental religious questions which it is unlikely that science will be able to address in a satisfying way. These include the main concerns of Buddhism，that is, the causes and means of elimination of suffering. Nor does science mysticism address these questions. Science mysticism is an inadequate support for religion because it makes religion subject to refutation or modification in the unpredictable way scientific theories must be modified. It rests on a fundamental fallacy in assuming that religious ideas are susceptible to proof in the same way scientific ones are. Science however can be used to evoke feelings of wonder which are also religious feelings-at the vast size of the universe，the complexity of human mind，the delicate functioning of ecosystems or even beginningless succession of the seasons.
Buddhism is often help to be more compatible with science than other religions. As both a scientists and a Buddhist I am committed to both disciplines. However I believe science mysticism is neither good science nor good mysticism. I am not antagonistic to the idea that there is a special comparability between science and Buddhism. Yet I feel it is elsewhere than usually claimed to be found. Where it is I try to suggest in this paper. |
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| Hits | 364 |
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| Created date | 2001.02.21
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| Modified date | 2015.06.12 |
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