ill Spirituality Be Taught in Schools in Future as Part of Science? (MTS-FINAL: Towards A Mathematical Theory of Spirituality Based on Advaita

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Re 30393:

 

Namaste Rajuji,

What you are writing there will be accepted with

sage nods by most of the members of this forum

but your position if logically examined leads to

undesirable conclusions. Looked at objectively

or just going by their utterances all scriptures

contain statements which are false in the light

of scientific knowledge. Just to take one -

humans are not on this planet for 4.5 billion

years(yuga ?) or for 4,400 years (fundamentalist

biblical). If Shankara assumed this he was wrong

or should I say that if he thought by assuming this

he was was making an objective factual assumption

he was wrong. When scriptures occasionally coincide

with scientific truth this is just a coincidence.

Let me develop this by giving the example of

Lucretius not that he was biblical or anything.

He offered an atomic theory. Was it an atomic

theory in the same sense that the periodic table

incorporates atomic theory? No it was not, it

was pure speculation, the classic test of

falsifiability (Karl Popper) could not be applied

to it. What is a scientific theory is falsifiable,

it can be found to be wrong. Ptolmey gives

way to Copernicus who cedes to Newton who cedes

to Einstein. At each point new observation forces

change.

 

By that criterion Scripture is not Science and if

Scripture now seems to support indeterminacy be

very afraid because that will also be surpassed.

But say its naive adherents Scripture is true so

it must be true for all times and in all instances.

Yes indeed it is true, but how is it true? It is

true as a path to the 'mysterium tremendum

et fascinans'. To tie Scripture, East West

Middle East down to facts is the way to

loss of faith.

 

By the way what is your thinking on the

Darwinian theory of Evolution which seems

to be the litmust test for rationality and

its supposed conflict with religious faith?

 

Best Wishes,

Michael.