Science appears, on the face of it, to be a good thing.
But it is no replacement for spirituality.
Science takes a thing, measures it, manipulates it, 'understands it, and exploits it.
This process, more often than not, results in the destruction of whatever science is applied to.
Whereas spirituality appreciates a thing, for whatever a thing is, perceives it, makes use of it, without destroying it, in the process.
Science seeks, always, to 'understand'. And of what use is 'understanding'?
Once a thing is labeled, 'understood', put in a box, and organized, what is that thing, then?
Its life, its magic, its uniqueness, has been taken from it, and it is, henceforth, taken for granted; used up.
Spirituality makes-use-of.
Science uses-up.
The former reveres, appreciates, and benefits-from.
The latter demeans, diminishes, and destroys.
Science is a useful tool, to be used when the task at hand calls for it.
It is not the only tool in the toolbox.
Taoism is: Spirituality.
Taoism is not: Science.
Hi Crow.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering how to get in touch with you?
We had an interesting discussion over on Bruce Charlton's blog I was hoping to continue with, but didn't think it fair to take over his blog comments section.
Thx!
Welcome :)
ReplyDeleteYou can talk here, if you like. Few others do. It might even inspire me to add some posts to it.
Still working on my (long!) comment. . .
ReplyDeleteOf course my computer crashed and I lost several pages of text. . .
ReplyDeleteWill post something, sometime!
I could see science as an intention to understand cause and effect, and I could see understanding as any movement from uncertainty towards greater certainty, or perhaps from vagueness to clarity. In this sense I see spirituality as an advanced form of science. It still maintains a recognition of cause and effect, but is looking at deeper causes and deeper effects that science has not yet attempted to grasp.
ReplyDeleteI do not mind exploiting this universe, but I would rather exploit it more completely. By exploit I mean to make constructive use of an infinite resource. As children we are satisfied by toys, as young adults we are satisfied by bigger toys, but perhaps by the time we are 30 or 40 the toys don't mean so much to us. If people were to study themselves, they would easily recognize the futility of satisfying an adult with toys made for children, and they would use this world as a means for looking deeper. We all can be as satisfied as we were as children, but not by the same toys we had as children.
I do not recommend giving up on finding satisfaction and I don't recommend seeking anything deeper if you are satisfied. Let satisfaction be enough and enjoy it completely as far as it will take you. When dissatisfaction arises, seek out the expanded version of yourself that has already moved on, and settle for nothing less than a sense of complete satisfaction.