Philosophy – Theoscience.org

2021-10-012021-10-01

A Search for Divine Action in the World

Religion, Philosophy

Date : Apr., 2021

Source : MDPI – Religions

One of the champion of the dialogue between Science and Traditions was John Charlton Polkinghorne (1930-2021). He was at the crossroad of both, devoting his life to mathematics and quantum physics (Cambridge), and at the same time studying theology (Anglican Theological College). He was able to reconcile the creation of the universe by God, and the evolutionary and autonomous world that we witness.

This article is a resume of his thesis, combining “natural theology” and ‘theology of nature” with science. Its conclusion states that :

“a world created by a loving and faithful God will be characterized by both openness of chance and a regularity of necessity. The openness of chance in this universe is expressed through quantum in-determinism, chaos theory, and the role of the mind in human activity. The necessity, in turn, can be indicated, for example, in the regularity of natural laws.”

Panpsychism: A Dialogue with Rupert Sheldrake

Psychology, Philosophy

Date : Feb. 2021

Source : YouTube

A Dialogue between Rupert Sheldrake and Mark Vernon on the Panpsychism paradigm.

2021-07-082021-07-09

Transpersonal Psychology : Moving Beyond Materialism

Philosophy, Psychology

Date : Jan. 2017

Source : California Institute of Integral Studies

Scientific Materialism paradigm is becoming more and more unbearable, and post-materialistic science is emerging. In a paper published in the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, the author is debating the role of Transpersonal Psychology as a contributor to cultural transformation. The metaphysics of Science, Materialism, and Post-Materialism are analyzed and an evaluation of the contribution of Transpersonal Psychology is proposed.

Shaivistic Samkhya Yoga in Balinese Tradition

Philosophy, Religion

Date : Dec. 2020

Source : Archipel Journal

Bali (Indonesia) textual traditions was built long time ago with a mixture of Hinduism which were brought more than one thousand years ago in the Island. It is a blending of Samkhya, Yoga, and Advaita Vedanta, three of the six Darshanas of Old India. This combination of dualist and monist approaches is synthesized in the Aji Sangkya, a recent compilation (1947). A new analysis of this tradition was published as a comparative study between the various Hinduisms on which it is based. It highlights the process of creation with the tattvas, which has a lot of parallels with the theosophical constitution of man.

The Metaphysics of the Four Yogas

Philosophy, Religion

Date : Oct. 2020

Source : MDPI – Religions

Swami Vivekananda claims that the four yogas – Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja-Yoga and Jnana-Yoga – are independent and equally effective paths to Self-realization and liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Ultimately, there are as many yogas as many individuals beings seeking liberation. He said that “The ultimate goal of all mankind, the aim and the end of all religions, is but one-re-union with God, or, what amounts to the same, with the divinity which is every man’s true nature.” A recent paper discusses and explains this diversity leading to unity.

Dark Matter : A Ghost

Physics, Space Sciences

Date : Nov. 2020

Source : Science Magazine

Since the discovery of the anomalies of galaxies’ outer stars rotations (Fritz Zwicky, 1933’s), scientists have not been able to develop a satisfactory theory to explain the observed phenomenon. The concept of Dark Matter was introduced to account for the departure from general relativity model. Later, Dark Matter was used as a necessary component to validate the Big Bang theory, i.e. without Dark Matter, it is not possible for the initial sidereal bodies to form.
Dark Matter must pervade every galaxy. Yet, after decades of modeling and observations, not a single particle of Dark Matter has been spotted.
A new hypothesis surfaced, based on the observations of the distribution of galaxies from the CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background), which includes a gravity model which would be attractive at some length scale and repulsive at others.

Mme Blavatsky wrote (Isis Unveiled I. p.271, Ed. 1877) : “That there is no gravitation in the Newtonian sense, but only magnetic attraction and repulsion; that it is by their magnetism that the planets of the solar system have their motions regulated in their respective orbits by the still more powerful magnetism of the sun, not by their weight or gravitation.”

See the video : YouTube

2021-03-172021-04-17

The Role of Karma in Shaping Moral Norms

Religion, Philosophy

Date : Sept., 2020

Source : ScienceDirect

More than one billion of people subscribe worldwide to the concept of Karma. A new study analyzed the consequences in terms of moral and social behaviors, compared to non-karma related religious groups like Christians. It suggests that religious beliefs impact how we think about moral norms and that, for example, different religious beliefs promote different generosity norms.

Mme Blavatsky wrote (The Key to Theosophy, 1889) : ” We consider Karma as the Ultimate Law of the Universe, the source, origin and fount of all other laws which exist throughout Nature. Karma is the unerring law which adjusts effect to cause, on the physical, mental and spiritual planes of beings. As no cause remains without its due effect from greatest to least, from a cosmic disturbance down to the movement of your hand, and as like produces like, Karma is that unseen and unknown law which adjusts wisely, intelligently and equitably each effect to its cause, tracing the latter back to its producer. Though itself unknowable, its action is perceivable. “

Mysteries in Science and in Religion

Religion, Philosophy

Source : ScienceDirect

Date : Nov., 2020

Science and Religions both offer explanations for the world and for human experience. When an observation in Science or a dogma in Religion cannot be explained by reason, it is called “a mystery”; and Science and Religion are differentially tolerant of absent explanations.

A recent published paper proposes a comparative analysis of both approaches. The study concludes that: “In Science, unanswered questions are judged to stand in need of explanation, while in religion, participants are often content to leave unanswered questions as mysteries.”

Religion and Science in the East

Religion, Philosophy

Source : MDPI – Religions

Date : Aug., 2020

Philosophers and scientists have been discussing opposition and intersection between Religion and Science domains for centuries. An anthropologist and ethnographer studied the relationships between the two, using the example of space science and its correlation with Japanese Buddhism. He reached the conclusion that tension or conflict between Science and Religion is a product of Western academic practices, linked to monotheistic religions. This conclusion is not assumed in Japanese discourses on the world. In that Tradition, Buddhism and Science are considered fundamentally compatible, our world being understood in terms of causal relationships and interconnectedness. In that context, potential for extra-terrestrial life is not considered adversarial to Religion.

Anaximene : The Principle of the World

Philosophy

Source : De Gruyter

Date : Feb 2020

The last Milesian philosopher, Anaximenes (585-525 BC) described the cosmology of the earth as emerging from what he called “Air” which can also be interpreted as “damp dark mist”. Earth was formed from it by “condensation”. This cosmogonic model is similar to the one proposed by one of his predecessor, Anaximandres (610- 546 BC) who said that “the Unlimited is the Principle and the Element of things which are. The nature of this Principle is to be moving and eternal. This article is analyzing the Anaximenes thought regarding this principle.

The Secret Doctrine (Proem, p.14) describes the One Absolute Reality as Absolute Abstract Space and Absolute Abstract Motion.

Practical Philosophy of Education

Education, Philosophy

Source : SHS Web of Conferences

Date : 2020

” The nineteenth century was a period of great achievement, but it failed to produce men of learning with a sensitive appreciation of varieties of interest and potentialities . . . and the situation has not changed in the 21st century.”

Quoting A. Whitehead and others philosophers, the author of this article elaborate on the principle of understanding to introduce the ecological culture in education as the ethics of conservation. He concluded by saying : “The diversity and unity of the world are not limited to the empirical sphere – the sphere of the visible.”