Alan Wallace

Image via WikipediaOne of my favorite Buddhist writers is Alan Wallace; he's written several books about Buddhist practice and philosophy, from a scientific perspective. One of my favorites of his books (perhaps because of its title) is: The Taboo of Subjectivity. The title reflects the fact that there is a strong bias (perhaps we might even call it a dogma) within most scientific disciplines in favor of the "empirical" and "objective" investigation of all phenomena. After all, the methods of empirically-based scientific investigation have yielded amazing results! Even so, it has become very obvious (perhaps, ironically, as a result of empirical, scientific research!) that empiricism and the concept of the "objective observer" have their limits; and yet there are still many who cling to the idea that all phenomena will ultimately be explained (or "reduced to") something that can be measured by objective scientists, armed with highly sophisticated rulers and scales. We could call this the dogma of materialistic reductionism.

It is said that Albert Einstein had a sign hanging in his office that read: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." There are the pesky intangibles that are so very significant to us (consciousness, meaning, beauty, morality... ), and something that is "intangible" is going to be really, really hard to "count," or to measure with rulers and scales.

And so the scientifically-minded struggle with the intangibles, and they have grave difficulties when they turn their scientific attention to (non-materialistically based) human efforts to find meaning in life and existence, to explore the inside of human consciousness (phenomenology), or to engage in the arts. Because, of course, if it isn't "material," then maybe it is... spiritual! And spirituality is very, very problematic for some scientists.

I wonder if it might be true that when we think of "material" vs. "spiritual," we are setting up a false dichotomy. Perhaps we have forgotten that we really do not know what it means for something to be "material." After all, we know (intellectually, if not viscerally) that matter and energy are interchangeable... And "energy" is something that we are far from really understanding. So, when we (within science) struggle so fiercely to jam everything into the sort of category that lends itself to being measured by our rulers and scales, are we not forgetting that what we are really doing is just part of the job? I mean, I can take a shovel out in the yard, and a scale, and scoop up a quantity of dirt, and weigh it; but how much does that really tell me about the fundamental nature of what was in the shovel?

Alan Wallace insistently reminds us that there may be a non-trivial and useful place for spirituality (specifically, Buddhist thought) in human life, and in our efforts to understand reality. Here is a quote from an article I found at the "Global Spiral" website (the rest of this article is here).

Buddhist Contributions to a Life-Enhancing Future

While I believe all the great religious traditions of the world have major contributions to make in harnessing the scientific and spiritual imagination to create a life-enhancing future for our world, I shall focus especially on the potential contributions of Buddhism simply because that is my field of expertise. The areas in which I think there can be especially fruitful collaboration between Buddhism and science are the following: (1) devising practical techniques for dealing with destructive emotions and cultivating constructive emotions, such as empathy and compassion; (2) devising curricula for school systems to help prevent and treat attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders; (3) generally exploring the nature of mental health and the potentials for cultivating "exceptional" mental health; (4) exploring the interface between the ontological implications of quantum mechanics and Buddhist ontology, especially concerning the participatory nature of the universe; (5) exploring specific, rigorous methodologies for acquiring knowledge, especially concerning the nature of the mind, spirit, and consciousness, that complement those of science as we know it today.