Matter And Spirit In The Universe

Cosmology is an unusual science with an unusual history. This book examines the formative years of modern cosmology from the perspective of its interaction with religious thought. As the first study of its kind, it reveals how closely associated the development of cosmology has been with considerations of a philosophical and religious nature. From nineteenth-century thermodynamics to the pioneering cosmological works of Georges LemaŒtre and Arthur E Milne, religion has shaped parts of modern cosmological theory. By taking the religious component seriously, a new and richer history of cosmology emerges.

From a National Book Award winner, “methodical and clear . . . provides physics-phobics a wide bridge to understanding some often arcane material” (Booklist). Why do we believe in the soul? Does it actually exist? If so, what is it? Does it differ from the self? Does it survive the body after death? In The Spiritual Universe, Fred Alan Wolf brings the most modern perspective of quantum physics to the most ancient questions of religion and philosophy. Taking the reader on a fascinating tour of both Western and Eastern thought, Wolf explains the differing view of the soul in the works of Plato, Aristotle, and St. Thomas, the ancient Egyptian’s belief in the nine forms of the soul, the Qabalistic idea of the soul acting in secret to bring spiritual order to a chaotic universe of matter and energy, and the Buddhist vision of a “nonsoul.” Wolf then mounts a defense of the soul against its modern critics who see it as nothing more than the physical body. “One of the few pathfinders who have discovered the versatility and potency of the new quantum paradigm based on consciousness.” —Amit Goswami, Professor of Physics and author of The Self-Aware Universe “The questions are exhilarating and the conclusions are properly mysterious and profoundly inconclusive . . . you’ll love the spirited journey.” —Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life “Wolf is a new Thales for a new physics of the soul; his book will blow your mind and quicken your spirit.” —Michael Grosso, Ph.D., author of The Millennium Myth and Frontiers of the Soul

THE UNIVERSAL ONE was originally published in 1927 and distributed to the top scientists in the country. It is being republished at this crucial period for the sole purpose of again releasing vital new scientific knowledge to this new age- of new comprehension. Today the whole world is in a state of chaos fighting against the forces of greed, envy, jealousy and fear. Disharmony is rife. All of our human relations are in a state of violent upheaval. Civilization is in reverse. Science is being used to destroy instead of to build. We talk of world peace, yet those who are to plan the new world do not know the answer, the solution. Present knowledge of man's relation to Nature and Natural Law which controls his human relations is, as yet, inadequate to meet the situation. Man is still too near his jungle to either know the law which inexorably governs his every action and that of everything in Nature or to comprehend that he must obey Nature or be self-destroyed. Still dominated by jungle habits, he settles his human relations by jungle methods. Wars and world chaos will continue until new knowledge applicable to the coming new cycle in man's evolution is acquired by him. What is this new knowledge? A consistent cosmogony is sorely needed for this newly dawning day of man's exaltation which is to come. Walter Russell spent a full seven years in writing this book. When it was first published in 1927, it won more condemnation than favor from a world which was not then as ready for it as now. The book mixed science and metaphysics in a manner which nullified its impression upon physicists. Gradually, however, many of its then radical statements have been verified by some of the world's greatest scientists and have won him many followers. The physicist draws a sharp line between things which he can in some way detect by the evidence of his senses and things which lie beyond that evidence. There is no denial of a "something" beyond the range of his senses and his sensed instruments, but what may be there is conjectural and, therefore, inadmissible as scientific data of a reliable nature. In other words, material evidence which lies within the narrow limits of man's sense-range is the only admissible evidence to science. But what about that vast range which will not respond to our sensed bodies and sensed instruments? Down the ages a rare few have been permitted to sever the senses which connect matter with its motivated Source in the consciousness of Universal Mind. These few have become conscious of the cosmos and have tried to tell the world of its simplicity. Each of these has faced an impossible task. The generalities and symbols which they did set down have been discounted and relegated to poetry or metaphysics or mysticism.

If we knew just how mind affects body and how body affects mind we should have the clew to many a philosophical riddle, and a clew that would give us much-needed guidance not only in philosophy but in many a region of practical, moral, and religious activity and experience in which our generation is groping rather blindly and is longing very eagerly for more light. -from the Preface Developed from a series of lectures Pratt delivered at Yale Divinity School in 1922, this is classic work of modern philosophy, an outspoken defense of dualism: the idea that the physical brain and the mental mind are two distinct entities. With its dramatic impact upon contemporary understandings of human consciousness, religious belief and spirituality, and even the biological evolution of sentience on the planet Earth, this is readable guide to a complex concept that underlies the modern debate between faith and reason. American philosopher JAMES BISSETT PRATT (1875-1944) was professor of philosophy at Williams College from 1905 to 1943. He is also the author of The Psychology of Religious Belief (1905), Democracy and Peace (1916), Reason in the Art of Living (1949), and Eternal Values of Religion (1950).

It is often assumed that there are two ways of interpreting the world: a rational scientific way, or an irrational religious way. Spiritual Science offers a third alternative: a spiritual view of reality that transcends both conventional science and religion, and answers many of the riddles that neither can explain. The standard model of science has had little success in explaining such areas as human consciousness, the connection between the mind and the body, altruism and ‘anomalous’ phenomena such as near-death experiences, psi phenomena (such as telepathy) and spiritual experiences. But from a ‘panspiritist’ point of view – which sees spirit or consciousness as a fundamental essence of reality – it is possible to make sense of all these things. Steve Taylor puts forward the evidence for a spiritual view of reality, drawing on the insights of philosophers, physicists, mystics, as well as spiritual traditions and indigenous cultures. He systematically shows how a ‘panspiritist’ view can explain many puzzling aspects of science and the world, including evolution and the origins of life, and a wide range of other phenomena such as quantum physics, the placebo effect, precognition and neuroplasticity. Spiritual Science offers a new vision of the world that is compatible with both modern science and ancient spiritual teachings. It provides a more accurate and holistic account of reality than conventional science or religion, integrating a wide range of phenomena that are excluded from both. After showing how the materialist worldview demeans the world and human life, Spiritual Science offers a brighter alternative – a vision of the world as sacred and interconnected, and of human life as meaningful and purposeful. Spiritual Science explains how the standard materialist model of reality developed, and turned into a belief system. This belief system can only function by denying (or explaining away) a whole range of phenomena that are part of human experience. It is possible to be scientific without adopting this belief system – in fact, it is much more rational to do so.