RECONCILING SPIRITUALITY AND SCIENCE IN THE TWENTY- FIRST CENTURY
Elements for a World View Incorporating Spiritual and Scientific Insights
SUMMARY
Our modern situation lacks a common philosophy or weltanschauung. This paper is a step towards some elements for such a philosophy. After analyzing the historical situation it describes some pivotal points which seem to be common to both a modern scientific world view, and to spiritual traditions. Among them are the basic experience of oneness and connectedness, the relativity of our common notion of an independent ego, relativity and intensivation of time, and the transcendence of the duality between mental and material processes. All these elements are central to spiritual experiences within the Christian and Buddhist traditions alike, and become central areas of research in modern scientific endeavors. They could be the basis for a modern world view, which need not confront scientific knowledge with spiritual traditions and experience.