Part
1 of 3
Science, Truth, and Assumtions
We all have been raised in an environment of incredible things that science
has done. From TVs and CDs to going to the moon. Argue with science about
anything in our physical environment and invariably you will lose. Science
is the most powerful system in the history of the planet that cuts through
the hype, and miss information, to the way things really are in the physical
environment. As a result of this power we have been lulled into thinking
that science can’t be wrong. Everything they say is based on experimental
data. If you do an experiment on something then how can you question its
truth?
The first assumption is that our mind is separate from the world. Therefore,
we can only influence the world through control of our body. He calls
this assumption "Strong Objectivity."
The second assumption is the idea that the universe is a machine, like
a clock, and that if you had enough information about an object then you
could predict future outcomes or behaviors of that object. This includes
the mind, which also is just a machine made of circuits instead of gears.
Therefor if you had a computer powerful enough and could program it with
someone’s thought patterns, you could then predict what that person
would think. This assumption is called "Causal Determinism."
The next assumption is the idea that everything is bound by time. Therefor
in order for me to go to the store it takes me 5 minutes. I will first
have to walk to the table. I will then have to pick up the car keys, and
then walk out to the car etc. In other words everything takes place in
a step by step sequence. If I try to skip a step then I cannot go to the
store. If I go from the house to the car without my keys then I can’t
start my car. So I would have to go back and complete the step of getting
my keys. For light to get from the sun to the earth, traveling at the
ultimate speed limit, step by step it would take about 8 minutes. In other
words everything happens one bit at a time, and you cannot disappear from
one spot and reappear in another without traveling step by step from the
first spot to the second. This assumption is called "Locality."
The fourth assumption says that everything is made of matter, including
our minds. You know you learned in school that matter can never be created
or destroyed. Therefor nothing can exist that is not made of matter. This
is called "Material Monism."
The final assumption then comes from material monism and is the idea that
since everything is made of matter then mind, thinking, and things like
love are just a secondary side effect. This side effect or secondary phenomena
is called an epiphenomen, so we call this assumption "Epephenomenalism."
Most people, however,
are unaware of the fact that science, itself, is based on a set of assumptions,
and if these assumptions turn out to be wrong then the experiments that
were done using these assumptions would come under question of being right.
So what are the assumptions that science is based on? According to Amit
Goswami Ph.D. a physics professor at CSU, there are five main assumptions
that science is based on.
Now
how could you get more sold than this? Everyone knows that I’m separate
from you, and that it takes time to go to the store, sometimes all day.
Can you find anything that is not made of matter? Then of course if everything
is made of matter, Love and thinking can’t be real things. They're
just feelings. Right?!!
What if I were to tell you that every one of the above assumptions are
now being called into question. And that not only is there experimental
proof that the above assumptions are not true, but that the new math of
Science, called quantum math, predicts that they are wrong. So if everything
is not made of matter what is it made of?
If thoughts are real and not just epiphenomen, then what are they? Think
of the possibilities.
