Tibetan Buddhism and Modern Physics, CH 1

Last updated on: March 31, 2008 at 5:03 pm by Justin Whitaker

Tibetan Buddhism and Modern Physics, CH 1 2008-03-31T17:03:00-06:00 Justin Whitaker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I am working through a new book on Tibetan Buddhism and Modern Physics (one of my odd areas of interest). A friend of mine in Bristol, UK and I are going to be discussing chapters as we go along, and I’ll be posting revised editions of those discussions (my side at least) here.

CH 1

Discussing two seemingly distinct fields raises countless methodological issues and problems. Mansfield starts his first chapter trying to tackle these before moving into the meat of the book. The first of these is the power of presuppositions. I am reminded of the Boorstin quote:

“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance — it is the illusion of knowledge.”

Mansfield points out that the West has been ruled by various sets of presuppositions over time that may impede further intellectual progress. On p.10 he mentions Aristotle’s views as a veritable straitjacket of Western thought in the Middle Ages. On p.24 he notes that despite 100 years of quantum mechanics, contemporary society – you and me – still view the world in Newtonian terms, as a collection of discrete objects moving through space.
Mansfield is pushing for a shift in thought amongst the public and the scientific community, so beginning by setting out presuppositions is a wise step. It is also a very philosophical way to begin, and some scientists may not find this useful. He quotes physicist Steven Weinberg as saying,

“I know of no one who has participated actively in the advance of physics in the postwar period whose research has been significantly helped by the work of philosophers.” (p.25 emphasis is Weinberg’s)

So while Mansfield may get plenty of attention from Buddhists/academics like us, this book – like the works of H.H. the Dalai Lama and Alan Wallace before it – will likely stay on the periphery of the scientific community.

But it also raises a significant advantage that we (students of Buddhist thought) have, and that is a head-start on what may become a significant paradigm shift in Western/scientific thought. Without sounding too New-Agey, our training in seeing reality in terms of interconnectedness and relationships rather than in Newtonian terms places us in a rather privileged position as this understanding continues to enter the mainstream. The site of our privileged position, according to Mansfield, is our – or Buddhism’s – ability to give or find meaning in the world (p.16-17). As he discusses in Ch 2, it is through interconnectedness that we can arrive at ethical principles that can lead to a better humanity.

Given this, Mansfield is quick to demonstrate that Buddhism (or Religion in general) and Science are not mutually exclusive concerns. Those of you familiar with Stephen Jay Gould will know the catchy phrase Non-Overlapping Magisteria, or NOMA, of science and religion. Few, I believe, agree with Gould’s attempt to so clearly separate the spheres of interest and exploration, or magisteria, of science and religion. Yet I worry that Mansfield is again going to alienate scientific readers in this work. He notes the overlap, but he keeps it on a very theoretical level. Coming chapters cover such things as Quantum Nonlocality and Peace, and Relativity and The Arrow of Time. What scientists, by and large, are interested in are testable hypotheses, reproducible results, and experimental verification. All of these fit within the overlap of Buddhism and Science, but they are – at present – in the area of meditation/cognitive science. The work of people like Richard Davidson (U. Wisconsin) has actually stirred real interest in a growing scientific community, leading to the Dalai Lama’s invitation to speak at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience on November 12, 2005 in Washington DC. But we’ll see. Perhaps Mansfield will strike a chord within the scientific community that has been otherwise silent (see Weinberg quote above) for over 60 years.

On to Chapter Two, where Quantum Mechanics and Compassion meet.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

March 27, 2008

Busy busy Buddhist

Next Post

March 31, 2008 Tibet this week

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Academia Activism American Buddhism Art Book review Buddhism Buddhism Today Buddhist Ethics Burma/Myanmar China Christianity Commodification Environment Gender Happiness Health Humor India Interfaith Islam Japanese Buddhism Kant Media / News Meditation mindfulness Photography Poetry Politics quicktakes Running Teaching Technology Thailand Theism/Atheism Theravada Tibet Tibetan Buddhism Travels Uncategorized Unitarian Universalism video Western Philosophy Zen

Select a Month June 2021 January 2021 November 2020 August 2020 July 2020 March 2020 January 2020 October 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 November 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz