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Newsletter Nr. 709
Amsterdam, April 22nd, 2018


TRIPLE SKEPTIC - Finding Truth among Science and Religion - FRANK VISSER

Skepticism (American English) or scepticism (British English) is generally any questioning attitude or doubt towards one or more items of putative knowledge or belief. (Wikipedia)

The modern-day materialistic approach to science is often called "skeptic" because it stands skeptical towards all knowledge claims that cannot be verified empirically. This relates especially to claims of the paranormal, but can include the larger field of religion and spirituality as such. Spiritualists have often countered that such a limited worldview is unwarranted. Isn't there more between heaven and earth than we can dream of? Ken Wilber has framed this reductionistic approach as "flatland" and has argued for many years that this epistemological straight-jacket should be loosened up to account for all our experiences—including interiority and spirituality (and most probably, the paranormal as well).

As the skeptics have organized themselves into skeptical organizations, Rupert Sheldrake has started a "Skeptical About Skeptics" website, featuring articles that highlight the "dogmatism of science". In an Edge.org contribution from 2008 called "The Skepticism of Believers" he describes the religious roots of skepticism. It is often a useful tool to expose the fallacies of other beliefs than one's own. This can easily be generalized to the statement "science too is a religion", and in our relativistic culture many take that point of view. That is, of course, untrue. Sciece works its way towards truth, where religion starts with a certain truth and tries to defend it—often against the facts. This is not to deny that some scientists might religiously hold on to their favorite paradigms. But that doesn't make science a religion.

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http://www.integralworld.net/visser115.html