Subject: reconciliation of science to Christianity and Buddhism

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 3/12/04 9:58:16 PM Eastern Standard Time,

jokel3@... writes:

> Strictly speaking, a scientist would

> make no claim on the nature of soul, mind, consciousness, beauty,

> truth, love, the good, etc... because he or she would admit to having

> no scientific way of evaluating such a claim.

I partially disagree. Mind and consciousness can be scientifically

evaluated, and have been scientifically studied. _The Blank Slate_ is an

excellent

book on the scientific study of human nature, but some of this stuff you'd find

in any Psych 101 class. If we define the mind as the conscious part of the

human, and the part that thinks and remembers, it is clearly open to scientific

study.

Chris

[Guest guest]

Christianity, Buddhism, and all other spiritual traditions apprehend an

angle on reality different then that of science. Science, as opposed

to scientism, makes no claims about the location of 'mind' or 'soul'

vis a vis the body. Science is a method, not a doctrine. It is a

method based on that which can be measured and perceived by the senses

either directly or indirectly with technology. Scientism, on the other

hand, is a belief based on the faith that reality is nothing more than

that which can be perceived by the senses. In that respect it is very

similar to conventional religion. Strictly speaking, a scientist would

make no claim on the nature of soul, mind, consciousness, beauty,

truth, love, the good, etc... because he or she would admit to having

no scientific way of evaluating such a claim.

Buddhism is somewhat similar to science in that rather than advocating

a belief in something or other, one engages in an active investigation

into the nature of one's own experience to discover some truth that

those who have fully done so claim to be a realization that liberates

one from suffering. Buddhist doctrine is nontheistic. It neither

refutes nor supports any ulitimate theories about the nature of

existence as this or that. It does offer some orienting propositions

by which one can embark on his or her investigations. But Buddhism, in

it's purest form, leaves the rest up to you.