Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

   Post 97. August 19, 2019 continued . . .

  Panspiritualism

   Enformationism vs Panpsychism

 Although the use of traditional & conventional terms will appeal to the sentiments of a majority of people, those who are more secular or progressive may appreciate the technical precision of more cutting-edge and secular terminology. For example, the concept of “spirit” is almost universal in human societies, although it goes by many names, and has various local connotations. That’s why I prefer to keep my discussions of metaphysical concepts closer to philosophy and science than to ancient religions4. Most of my metaphors are drawn from 20th century Physics. And Taylor uses similar analogies. “We can think of fundamental consciousness as a kind of ‘dynamic field’ which enfolds and immerses the whole universe.” The EnFormAction hypothesis also uses the imagery of a cosmic quantum field to explain how everything arises from nothing-but amorphous potential energy. Yet that figure of speech is also intended to be taken literally : “From the universal Quantum Field of statistical possibilities, "virtual particles" or "wavicles" mysteriously appear from nowhere as almost real particles of matter, . . . eventually even mental qualities never before seen in the mechanical material world.”5

The same notion of a plethora of various forms emerging from a singular formless ocean of possibility is found in many traditional religions, alongside their more polytheistic beliefs : Brahman, Holy Spirit, Great Spirit, etc. But that is usually the philosophical view of a few, rather than the common belief of the many, who require a more personal deity they can relate to. Likewise, the notion of a flowing Life-Force is found in most cultures : Spirit, Soul, Chi, Prana. But they are essentially primi-tive attempts to describe what we now know as mundane Energy, that we capture in little batteries to power our not-yet-sentient mechanical devices. The battery voltage is just potential, which becomes actual only when it flows through a complete circuit. Hence, Taylor notes that an 18th century German philosopher used the term “Kraft (literally force or energy” to describe what 17th century philosopher Spinoza called the ultimate substance or essence of the world.

When the topic is focused on mental phenomena though, physics is too abstract, so other kinds of comparisons are necessary. The author then returns to the initial question of his article. “Since, unlike panpsychism, panspiritism doesn’t hold that all material particles have mental properties, how can it account for the emergence of mind?” Unfortunately, his biological analogy misses the mark by implying that “a cell acts as a kind of ‘receiver’ of consciousness”. But that sounds too much like the New Age (panpsychism) notion of “mind” as a radio broadcast that only a properly tuned antenna can pick-up. Or like the Star Wars “Force” that only trained Jedi can utilize for magical powers. Instead, the universal Mind, G*D, enforces He/r will by sending EnFormAction flowing through the world, so that local minds evolve from the ground up, and emerge from within each sentient organism. The source is not just out there, it’s in here (inherent). Life is not a signal from outer space, but a dynamic matrix of mathematical ratios, and energy paths, that cause organisms to move like a swarm of atoms united into an animated beeing.

Post 97 continued . . . click Next

4. Scientific Religion :
  The desire to reconcile Science and Religion has reached a peak of intensity in recent years. Since the Enlightenment Era made a Solomonic solution  to the long battle between human Reason and divine Revelation, many thinkers have sought a philosopher’ stone to turn the pragmatic lead of science into the idealistic gold of religion.

   Buddhism, Hinduism, Astrology, New Ageism, and even Christianity have claimed to be scientific at the core of their beliefs. But an indispensable feature of modern science is that many seekers can run the same experiment and reach the same conclusion. Most traditional religions though, are loathe to dispense with some of their favorite beliefs, such as the divinity of Christ, in favor of an evidence-based mechanical worldview.

4. Quantum Field :
quote from Post 60

Single-minded
Bird Swarm

Single-minded
Bee Swarm

Organic Swarms

The metaphorical science of
chakras & chi