The limits of Science and what to do about it

To make science the only foundation for your world view is to limit your own experience and perception and understanding.

Science simply measures things.

Even statistical analysis is limited to looking at the past. If you base your actions 100% on statistical analysis of the past how can you hope to do anything new in the future?

Hardcore physicalists or materialists argue that the only reality is whatever we can empirically prove today. Of course this has holes—namely one glaring hole, consciousness.

If you were somehow able to limit your experience to what is provable today by physics you would be forgoing your own conscious experience!

Materialists often seem to deride “spirituality” as easy answers for the unintelligent. Yet spirituality exists because science hasn’t answered some darn big questions about the human experience. Ya know: How did life emerge? Or, how does anything exist?

“It’s almost as if science said, ‘Give me one free miracle, and from there the entire thing will proceed with a seamless, causal explanation.’ The one free miracle was the sudden appearance of all the matter and energy in the universe, with all the laws that govern it.” —Rupert Sheldrake

What even is ‘spirituality?’

Words have shifting meanings over time and within different groups and contexts. Spirituality is definitely one of those words.

To me, spirituality is the bridge between the inner and outer experience we each have. The connection between subjective and objective, of our psyche and the external, measurable world.

Of course, within spirituality there are many who espouse having the answer. Even in regards to answering how the heck quantum mechanics and the problem of the wave-particle collapse works, there’s espousing without evidence.

So what are we to do? To, me, it’s kinda obvious and simple. I call it “personal science.” It’s a stupid term but an effective practice: just try shit out for yourself and bring awareness to the results.

That is, taking a scientific-esque approach to your own personal experience. Whatever you do find, can’t really be universalized as truth for everyone else, but it’s a helpful approach individually. And, sharing it may still help others in their own personal science.

Does matter emerge from consciousness or does consciousness emerge from matter? Pick one and see how it affects your personal experience!

Is there a god or some universal intelligence? Why not! Try it on for size. Just be cautious of turning into a zealot. To make it a personal science you adopt with skepticism.

My shift in worldview

I’ve adopted the belief that there is, indeed, a universal intelligence. A creative intelligence that in some manner, is co-creating all that I experience with me. I simply cannot prove that this is true, to you. Just as physicists today can’t prove or disprove consciousness, I can’t prove to you that there’s a universal, creative intelligence.

Yet, in my own experience my belief seems true. I have experiences that, to me, proves that I am co-creating my reality with a universal intelligence. The exact definition of this creative universal intelligence is still quite fuzzy for me—if it's an aspect of collective unconscious à la Jung or something more akin to Amit Goswami's 'monistic idealism' theory of Quantum Mechanics, I don't know. Either one (and probably a few other theories) support synchronicity as described by Marie-Louise von Franz. (← Must watch video btw)

After having experienced synchronicity why would I deny myself that experience? It fills my life with little sprinkles of joy and delight. ✨

As each synchronicity is an acausal link between two events there’s no way to objectively prove their relation—it’s acausal! There is no objectively observable linear cause and effect.

I went through my adult life basically living through the lens of empiricism. My experience was always centered and grounded in the material world.

Only once my purely logical worldview came tumbling down did I start looking at how science answers the bigger questions about life, only to be disappointed—we don’t know shit! That’s hyperbole but it’s how I felt. And what we don’t know are some really big questions.

Over the last 4 or 5 years I’ve been exploring different beliefs and mental models and have seemingly settled on a pretty cohesive worldview that is NOT provable.

Yet, overall, I’d say I’m much happier and mentally healthy. Much less likely to be overwhelmed by world events and the state of humanity. More compassionate, more open. I was honestly quite a negative person before.

Testing your worldview

Meaning, belief, and a worldview that encompasses the objective and subjective is fertile but tricky terrain. Limiting yourself to what science can actually prove, means you may deny your own experience. Just as growing up narrowly religious or evangelical can leave one looking for one belief to rule them all.

Instead, the reality is, we have to be ready to accept ambiguity—to not knowing without a shadow of a doubt.[^1] We have to be open to trying things on, bringing awareness to how beliefs affect our own behavior and how we interpret our experience. It’s a personal science. It’s an experiment. Sometimes, you just gotta ask yourself if something is at least useful if not provably true.

“The most important question anyone can ask is: ‘What myth am I living?’” —Carl Jung

[^1]: I think we can tap into a 'Knowing' beyond just the rational mind, but that's a topic for another day.