Can intellect evaluate everything? Is science the ultimate knowledge?
What is intellect or intellectual? Why do we need to seek scientific
justifications for religious beliefs or use religious beliefs to perceive
science?
Some quotes carry the best filters to pass any topics through them. More
so, when abstract concepts are being discussed and add further fuzziness views
and opinions from religion are also used.
Swami
Chinmayananda,"The spirit of
Advaita is not to keep away from anything, but to keep in tune with
everything."
William
James, “In the end nothing less than the whole of everything can be the truth
of anything at all”.
“I have approximate answers and possible
beliefs in different degrees of certainty about different things, but I’m not
absolutely sure of anything"- Richard Feynman.
Voltaire said, “Four thousand
volumes of metaphysics will not teach us what the soul is”.
"We live in succession, in division, in
parts, in particles. Meantime within man is the soul of the whole: the
wise silence, the universal beauty, to which every part and particle is equally
related, the eternal ONE. And this deep power in which we exist and whose
beatitude is all accessible to us, is not only self-sufficing and perfect in
every hour, but the act of seeing and the thing seen, the seer and the
spectacle, the subject and the object, are one. We see the world piece by
piece, as the sun, the moon, the animal, the tree; but the whole, of which
these are shining parts, is the soul."Excerpt from The Over-Soul, by
Ralph Waldo Emerson, first published in 1841.
“Study the assumptions behind your actions.
Then study the assumptions behind your assumptions.”
― Idries Shah, Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the
Sufi Way
“For in spite of language, in spite of
intelligence and intuition and sympathy, one can never really communicate
anything to anybody [I may add only through intellectual analysis/verbal
communication].”― Aldous Huxley
Sometimes
enough materials, loads and loads,
will help one to get academically confused, if not clarified;
The ideology freaks resort to
arriving at conclusions based on contrived and convoluted concepts justifying
them with farfetched data, irrelevant surveys and attention grabbing
statements.
Human life, after
all, is a very short journey in the ocean of totality of LIFE.
Identities of all hues while they enable
creating social groups at the same time enfeeble options for universal
acceptance.
Writers, when they slide on the side of reason are 360 degree stroke
makers, they are able to seek and to see
numerous possibilities that exist between, beneath and beyond ‘Yes’ and ‘No’
which ordinary mortals may not that easily
grab and give a name or label and in addition writers are not averse to
churn by throwing those possibilities in the cauldron which may contain from
several sources all sorts of thoughts, information and /or
knowledge of /in various domains, intellect, conscious awareness, perception,
tools of perception, logic, reason, evaluations, purpose of evaluations, tools
of evaluations, understanding and application of understanding, social values,
social interactions, individual and/or collective emotions/feelings,
psychology, cultural contexts, ideological identities which influence that very
thought process, imaginations, dreams, fantasies, scientifically established
facts, intelligent questioning, attitudes, willingness and ability to
understand and solve problems, bio-chemical components of human beings and
/or some other species as well, application of highest physical laws etc.
So, when we try to
define or decipher everything purely intellectually we presume our own limited
intellectual compass and assume the intellect is superior enough to evaluate
everything as per its own terms and conditions.
What is intellect
or intellectual?
https://contentwriteups.blogspot.com/2022/01/intellect-intellectual.html
Reality in fact
involves shifting priorities, drifting
value systems, jilting relationships, wilting spirits seek only befitting
systems and swift solutions and not suffocating taboos and traditions, rituals
devoid of rational, sermons of socio-morals of ancient times which may enthuse
automatic cognitive operations through appealing nicely worded
socially applauded hyper philosophizing thoughts and opinions[passing of as
collective wisdom] but will get exposed at the altar of existential anxieties which may expose how far removed they are
from any contextual relevance.
Evolution, metamorphosis, change are the three important and
inevitable dimensions of time.
Love and religion are relating,
reconnecting and reuniting with
real involvement 'how we relate' with
others and by extension with higher spirits. Religion is derived from the two Latin words “re” and
“ligare” which means “to
reconnect”. We try to reconnect our
feelings, emotions, expectations in joy with someone else known to us
[which is called love] or some other unknown source [which is
called religion]. Love etymologically refers to the
manifestations like the Germanic word leubh- "to care, desire,
and love" (cf. Latin lubet, later libet "pleases; “Sanskrit lubhyati
"desires." So, the reality of religion and love is unity of
human spirits, senses and sanity. Love and Religion are positive manifestations integrating human reasons, responses, reactions,
reciprocations and reuniting and
creating synergy synthesis and synderesis ultimately.
Scriptures, scientific discoveries and
inventions, philosophical explanations, great thoughts, ideas, actions, events,
works of art, culture, and traditions are all some of the revelations popping
out of as parts of the evolutionary process of human understanding of life. But
we must be aware that they are neither the whole of life
nor can anyone well versed in any of these aspects claim to be possessing the keys
to understand the whole of life nor are they even answers to all aspects of
life that we know of. Life is lived from moment to moment.
Religion is understood better by synthesis than by analysis. Religions grow better by syncretism than by antagonism.
The beauty of life
consists in the unknowns and the unending searches and researches –the unending
process of evolutionary trends in everything.
Growing up and
growing out of certain things are natural process of evolutionary metamorphosis
both biologically and psychologically.
Life is
functionally a dynamic energy; visually a multi-faceted splendor; in reality a marvelous mystery which unfolds itself through each and every one of us at
every moment. Therefore, life cannot be either generalized in any manner or
simplified into any predefined categories.
Life continues to
evolve in its dynamic energy every moment and constantly throws up challenges
in varying degrees and intensities, in different dimensions and at unexpected
intervals. Wisdom is to live in the present context and to practice certain time
tested values which have relevance in present context but with global
perspective to bequeath a livable planet, a lovable society with lovely
infrastructures and improved living conditions. Scott Atran, a
respected Anthropologist called Religion as “belief in hope beyond reason”.
In evolutionary biology we find that all creations have shed
the unnecessary parts or shrunk them for better survival; in evolutionary
sociology too human race has shed too many models of social groups and narrowed
down on a few that would be easier for global interaction; in languages too,
from a few thousands languages that existed humanity has reduced the number to
just a few hundred languages for easy communication leading to at least better
verbal understanding.
Life is never fulfilled with unfulfilled
relationships within the family, with others in the society, with
the environment, with the many sciences, subjects, systems that we come across
which are useful to us, used by us or we are used by them and so on. So, the quality of life is the manifestation of the
quality of the inter play of these various relationships.
Everything has its relevance and appeal to different souls at various
levels.
That's why we cannot deny or defy the importance of anything or anyone.
So, over simplifications or sweeping generalizations must be avoided.
“Across planes of consciousness, we have to live with the paradox that
opposite things can be simultaneously true.” ― Ram Dass.
We cannot analyse anything and everything through ideological fixations
and subject them as well purely to satisfy socio- political justifications and
surreptitiously insert undeserving persons as intellectuals.
We must also know that everything has its own inherent attributes,
intrinsic values, internal mechanism and logic for its existence besides,
beyond, exclusive of and unmindful of human intellectual justifications,
acceptance, acknowledgement, social approvals, political support and
therefore , it is purely absurd to extrapolate anything with specific ideological
fixations.
A whole gamut of things and factors that go on to develop an intellect,
many more to define one and a lot to acquire that label which enable to deliver
the following real universal wisdom.
Real universal wisdom in my humble opinion may be like this whether
sanctioned or sanctified by either social mores or religious morality.
Wisdom is the work shop where works of evolutionary trends and
experiences of everyone in it emerge to express wisely the essence of
everything to enlighten everyone;
A wisdom which prioritizes living in the present context and along with
practicing certain time tested values which have relevance in present context
but with global perspective to bequeath a liveable planet, a lovable society
with lovely infrastructures and improved living conditions;
A wisdom that evaluates everything and everyone with contextual
relevance and based on the inherent attributes or merits of what or who is
being evaluated without extrapolating any presumptions, opinions,
judgments, perceptions, expectations, ideologies, doctrines, identity based
ideology and so on;
A wisdom which is willing to make minor adjustments, small compromises,
spontaneous cooperation to create compatible and conducive atmosphere with
humility devoid of any egocentric pride;
A wisdom with the realization and a perspective that must be aware that
life is a constant process of learning of the multiple dimensions of many
things and the various dynamics of those dimensions involving the constant
interaction and interrelationship with everyone and everything.
A wisdom that is willing to accommodate multiple methods or means of
life with some overall tolerant attitude embedded on humanitarian concerns
towards all human life and environmental or natural concern towards all other
species.
A wisdom that gets its clarity of understanding through a churning
process that takes into consideration several aspects from the practical to the
philosophical to the all fantasies of the mind.
Human knowledge
even with all the advantages of technological advancements enabled
accessibility and availability hubris, still navigates in the orbit of
finiteness.
Whatever they be
and however well packaged they are be they surveys, statistics,
spread sheets all are meaningful abstractions and presentations of multiple
facets and factors like randomness, measurable patterns, easily understandable
classifications, blue prints or outlines or guide lines projecting or
superimposing the trajectory of trends and so on, of real events, activities,
actionable remedial measures of PEOPLE who are involved or impacted by or
responsible for such events or activities and circumstances which went on to
create those factors or facets.
“Scientists
use whichever methods help them understand the world: drudge like
tabulation of data, experimental derring-do, flights of theoretical fancy,
elegant mathematical modelling, kludge computer simulation, sweeping
verbal narrative" –Karl popper.
"All the methods are pressed into
the service of two ideals, and it is these ideals that advocates of science
want to export to the rest of intellectual life. The first is that the world is
'Intelligible'. The phenomena we experience may be explained by the principles
that are deeper than the phenomena themselves." “The second
ideal is that we must allow the world to tell us whether our ideas about
it are correct, i.e. consistency with empirical evidence".
Vulnerabilities are
unavoidable but leaving them unobserved, unattended and unaddressed is bad.
"I was
at the age when one felt like one needed to read everything, which prevented
one from making contemplative stops"- Taleb.
This happens to
most of us.
In a way it is good
initially more the merrier. Then we end up getting lost with excess of
fuzziness than real assimilation.
The
INSTINCT/IMPULSE to filter and be selective come with prejudices and biases to
NARROWING DOWN on only a few things. However, the ABILITY to do so come with
enhanced matured way to choose and decide and end up CONSOLIDATING our radius
of receptivity.
Sometimes, many
other factors like time constraints, lack of resources too limit our options.
I cannot resist
quoting my favorite author here.
“The ability to
choose an action that best satisfies conflicting goals is not an add-on to
intelligence that engineers might slap themselves in the forehead for
forgetting to install! It IS intelligence"- Steven Pinker
“Understanding does
not obey Moore's Law: knowledge is acquired by formulating explanations and
testing them against reality, not by running an algorithm faster and faster.
Devouring the information in the Internet will not confer omniscience either:
big data is still finite data, and the universe of knowledge is infinite"
- Steven Pinker. He also writes, “if narratives without statistics are blind,
statistics without narratives are empty".
Summing up the
whole thing I would like to add that life is injected into the spread sheets
only when one SYNERGIZES them with underlying HUMANITARIAN WELFARE and long
term ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT based on RATIONAL OUTLOOK and SCIENTIFIC
APPROACH with CONTEXTUAL RELEVANCE and ensuring not to hurt the SENTIMENTS and
VALUE THE SOCIO-CULTURAL SENSITIVITIES of the people involved.
Surveys, statistics, spread sheets are meaningful
abstractions and presentations of multiple facets and factors like randomness,
measurable patterns, trajectory of trends and so on of real events, activities,
actionable remedial measures of people who are involved or impacted by or
responsible for such events or activities and circumstances which went on to
create those factors or facets.
Life is injected
into the spread sheets only when one synergizes with underlying human and
environmental factors.
“Everything changes
as you move through three stages of awareness:
first, that beliefs are the result of conditions;
second, that beliefs are the cause of conditions;
and third, that beliefs are themselves conditions.”― Eric Micha'el Leventhal
“All of us
have our own inner fears, beliefs, opinions. These inner assumptions rule and
govern our lives. A suggestion has no power in and of itself. Its power arises
from the fact that you accept it mentally.”― Joseph Murphy, the Power of Your
Subconscious Mind
“We must realize that the subconscious mind is
the law of action and always expresses what the conscious mind has impressed on
it. What we regularly entertain in our mind creates a conception of self. What
we conceive ourselves to be, we become.” Grace Speare.
