Integrating Science and Mysticism (The Kabbalistic Multiverse, Part 5)

A perfect illustration of the dramatic transition from the worldview of the Middle Ages, which was based on the Creation-and-Formation worlds (Christian theology and Greek science), to that of modernity, which is based on Action (scientific causality) can be found in the story of one of its main protagonists, one Johannes Kepler.

Kepler is best known for making the major discovery that the planets do not travel in perfect circles but rather in imperfect ellipses. What is less well known is that he wasn’t too happy with this discovery. Kepler’s mind was of a very Greek persuasion, sharing the Pythagorean dream of discovering Divine harmonies in nature. He was therefore deeply enamored with the notion of circular movement, and dispirited when he discovered it was false—despite having the honor of being the discoverer himself. As one historian put it, “Kepler was sane enough to accept the elliptical movement of the planets, but crazy enough to be disappointed by it”.

Another way to explain Kepler’s split personality is to say that he had a soul from the world of Formation, and the sense of the world of Action. He was literally a man of two worlds. Initially, he trusted his soul, which told him the world was constructed according to perfect forms; but when his senses—and sense—told him it was actually otherwise, he accepted it. Except his soul couldn’t accept what the senses told it without feeling at least a tinge of sorrow. And indeed, the discovery of the ellipses did not quench Kepler’s longing to discover harmonious structures in nature, and he quickly began to modify his geometrical model of the cosmos in order to accommodate it.

War of the Worlds

Why did we present this story here? We did it because we think Kepler’ inner conflict is illustrative of the deep ‘schizophrenia’ within modernity in general. We all accept the hard facts of nature and science; but we also feel—at least most of us—that there must be more to the world than this. We’re just unable to articulate what it is exactly we’re missing. We are at a loss for wor(l)ds.

It’s true that some people feel perfectly “at home in the [modern] universe”, to paraphrase a well-known scientific book, and experience no pangs of sorrow over the more mystical cosmos and creation. But these people neglect the fact that for most of human history—for most people alive today for that matter—these mystical understandings of the world are the main source of meaning and inspiration. They may not share this feeling, but they cannot ignore it is a vital part of humanity, and therefore a vital part of themselves. At the very least, by opening up to these world-views, they will have achieved a better, more empathetic understanding of other cultures and people; at slightly more, they will have enriched themselves and their understanding of things.

Reclaiming the Worlds

If modernity’s schizophrenia is rooted in the fact that we have lost the ability to speak of higher world-views, then the Kabbalistic Multiverse model may be the key to our cure. It may offer us a way to combine our appreciation of science with our intuitive longing for something beyond it. We shall thus, at long last, heal the schism between the soul and the senses that has been haunting us since Kepler’s time, and achieve wholeness—both within us and between us.

In the next article we shall begin to explain what it means to reclaim the lost world-views of Formation and Creation, as well as claim for the first time that of Emanation. We shall then proceed to illustrate this regarding two specific issues: the age of the universe, and evolution.

http://www.interinclusion.org/inspirations/science-and-religion-revisited/

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