Beyond Science and Nature? Reflections on Scientific Reductionism and Mental and Religious Experience
Keywords:
Manifesto, materialism, mind, reductionism, transcendenceAbstract
This paper responds to the critique of scientific reductionism in the Manifesto for a Post-Materialist Science (2014). Reflections on the language of transcendence, notions of creation and Ian Ramsey’s epistemology lead into a discussion of the concept of mind. The interpretation of mind in terms of emergent properties, widely welcomed as ‘nonreductive physicalism’, is questioned and the alternative of a qualified substance dualism presented. The Manifesto’s encouragement of the scientific study of spiritual experiences is related to Alister Hardy’s original appeal. Differences between sense and religious experience are explored; the distinction between methodological and ontological types of reductionism discussed; and an apologia for an open approach to experience developed, as an alternative to a more radical post-materialist scientific method. Concluding remarks include a plea for more epistemological humility vis-à -vis experiential claims, the avoidance of ‘spiritual reductionism’ and an acknowledgement of the significance of the material for human nature and dignity.
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