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Showing papers in "Zygon in 1982"


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Dec 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In this paper, the phenomenology of certain mystical states is contrasted with the sense of baseline reality in an exploration of primary senses of reality, and a neurophysiological model is presented to account for these states.
Abstract: . The phenomenology of certain mystical states is contrasted with the sense of “baseline” reality in an exploration of primary senses of reality. Nine theoretical and eight actual primary senses of reality are described. A neurophysiological model is presented to account for these states, and their possible adaptive significance is considered from an evolutionary perspective. Finally the state of absolute unitary being is contrasted with baseline reality, and their competing claims for primacy are evaluated in an epistemological context.

25 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 1982-Zygon

9 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Karl E. Peters1
01 Dec 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In this article, an evolutionary theory of knowledge involving not only conceptual but also behavioral and experiential knowledge is presented. But the evolutionary theory does not address the problem of religious knowledge in a pluralistic age and how a nonpersonal, evolutionary understanding of God might be religiously adequate.
Abstract: This paper outlines an evolutionary theory of knowledge involving not only conceptual but also behavioral and experiential knowledge It suggests human knowledge is continuous at the behavioral and experiential level with that of nonhuman animals By contrasting an evolutionary understanding of ultimate reality (God) with the more traditional, personalistic understanding, the paper shows how an evolutionary epistemology applies to religion in terms of both general and special revelation Finally, the paper explores how one might respond to the problem of religious knowledge in a pluralistic age and how a nonpersonal, evolutionary understanding of God might be religiously adequate

7 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In our brains, selection of genes has tied the experience of pleasure to motivating what nature requires us to do for the good of ourselves, our kinsmen, and our ecosystem as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: . The values which guide mental and physical behavior seem to be derived from evolutionary facts. In our brains, selection of genes has tied the experience of pleasure to motivating what nature requires us to do for the good of ourselves, our kinsmen, and our ecosystem. When our brains evolved to house also a cultural heritage (including religion, the motivation of sociocultural goals, and rational discourse), hellish tensions could arise to split brain function (minds) and societies. Salvation could and did come from natural selection's replacement of discordant elements in our heritages by better coadapted ones. In this replacement, human rational decisions participated. Selection also continued to adapt these symbiotic heritages to their common environment.

6 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: The authors showed from a close textual study that, although Michael Polanyi used the term "reality" in a generically similar way for what provided the external pole in the natural sciences, mathematics, art, and religion, he consistently made, in Personal Knowledge as well as in later published and unpublished works, a distinction between realities existing independently of our articulate systems in natural sciences and those existing only in the articulate systems of mathematics, arts and religion.
Abstract: . This paper shows from a close textual study that, although Michael Polanyi used the term “reality” in a generically similar way for what provided the external pole in the natural sciences, mathematics, art, and religion, he consistently made, in Personal Knowledge as well as in later published and unpublished works, a distinction between realities existing independently of our articulate systems in the natural sciences and those existing only in the articulate systems of mathematics, art, and religion. This difference is shown to be the basis for a controversy as to whether or not he should be regarded as a Christian.

5 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In this article, a distinction between what is vague on the one hand, and what is necessarily circular on the other, clarifies the work of Niels Rohr, leading to comments on Bohr's attitude towards the mutuality of spirit and matter and of reason and mysticism.
Abstract: . Some authors have described Niels Rohr as “never being open to anything transcendental.” Wolfgang Pauli, on the other hand, spent many years trying to persuade Bohr to admit to a kind of’ mysticism. This study offers support to Pauli's claims. First, a distinction between what is vague on the one hand, and what is necessarily circular on the other, clarifies the work of Bohr. This discussion leads to comments on Bohr's attitude towards the mutuality of spirit and matter and of reason and mysticism. Finally, some reflections are made about the relevance of Bohr's covert transcendental philosophy for theological endeavors.

5 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Dec 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In the context of contemporary life questions, especially that of world peace, this paper developed the view that truth is essentially scientific truth and that science alone cannot give a complete account of humanity and the universe.
Abstract: In the context of contemporary life questions, especially that of world peace, this essay first develops the view that truth is essentially scientific truth Although religion gives insights for living, as science encompasses more and more of human experience it reinforces and modifies religious truths with its own firm knowledge However, because of several limitations, it is concluded that science alone cannot give a complete account of humanity and the universe For our first beliefs and principles we must look to other kinds of truth, which are in accord with scientific truth but go beyond scientific method in their justification

5 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: The authors examine Skinner's claim that psychology is value-laden in the radical sense of providing a foundation for a theory of values and conclude that Skinner is arguing for an ethics and theory of value which is naturalistic, teleological, and both substantively and methodologically objective.
Abstract: . The thesis that the sciences are value neutral has recently been criticized severely. However, both the critics of the value-neutrality thesis and its upholders share the separatist position that there is a fundamental dichotomy between fact and value, differing only on the degree to which science is impregnated with values. Skinner's claim that the science of operant behavior is the science of values rejects this dichotomy and is opposed to both the value-neutrality thesis and criticisms of it. I examine Skinner's claim that psychology is value-laden in the radical sense of providing a foundation for a theory of values and conclude that Skinner is arguing for an ethics and theory of values which is naturalistic, teleological, and both substantively and methodologically objective.

4 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: A critique of the theory of meaning in art and religion that Michael Polanyi developed in his last work entitled Meaning is given in this paper, where it is argued that both science and art are aesthetic enterprises.
Abstract: This paper is a critique of the theory of meaning in art and religion that Michael Polanyi developed in his last work entitled Meaning. After giving a brief summary of Polanyi's theory of art, I raise two serious difficulties, not with the theory itself, but with the claims Polanyi makes about the relation of meaning in art to science and religion. Regarding the first difficulty, I argue that Polanyi betrays an earlier insight when in Meaning he attempts to dissociate meaning in art from meaning in science; instead I argue that both science and art are aesthetic enterprises. Regarding the second, I argue that Polanyi's account of religion is an aesthetic reduction, that meaning in religion, at least in the Western tradition, is not so much an aesthetic as it is an existential matter.

4 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Bruce B. Wavell1
01 Jun 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine current decision-making procedures in politics, especially those employed in parliamentary procedure, with a view to determining the extent to which they contribute to the making of rational political decisions.
Abstract: . This essay examines current decision-making procedures in politics, especially those employed in parliamentary procedure, with a view to determining the extent to which they contribute to the making of rational political decisions. It concludes that political decision-making procedures are, on the whole, inferior to court-trial procedures, and proceeds to exploit this conclusion by describing a new method of political decision-making based on the concept of a political jury. This method, it is claimed, is more likely than present methods to produce sound legislation.

2 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
Bruce Haddox1
01 Mar 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: This paper argued that meaning is a deviation from Personal Knowledge and a step away from the resources necessary to grasp adequately the logic of religious discourse, particularly the discourse of the Judaeo-Christian tradition.
Abstract: . Michael Polanyi's distinction between the indicative meaning of scientific statements and the symbolic and metaphorical meaning of art and religion, presented in Meaning, is based on an abstraction from concrete experience and betrays an inadequate understanding of religious discourse, particularly the discourse of the Judaeo-Christian tradition. In fact, Polanyi's vision in Personal Knowledge, which analyses the priority of personal action to all achievements of explication, seems either to be denied or forgotton by the positions taken in Meaning. Hence, the argument here is that Meaning is a deviation from Personal Knowledge and a step away from the resources necessary to grasp adequately the logic of religious discourse.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the convergence between scientific and religious concepts within a larger framework of speculation termed synholism, and examine theoretical implications of such hypotheses in high-energy physics as a cosmic consciousness and multiple universes.
Abstract: . The efforts of theologians in the last few decades to adapt their discipline to the methodological constraints of the “empirical sciences” have become obsolete. Just as many theologians have reached a tentative rapproachment with the “secular” mentality, the elements of mystery hitherto shepherded by religious thinkers have been appropriated in the cosmological models of the “new physics.” The paper explores revolutionary developments over the last ten years within quantum physics. It points to an imminent convergence between scientific and religious concepts within a larger framework of speculation termed synholism (from Friedrich von Weizsacher), and examines theoretical implications of such hypotheses in high-energy physics as a “cosmic consciousness” and “multiple universes.”

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In this article, two aspects of the problem of interpreting Michael Polanyi's outlook on religion are discussed, including the shift from I-It to I-Thou relations and the self-giving mode of surrender to a symbolized reality.
Abstract: . Two aspects of the problem of interpreting Michael Polanyi's outlook on religion are discussed. First, various ways of relating to reality beyond the objective perception of factuality must be considered, including the shift from I-It to I-Thou relations, and the self-giving mode of surrender to a symbolized reality. Second, the active use of the imagination in perception involves a commitment that the image is of something real, transcending the person. I believe that Polanyi understands both religious rituals and works of art to point to realities that can be met again in new ways. After this discussion reasons for Polanyi's reticence to speak about his own religion are suggested and, finally, some known facts about his personal religion are given.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In this article, the critical significance of early advances in quantum physics for Alfred North Whiteheads development of the categories of his metaphysics and to illustrate the capacity of his system to serve as a bridge between the sciences and the humanities by relating specific Whiteheadian categories to concrete microphysical behavior with special reference to the notion of freedom.
Abstract: . This paper attempts to demonstrate the critical significance of early advances in quantum physics for Alfred North Whiteheads development of the categories of his metaphysics and to illustrate the capacity of his system to serve as a bridge between the sciences and the humanities by relating specific Whiteheadian categories to concrete microphysical behavior with special reference to the notion of freedom.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Sep 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In this paper, an interpretation of human experience utilizing the perspective of process philosophy is presented, and the emergence of modern evolutionary thinking and alternative responses to it are discussed. And the nature of human nature in a process perspective is discussed.
Abstract: . This essay sketches an interpretation of human experience utilizing the perspective of’ process philosophy. Beauty is a key notion, and emergent evolution is a central theme. The following topics are addressed: the emergence of modern evolutionary thinking and alternative responses to it; the nature of human nature in a process perspective; the place of humans in nature; the immanence of laws; emergent evolution on this planet; some implications of the hierarchy of nature for the interpretation of human life, human morality, and human values; and human religious experience.

Journal ArticleDOI
Richard Gelwick1
01 Mar 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: A review of Polanyi's Christian affiliations, his conceptions of the common ground of science and religion, and his expressed aim to liberate faith from scientific dogmatism can be found in this paper.
Abstract: . Michael Polanyi saw his epistemology as restoring the capacity of a scientific age to believe again in the reality of God known through religion. This central feature of Polanyi's thought, discussed in my book The Way of Discovery, is disputed by Harry Prosch, co-author with Polanyi of Meaning. Prosch's argument is that while in Polanyi's view science deals with an independent reality, religion and theology do not and are only works of our imagination. This article answers Prosch with a review of Polanyi's Christian affiliations, his conceptions of the common ground of science and religion, the levels of reality to which both science and religion provide access, and his expressed aim to liberate faith from scientific dogmatism.

Journal ArticleDOI
Bruce B. Wavell1
01 Dec 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: This paper argued that scientific and religious statements belong to different universes of discourse, and that scientific statements are not admissible into religious discourse and scientific statements do not belong to religious discourse, by analyzing the logic implicit in these two kinds of statements.
Abstract: . The author argues, by analyzing the logic implicit in scientific and religious statements, that these two kinds of statements belong to different universes of discourse. Religious statements are not admissible into scientific discourse and scientific statements are not admissible into religious discourse. This separation of discourse into universes of discourse is based on validity conventions which legislate different kinds of truth criteria for statements in different universes.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jun 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: The United States today is faced with a crisis of the liberal system stemming from a shortage of resources and ideas as discussed by the authors, and we must revise our ideas and institutions in order to make the common good attainable.
Abstract: . The United States today is faced with a crisis of the liberal system stemming from a shortage of resources and ideas. Liberalism assumes that there will always be enough resources to meet all needs and that politics consists of the struggle of interest groups for resources to meet their particular needs. Liberalism is wrong on both counts: there are not enough resources and there is a common good which includes all particular needs properly understood. We must now revise our ideas and institutions in order to make the common good attainable. Various changes in ideas and institutions toward that end are suggested.

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Mar 1982-Zygon
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the senses in which religious meanings may be understood to be grounded ontologically and in which they may be validly accepted as true in the sense that they integrate meaningfully all the disparate elements of our experience.
Abstract: . This essay attempts to explore the senses in which religious meanings may be understood to be grounded ontologically and in which they may be validly accepted as true. It begins by outlining Wolfhart Pannenberg's proposal for conceiving the scientific status of theology and his formulation of the question of theological truth. Then certain epistemological presuppositions are challenged in light of Michael Polanyi's theory of knowledge. Finally a revised understanding is proposed in Polanyian terms. Here in their primordial sense religious meanings are based in the act of breaking out toward the ground of our tacit foreknowledge. In their primary sense religious symbolizations are accepted as human creations and judged to be valid insofar as they integrate meaningfully all the disparate elements of our experience.