THE SYNTHESIS

Integrating Science and Spirituality

Have you ever asked yourself ‘What’s the point of all this?’ Most people have.

At the moment, we are presented with a choice between more or less two options: to live in a mostly rational but meaningless world, or to live in a vaguely meaningful but mostly irrational world.

The Synthesis is an experiment to see how far we can get if we take that reality is both, rational and meaningful.

Preamble

In these materials, we combine various methods in a quest for a rational answer to the perennial question whether there is a meaning of life – and if there is – what it could be. We start by examining the origin and properties of the physical world and organic life. Science has made considerable advances in this respect, revealing, among other things, that the universe is fine-tuned: if the Big Bang, the four forces, subatomic particles and stellar objects were not very precisely tuned and synchronised – sometimes in the order of the one-millionth of their value – there would be no stars and planets – and consequently life. There are two possible explanations for this: one is that there is an infinite number of universes, in which case some must have the right properties. The other is that the universe is as it is for a purpose. Both possibilities are rational and consistent with empirical data, but neither can be conclusively proven nor disproven, so ultimately, this is a matter of one’s choice. However, the fine-tuning seems to continue within our universe, enabling the appearance of complex life, which makes the possibility of a purposeful universe worth exploring further. But a purpose must involve an intent, and intent must have its source. We argue that the source of the intent is the infinitely small point that we can call the One. If this seems far-fetched, consider that science claims that the source of the material universe is also an infinitely small point (singularity).

 

Now, we come to the central question of what that purpose could be. The only answer that seems to make sense is the emergence of the Other, the counterpart that would enable an interplay with the One. This dance is necessary to secure the infinite continuation of existence. For that, the Other must have one’s own awareness and agency (simply duplicating the One would not do). This is why the emergence of the Other must start from the simplest possible forms that would gradually develop their own awareness and intent. To prevent this process from turning into chaos, some kind of boundaries must be in place – that’s the purpose of the physical world. All life forms, including us, are part of that process. Evolution is its prime manifestation. We all started from a single cell and have grown to the amazing variety and complexity of the ecosystem on this planet. What is unique about human beings is that evolution can take place within a single life, so it continues through social and individual development. This hugely accelerates the process. Within a relatively short time, big leaps have been made, and we have now reached a crucial point in the history of this world. We have come to the crossroads at which we are not pushed anymore to go in a particular direction. Whether we are going to align with the life purpose or not is our choice, and that choice will define our destiny.

CONTENT

Content

The Method

Discover how integrating methods linked to science, philosophy, common sense and spirituality can provide a more complete account of reality than we have at present.

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The Meaning

Learn about the outcome of applying these methods to the core question of existence: is there a meaning of life, and if there is, what is it?

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The Nature of Life

Despite the enormous advances of science, what life is and what makes something alive still remain elusive. See how far we can get with combining the above methods.

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Evolution

The theory of evolution may be one of our crowning intellectual achievements, but is it complete? Find out if there might be more to evolution than the natural selection of random mutations.

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The Mind-Body Problem

Can the mental and the physical be reduced to each other, and if not, how can so different entities mutually interact? Examine eight theoretically possible answers.

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The Mind

Explore how the mind works, through a discussion on mental constructs, information and experience, as well as perception, memory, learning and dreams.

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Personal Development

Personal Development can be considered the continuation of evolution within a single lifetime. Learn about the types, directions and stages of this process.

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Social Development

We argue that human societies develop too, and that on that journey we have come to a crossroads and will have to make a choice. See what options we have.

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Bibliography

You can find here a reference list of printed articles, books, and other sources that are not available online. For those that are, we provide links in the materials.

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Social Synthesis
Personal Synthesis
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