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Embracing Mind: The Common Ground of Science and Spirituality
What is Mind? For this ancient question we are still seeking answers. B. Alan Wallace and Brian Hodel propose a science of the mind based on the contemplative wisdom of Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Christianity, and Islam.
The authors begin by exploring the history of science, showing how science tends to ignore the mind, even while it is understood to be the very instrument through which we comprehend the world of nature. They then propose a contemplative science of mind based on the sophisticated techniques of meditation that have been practiced for thousands of years in the great spiritual traditions. The final section presents meditations that are of universal relevance to scientists and people of all faiths for revealing new dimensions of consciousness and human flourishing.
Embracing Mind moves us beyond the dogmatic debates between theists and atheists over Intelligent Design and Neo-Darwinism, and it returns us to the vital core of science and spirituality: deepening our experience of reality as a whole.
The authors begin by exploring the history of science, showing how science tends to ignore the mind, even while it is understood to be the very instrument through which we comprehend the world of nature. They then propose a contemplative science of mind based on the sophisticated techniques of meditation that have been practiced for thousands of years in the great spiritual traditions. The final section presents meditations that are of universal relevance to scientists and people of all faiths for revealing new dimensions of consciousness and human flourishing.
Embracing Mind moves us beyond the dogmatic debates between theists and atheists over Intelligent Design and Neo-Darwinism, and it returns us to the vital core of science and spirituality: deepening our experience of reality as a whole.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published February 12, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 21, 2014
Wallace traces the birth of science from its Christian roots and theorizes the reason why what we commonly accept today as science itself is more often a kind of scientific materialism–that is, an ideology subtly carrying a dogmatic rejection of the subject. Christianity had, from its beginnings, spurned the subject, the mind, for being a human one. For it of course is finite and imperfect, or as Christianity puts it, born into sin. The full force of the drama of science’s birth is set against this mindset. Thus, science inherits this premise, and in rising up against its father, has the audacity–or ignorance–to more or less syllogize, that if there is only the imperfect, sinful, human mind and the perfect, faultless, divine mind, and if the pursuit that is science rejects the former, then it surely is the path unto the latter. As if a ladder unto the ultimate. All we have to do is climb. Indeed many prominent late 19th century scientists declared with the certainty of true believers, that it was only a matter of time before humans conquered the universe through science.
“There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now…” –Lord Kelvin
The great irony here is that science does not offer man a path out of subjective experience but only–via its underlying scientific materialism–a means to deny it. A means which itself eventually began to falter. The pretty picture of classical physics was soon shattered by quantum physics. The closer we looked at things, the fuzzier they got. The certainty that had so offhandedly dismissed subjective experience deteriorated into a messy competition of theories–many just as outrageous as the most fantastic religious claims. And yet our culture still operates on that former certainty, the idea that cataloguing infinity is the means to progress–a progress which itself is so vague that one can’t delve into it without resorting to the subject: i.e. what does conquering the universe even mean?
At the very least science must see that the method by which it has dismissed the mind was never a scientific one. Reconsidering the subject, science might learn, like Heisenberg, that “what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning,” for, as Schopenhauer saw, subject and object are correlates of the very same thing. Science might then come to conclude, like Ernest Becker, that any pursuit that does not actually serve the subject is not only pointless but catastrophic.
Wallace quotes some prestigious modern day neuroscientists who, though brilliant in their own technical way, can’t see or accept the flaw in their own reasoning when dismissing the mind. Their explanations are at best clever restatements of the problem, often relying on the idea of some magical threshold beyond which a computer comes to think of itself as alive.
The second part of the book seeks to explain how the philosophy and practices of Buddhism have for two and a half centuries penetrated the nature of reality with less dogma and more purpose than much of what passes under the cover of science. Fair or not, the book loses one star for failing to deliver this message in the undeniable blow that I imagine it could. But the point is that meditation (which is slowly being validated scientifically) offers one a scientific means to explore the true nature of reality. The great catch is that the leg work must be done–you guessed it–subjectively. Anyone who has not personally made a fair investigation into this can dismiss meditation as spiritual fluff only by an act of assumption and would do well to avoid reading this book if they intend to preserve their dogma.
A powerful example is the fact that the Dalai Lama–who unfortunately puts a sectarian face onto Buddhism–has stated firmly that if science can prove any Buddhist belief to be false, then that belief should be dropped. Any modern day scientific materialist should be, by their own standards, embarrassed that a major spiritual leader exhibits less assumption and dogma than themselves. The Dalai Lama goes further, “when investigating the ultimate nature of reality, Buddhist thinkers take the Buddha’s words not so much as an ultimate authority, but rather as a key to assist their own insight; for the ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s reason and critical analysis.”
A science that does not exclude the subject is perhaps unavoidably ‘subject’ to a value system. Buddhism as the meditation teaching that the Buddha taught, not the collection of rites and rituals humans have horned into it ever since, is a scientific pursuit that holds the investigation of the true nature of reality as its ultimate value. Beware of your common knowledge if it tells you that ‘our’ science is scientific and the teachings of the Buddha are religion. That is, see the reason in doing as the Buddha said: find out for yourself.
“There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now…” –Lord Kelvin
The great irony here is that science does not offer man a path out of subjective experience but only–via its underlying scientific materialism–a means to deny it. A means which itself eventually began to falter. The pretty picture of classical physics was soon shattered by quantum physics. The closer we looked at things, the fuzzier they got. The certainty that had so offhandedly dismissed subjective experience deteriorated into a messy competition of theories–many just as outrageous as the most fantastic religious claims. And yet our culture still operates on that former certainty, the idea that cataloguing infinity is the means to progress–a progress which itself is so vague that one can’t delve into it without resorting to the subject: i.e. what does conquering the universe even mean?
At the very least science must see that the method by which it has dismissed the mind was never a scientific one. Reconsidering the subject, science might learn, like Heisenberg, that “what we observe is not nature in itself but nature exposed to our method of questioning,” for, as Schopenhauer saw, subject and object are correlates of the very same thing. Science might then come to conclude, like Ernest Becker, that any pursuit that does not actually serve the subject is not only pointless but catastrophic.
Wallace quotes some prestigious modern day neuroscientists who, though brilliant in their own technical way, can’t see or accept the flaw in their own reasoning when dismissing the mind. Their explanations are at best clever restatements of the problem, often relying on the idea of some magical threshold beyond which a computer comes to think of itself as alive.
The second part of the book seeks to explain how the philosophy and practices of Buddhism have for two and a half centuries penetrated the nature of reality with less dogma and more purpose than much of what passes under the cover of science. Fair or not, the book loses one star for failing to deliver this message in the undeniable blow that I imagine it could. But the point is that meditation (which is slowly being validated scientifically) offers one a scientific means to explore the true nature of reality. The great catch is that the leg work must be done–you guessed it–subjectively. Anyone who has not personally made a fair investigation into this can dismiss meditation as spiritual fluff only by an act of assumption and would do well to avoid reading this book if they intend to preserve their dogma.
A powerful example is the fact that the Dalai Lama–who unfortunately puts a sectarian face onto Buddhism–has stated firmly that if science can prove any Buddhist belief to be false, then that belief should be dropped. Any modern day scientific materialist should be, by their own standards, embarrassed that a major spiritual leader exhibits less assumption and dogma than themselves. The Dalai Lama goes further, “when investigating the ultimate nature of reality, Buddhist thinkers take the Buddha’s words not so much as an ultimate authority, but rather as a key to assist their own insight; for the ultimate authority must always rest with the individual’s reason and critical analysis.”
A science that does not exclude the subject is perhaps unavoidably ‘subject’ to a value system. Buddhism as the meditation teaching that the Buddha taught, not the collection of rites and rituals humans have horned into it ever since, is a scientific pursuit that holds the investigation of the true nature of reality as its ultimate value. Beware of your common knowledge if it tells you that ‘our’ science is scientific and the teachings of the Buddha are religion. That is, see the reason in doing as the Buddha said: find out for yourself.
September 13, 2020
I'm a life-long self-taught meditator, and it's amazing to finally find descriptions of the stages we go through. Here, in the third section, is a road map, clear enough that we can look ahead and decide if this is the path we want, or see where we are and be grateful for this context and a sense of the whole.
There's no reason to read this book start to finish. I read this book 10 years ago, and then as now, I started at the back and dipped into previous chapters when I wanted more information.
There's no reason to read this book start to finish. I read this book 10 years ago, and then as now, I started at the back and dipped into previous chapters when I wanted more information.
September 16, 2016
Wow this book covered a lot of territory. I'm so glad I read it, much more so that I finished it. The description given does an excellent job of telling you what to expect. Topics include religion vs science, quantum physics, Buddhism and meditation. The last few chapters were almost an instruction guide to meditation, not a how-to but a what-to-expect. I enjoyed the beginning of the book more, the criticisms of science and religion being fairly equal.
January 7, 2011
I've done a fair amount of reading in this area, and this added to my understaning of the Western vs. Eastern mindset on basic issues of the mind and the individual as they relate to God, the universe and everything.
That could be read as either pretentious or flip, but that's the hazard of getting into these cosmic questions ...
That could be read as either pretentious or flip, but that's the hazard of getting into these cosmic questions ...
February 1, 2017
Gives a detailed account of how religion in the West influenced science.
February 22, 2016
(IN SPANISH BELOW)
"Embracing Mind" by Alan Wallace and Brian Hodel is aimed at one thing and one thing only: to change the reader's perception of both science and spirituality. By adopting a middle way approach to both, in which neither science is as free of dogma as we usually think about, nor spirituality is solely based on blind faith, the authors show what the common arena of both perspectives, the one with the most potential for reconciling their respective technologies, lies at our very direct experience of life - our consciousness.
In order to do this, the authors start by pointing out the philosophical and metaphysical principles underlying the pursuit of knowledge according to science, showing how it has been based on axioms more akin to Christianity than to an authentic, empirically unbiased search for truth. Moreover, they use the story and discoveries of physics, both classic and quantum, to prove science's most prestigious branch is already starting to question some of its most basic assumptions. Then, they introduce the approach used by Eastern contemplative traditions towards reality, and how their methods are as empirical and valid as those used by Western scientists, the only difference between them being the tool used for the research: exernal tools in the case of sicnece, the mind itself in the contemplative one. Finally, they propose a collaboration between East and West in studying the mind both in first and third person perspective, in order to complement and potentiating the insights and methodologies of each other by sharing their technologies.
So, this is a book as tough as interesting. Tough in the sense of being quite dense at some points (i.e. explaining quantum physics), but especially tough because it is confronting most of our cultural assumptions about science being the panacea for investigating reality. It is also because of this challenge to such deep-seated beliefs and the innovativeness and reasonableness of the alternative posed that is also such an interesting read; it feels like witnessing the beginning of a new paradigm for studying consciousness and its relation to reality.
Thus, I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to expand his/her horizons about science and spirituality and to anyone wishing to be introduced into Alan Wallace's work on the integration of contemplative practices with science (his other work dealing mainly with Buddhism by itself). In both cases, a second, and a third read are guaranteed - aswell as a lot of highlighting and side-writing.
"Embracing mind" ("La ciencia contemplativa de la mente" en España), de Alan Wallace y Brian Hodel tiene un único propósito: cambiar la percepción del lector tanto de la ciencia como de la espiritualidad. Adoptando un camino medio
para estudiar ambos, en el que ni la ciencia está tan libre de dogmas como habitualmente pensamos, ni la espiritualidad está solamente basada en fe ciega, los autores muetran que el terreno común de ambas perspectivas, el que tiene el mayor potencial para reconiciliar sus respectivas tecnologías, reside en nuestra más inmediata experiencia de la vida: nuestra consciencia.
Para hacer esto, los autores comienzas señalando los principios filosóficos y metafísicos que subyacen la búsqueda de conocimiento de acuerdo a la ciencia, mostrando cómo ésta se ha basado, desde su nacimiento, en axiomas más afines al Cristianismo que a una auténtica y empírica búsqueda sin sesgos de la verdad. Además, se utiliza la historia y los descubrimientos de la física, tanto clásica como cuántica, para demostrar que la rama más prestigiosa de la ciencia ya ha empezado a cuestionar alguna de sus suposiciones más básicas. Después, se introduce el enfoque utilizado por las tradiciones contemplativas orientales para estudiar la realidad, y cómo sus métodos son tan válidos y empíricos como los utilizdos por los científicos occidentales, con la única diferencia entre ambos radicando enla herramienta utilizada: externas en el caso de la ciencia, la mente en el caso de los contemplativos. Finalmente, los autores proponen una colaboración entre Oriente y Occidente en el estudio de la mente, tanto en primera como en tercera persona, para complementar y potenciar la sabiduría y las metodologías de ambas al compartir sus respectivas tecnologías.
En resumen, este libro es tan duro como interesante. Duro en el sentido de resultar bastante denso en algunos puntos (por ejemplo, explicando física cuántica), pero especialmente duro por entrar en conflicto con la mayoría de nuestras suposiciones culturales, que mantienen a la ciencia como la panacea para la investigación de la realidad. Es precisamente por este reto hacia nuestras tan asentadas creencias, así como a lo innovador y razonable de la alternativa propuesta, que ésta es una lectura tan interesante; uno siente que está siendo testigo del comienzo de un nuevo paradigma para el estudio de la consciencia y su relación con la realidad.
Por lo tanto, recomendaría este libro a cualquier persona que esté interesado/a en ampliar sus horizontes sobre la ciencia y la espiritualidad, y a cualquiera que desee introducirse en el trabajo de Alan Wallace sobre la integración de ambas. En ambos casos, una segunda y tercera lectura están garantizadas... así como un montón de subrayado y escritura de notas en los márgenes.
"Embracing Mind" by Alan Wallace and Brian Hodel is aimed at one thing and one thing only: to change the reader's perception of both science and spirituality. By adopting a middle way approach to both, in which neither science is as free of dogma as we usually think about, nor spirituality is solely based on blind faith, the authors show what the common arena of both perspectives, the one with the most potential for reconciling their respective technologies, lies at our very direct experience of life - our consciousness.
In order to do this, the authors start by pointing out the philosophical and metaphysical principles underlying the pursuit of knowledge according to science, showing how it has been based on axioms more akin to Christianity than to an authentic, empirically unbiased search for truth. Moreover, they use the story and discoveries of physics, both classic and quantum, to prove science's most prestigious branch is already starting to question some of its most basic assumptions. Then, they introduce the approach used by Eastern contemplative traditions towards reality, and how their methods are as empirical and valid as those used by Western scientists, the only difference between them being the tool used for the research: exernal tools in the case of sicnece, the mind itself in the contemplative one. Finally, they propose a collaboration between East and West in studying the mind both in first and third person perspective, in order to complement and potentiating the insights and methodologies of each other by sharing their technologies.
So, this is a book as tough as interesting. Tough in the sense of being quite dense at some points (i.e. explaining quantum physics), but especially tough because it is confronting most of our cultural assumptions about science being the panacea for investigating reality. It is also because of this challenge to such deep-seated beliefs and the innovativeness and reasonableness of the alternative posed that is also such an interesting read; it feels like witnessing the beginning of a new paradigm for studying consciousness and its relation to reality.
Thus, I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to expand his/her horizons about science and spirituality and to anyone wishing to be introduced into Alan Wallace's work on the integration of contemplative practices with science (his other work dealing mainly with Buddhism by itself). In both cases, a second, and a third read are guaranteed - aswell as a lot of highlighting and side-writing.
"Embracing mind" ("La ciencia contemplativa de la mente" en España), de Alan Wallace y Brian Hodel tiene un único propósito: cambiar la percepción del lector tanto de la ciencia como de la espiritualidad. Adoptando un camino medio
para estudiar ambos, en el que ni la ciencia está tan libre de dogmas como habitualmente pensamos, ni la espiritualidad está solamente basada en fe ciega, los autores muetran que el terreno común de ambas perspectivas, el que tiene el mayor potencial para reconiciliar sus respectivas tecnologías, reside en nuestra más inmediata experiencia de la vida: nuestra consciencia.
Para hacer esto, los autores comienzas señalando los principios filosóficos y metafísicos que subyacen la búsqueda de conocimiento de acuerdo a la ciencia, mostrando cómo ésta se ha basado, desde su nacimiento, en axiomas más afines al Cristianismo que a una auténtica y empírica búsqueda sin sesgos de la verdad. Además, se utiliza la historia y los descubrimientos de la física, tanto clásica como cuántica, para demostrar que la rama más prestigiosa de la ciencia ya ha empezado a cuestionar alguna de sus suposiciones más básicas. Después, se introduce el enfoque utilizado por las tradiciones contemplativas orientales para estudiar la realidad, y cómo sus métodos son tan válidos y empíricos como los utilizdos por los científicos occidentales, con la única diferencia entre ambos radicando enla herramienta utilizada: externas en el caso de la ciencia, la mente en el caso de los contemplativos. Finalmente, los autores proponen una colaboración entre Oriente y Occidente en el estudio de la mente, tanto en primera como en tercera persona, para complementar y potenciar la sabiduría y las metodologías de ambas al compartir sus respectivas tecnologías.
En resumen, este libro es tan duro como interesante. Duro en el sentido de resultar bastante denso en algunos puntos (por ejemplo, explicando física cuántica), pero especialmente duro por entrar en conflicto con la mayoría de nuestras suposiciones culturales, que mantienen a la ciencia como la panacea para la investigación de la realidad. Es precisamente por este reto hacia nuestras tan asentadas creencias, así como a lo innovador y razonable de la alternativa propuesta, que ésta es una lectura tan interesante; uno siente que está siendo testigo del comienzo de un nuevo paradigma para el estudio de la consciencia y su relación con la realidad.
Por lo tanto, recomendaría este libro a cualquier persona que esté interesado/a en ampliar sus horizontes sobre la ciencia y la espiritualidad, y a cualquiera que desee introducirse en el trabajo de Alan Wallace sobre la integración de ambas. En ambos casos, una segunda y tercera lectura están garantizadas... así como un montón de subrayado y escritura de notas en los márgenes.
March 31, 2020
Muy bueno, pero muy científico. Los últimos capítulos sobre la Gran Perfección son excelentes.
December 19, 2022
Excelente libro, para leer varias veces. Me gustó como se compara cronológicamente la historia de la filosofía y la ciencia con las filosofías orientales. Excelente análisis.
January 5, 2015
This is an outstanding piece of work. It calls into question the very basis of understanding that scientific materialism has left us all with and introduced the understandings that have been at the core of contemplative traditions for centuries. It is challenging stuff but under Wallace's hand easily accessible for the layman like me. It confirms much of the instinct I have always had as my own practice has evolved and provided a substantial base for the faith in our own intuition that is at the core of Buddhist practice. Thankful for the effort, it was well worth it for me and I'd recommend the book to anyone.
April 11, 2009
Finding the beginning of the book dense or too historical, I skipped through mmuch of it until I reached chapter 10, "A Science of Consciousness?"I'm intrigued by the concept of the substrate consciousness and primordial consciousness and dharmadata. The mind is not an emergent property of the brain.
December 24, 2008
When science and spirituality call each other out!
June 5, 2014
This book, like all of Alan Wallace's books is excellent.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews