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Science & Spirituality
In 1992 the Society embarked on an examination of the common assumptions underlying the physical and social sciences in the light of Sri Aurobindo’s thought. Discussions were conducted with two Nobel laureates in Physics and other internationally distinguished scientists in India, Sweden, Italy, Russia and USA on methods to bring about this breakthrough and reconciliation of scientific and spiritual knowledge.
In 2003, the Society launched a research project to re-examine of the basic principles underlying modern science in the light of the teachings of Sri Aurobindo, including a review of current thinking in nuclear physics, cosmology, biology and systems theory to identify the underlying mental framework and implicit assumptions about the process of creation in the universe and to compare it with the process described by Sri Aurobindo.
Future of Science
In October, 1994, the Society co-organized a special session on the Future of Science at the General Assembly of the World Academy of Art & Science in Minneapolis, USA.
Human Science
The division of fields of knowledge into innumerable disciplines and sub disciplines has resulted in an extreme fragmentation of knowledge that prevents formulation of common underlying principles and processes. It has also fostered a growing abstraction and separation between knowledge and human beings. In 2007, MSS launched a new collaborative project entitled Human Science wiki (www.humanscience.info) in an attempt to identify common underlying processes and principles unifying the various fields of social sciences and humanities. Human Science is based on the premise that there is one fundamental science of humanity that transcends and unifies all the fields of social science and humanities. The same universal principles, processes and patterns govern and underlie human activity in different fields. The same principles and processes govern behavior and events at the level of the individual, family, organization, community, nation and the global community. It conceives of political, economic, social and historical phenomena as expressions of individual and social psychology, rather than self-existent fields governed by impersonal laws independent of human beings. The site now includes 1000 principles of development, approximately 300 articles and 2864 pages of content. It is divided into 12 portals such as Development, Management, Personality, Spirituality, Personal Accomplishment, Literature, Science & Technology and Health. It also contains 12 special application projects such as Employment, Values, Pride & Prejudice, Theory of Money, Life in Cinema and The Secret. Twenty-one registered users are contributing to the site. The site now receives more than 10,000 visitors monthly.
Limits to Rationality
In 2011, MSS, in collaboration with the World Academy, launched a project to examine a range of questions regarding the nature of knowledge, thought processes and the limits to rationality as they relate to the quest for knowledge in the physical and social sciences and humanities. An ultimate objective of this project is to catalog characteristic patterns, misconceptions and superstitions regarding the nature of human thought processes and to develop guidelines for promoting original thinking and creativity in the quest for knowledge. A special session on Limits to Rationality was conducted during the major international conference on “Humanities and the contemporary world” by the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts in collaboration with the World Academy of Art & Science at Podgorica, Montenegro in June 2012.
Science, Knowledge, Genius & the Nature of Mind
MSS continues its research on Sri Aurobindo’s conception of the human mind and its relevance to science and knowledge. Great advances have been made by modern science through the analysis of different aspects of reality by division and subdivision into smaller and smaller parts, but the reductionist approach has also resulted in a fragmentation of knowledge and divorce of intellectual understanding from life realities. Historical evidence confirms that the greatest scientific discoveries were achieved by intuitive and synthetic rather than analytic separative mental processes. In September 2013, MSS participated in a workshop on the Discipline of Anticipation in science at Lausanne, Switzerland and explored different concepts of knowledge applicable to the natural and social sciences at an international colloquium at CERN in Geneva in March 2014 and can be viewed on the CERN website. MSS staff have published the following research articles: “Limits to Rationality and the Boundaries of Perception” (Eruditio Journal Spring 2013), “Recognizing Unrecognized Genius” (Cadmus Journal Oct 2012), “Creative Consciousness” (Cadmus Journal Oct 2013), and “Ways of Knowing” (Eruditio Journal Spring 2014).
In 2012-13, MSS continued work on the role and application of rationality and intuition in the field of scientific discovery and examined the impact of sociological factors on scientific activities. A paper was presented at the special session on ‘Limits to Rationality’, conducted during the major international conference on “Humanities and the Contemporary World” by the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts in collaboration with the World Academy of Art & Science at Podgorica, Montenegro in June 2012.
In 2013-14, MSS continued its study of Sri Aurobindo’s conception of the nature of the human mind and its relevance to science and knowledge. Great advances have been made by modern science through the analysis of different aspects of reality by division and subdivision into smaller and smaller parts, but the reductionist approach has also resulted in a fragmentation of knowledge and divorce of intellectual understanding from life realities. Historical evidence confirms that the greatest scientific discoveries were achieved by intuitive and synthetic rather than analytic separative mental processes. In September 2013, MSS participated in a workshop on the Discipline of Anticipation in science at Lausanne, Switzerland and explored different concepts of knowledge applicable to the natural and social sciences at an international colloquium at CERN in Geneva in March 2014 and can be viewed on the CERN website. Its research on the limits to rationality appeared in Eruditio Journal in Spring 2013 titled “Limits to Rationality and the Boundaries of Perception”[Annexure12] preceded by an article on nature of genius titled “Recognizing Unrecognized Genius” [Annexure13] which was published in Cadmus Journal in Fall 2012 and followed by an article on Creative Consciousness[Annexure14] published in Cadmus Journal in Fall 2013.“Unification in the Social Sciences: Search for a Science of Society,”[Annexure15] an article by Garry Jacobs, Winston Nagan and Alberto Zucconi, was published in the October 2014 issue of Cadmus Journal.
In 2015-16, MSS prepared a research paper by Ashok Natarajan titled“Viable Solutions for seemingly Intractable Problems”[Annexure16]which was published in the October 2015 issue of Cadmus Journal. MSS also conducted extensive research in collaboration with WAAS and WUC to conduct a post graduate level course on Mind, Thinking and Creativity from April 12-15, 2016 at Inter-University Center, Dubrovnik. MSS staff will present lectures.