Practical Thoughts

Dear Reader, My most recent two posts have dwelt on the place of science in our world. This is my third and last posting on this specific topic. Many years ago I read the acclaimed book The Heart Of Philosophy (1982) by Jacob Needleman (bn. 1934), a Professor of Philosophy with a difference. I have always been interested in what he has to say about thought and the role of philosophy, for what I wanted was a living philosophy, and I found plenty of life in his work.  His inclusion of ' Heart ' in the book's title is very appropriate. I have read more of his work and followed some of his videos on Youtube with great interest. In 2012, the following question about the role of science was put to  Needleman    as part of a long interview. The question sought an answer on the developing claims of science in its entry into what was appearing to be a new dimension: Some representatives of modern psychology, within its humanistic and transpersonal orientations, might argue t...

Dear Reader, It is quite extraordinary that last week I asked the question "Does Truth Come From Science Or From God?" only for something to occur this week to prompt me to take this issue a stage further. I suddenly came across a recent attempt by a scientist to explain what I would call the basis of the spiritual aspect of man, but which he (the scientist concerned) would simply call his thesis on the human condition. A biologist cum psychologist by the name of Jeremy Griffiths published (2016) a book called Freedom: The End Of The Human Condition , based on his own work derived and evolved from that of the celebrated author Sir Laurens van der Post, with whom he worked in the last years of his (van der Post's) life. Jeremy Griffiths has an impressive website on which there is a page that invites one to look at either a video interview (made in 2020) or the transcript of that interview, at this link , where a  note states: This booklet provides the ideal, very short, in...