On Spirituality and Science
I was recently asked: “How can you say you are a spiritual person if you are a scientist who doesn’t believe in any non-physical or supernatural phenomena?”
In the same way many people with spiritual minds tend to distance themselves from science, many people with scientific minds tend to distance themselves from spirituality. Others, including myself, consider that it is still possible, and healthy, to have a full scientific mindset while being deeply spiritual. In this article, I will express why I think science and spirituality can be reconciled. Note that this is just an opinion, so just take it with a grain of salt and form your own ideas about it.
Spirituality is a loaded word, so let’s start with some etymology and definitions first. The root of the word comes from the Latin “spiritus”, which is related to “spirare”, meaning to breathe. For centuries, animals have been said to possess a spirit, a kind of vital principle or force that animates them. Nowadays, we usually use the word as a synonym for the concepts of soul or mind. According to the Collins Dictionary, the term spiritual is defined as “relating to people’s thoughts and beliefs, rather than to their bodies and physical surroundings”, whereas the Cambridge Dictionary defines spirituality as “the quality that involves deep feelings and beliefs of a religious nature, rather than the physical parts of life”.
As a scientist, and someone who sees science not merely as a body of knowledge but mainly as a way of thinking (“a way of skeptically interrogating the universe”, as Carl Sagan famously put it), I also came to develop a strong sense of spirituality over the years, which brings a lot of enrichment to my most rational self. For me, being spiritual is all about experiencing a deep mindful connection with the world around and with the present moment. In order to feel a religious-like communion with Nature and life, I do not see any need whatsoever to go mystical and supernatural; the palatable natural is super enough. In fact, I firmly believe that having a detailed scientific knowledge about how the Universe works, if something, can only strengthen the way we experience everything, making it more genuine and gratifying, by providing rational and factual pillars upon which other more emotional states (e.g. spiritual) can rest. As the renowned physicist Richard Feynman said, knowing more details about the nature of a flower does not subtract but adds to a deeper sense of appreciation of its beauty.
We humans are rational and emotional creatures living a theoretically improbable (yet actually realised) finite life in a wonderful world. Because of that, we should be grateful and try to make the most out of our limited time on this fleeting floating rock, getting to explore our surroundings and experience all kinds of feelings. A life devoid of emotions is an empty life, as much as a life in a constant state of delusion, regardless of how gratifying or satisfying the feelings that such a mindset may bring up. As someone once said, “I do not want to believe, I want to know”. What I mean to say with that is that given our finitude and our rational and emotional nature, it would be a shame just to devote our life to magical thinking and fool ourselves with nonsensical stuff. The normal world out there is fascinating, full of countless treasures to discover, and there is no need to believe in something paranormal in order to have spiritual views. Instead, spirituality can be softly brewed out of the wonders of reality.
As an example, contemplate the following statement: our bodies are made out of stardust. Apart from poetic, this statement is a well-established scientific fact in astronomy, and not just an idea that came out of someone’s mind. Indeed, we have known since the last century that all of the complex elements that make up our bodies (e.g. carbon, oxygen and nitrogen) were forged inside stars that, after some time burning their fuel, billions of years ago, became supernova, exploding and scattering their material guts across space. Out of that arena, some planets, including Earth, were eventually formed -now seeded with the ingredients for life- around a new star, the Sun. It is out of scientific revelations of this kind that a deep sense of spirituality can percolate.
Interestingly enough, the example above is in line with views from some Eastern religions. This includes the idea of interconnectedness from Buddhism, which suggests that there is not such a thing as an inherent, separate self, but rather we are part of a larger whole; the concepts of Atman (individual soul) and Brahman (ultimate reality) from Hinduism, where the Atman is not separate from Brahman but rather an extension or manifestation of a “universal consciousness”; or the concept of no-self or “anatta”, from Zen philosophy, which states that we do not have a fixed, unchanging and independent self.
As I like to see it, every one of us is but a small dynamic clump of cosmic matter, put together by physico-chemical processes and evolution in such a way that, given enough time, eventually becomes aware of itself. Once again, as Carl Sagan used to say: “The Cosmos is also within us, we’re made of star-stuff; we are a way for the Cosmos to know itself”. Or, paraphrasing Alan Watts, we do not “come into” this world but “out of it”, as leaves, flowers or fruits from a tree; and in the same way an apple tree “apples”, our planet Earth “peoples”. Also, in his own words: “Every individual is an expression of the whole realm of nature, a unique action of the total universe. This fact is rarely, if ever, experienced by most individuals. Even those who know it to be true in theory do not sense or feel it, but continue to be aware of themselves as isolated egos inside bags of skin”.
This deep spiritual feeling of connectedness and partake with the whole of reality is totally compatible with science. In contrast, the claim that celestial objects have an influence on our bodies, which is a source of spirituality for millions of people even nowadays, is not justified on evidence and logical grounds, and therefore these ideas are not compatible with science. Therefore, astrology is but pure pseudoscience and requires a kind of blind faith mindset that would be equitable with believing in the existence of an infinite amount of imaginative unfalsifiable claims. This was greatly illustrated by the analogy of an undetectable Cosmic teapot orbiting the Earth, by philosopher Bertrand Russel, or by that of an undetectable transparent dragon living in someone’s garage by, again (sorry, but he was really an amazing spirit), Carl Sagan.
Some of the unscientific spiritual views are in principle harmless and everyone should be free to believe whatever they want. For instance, believing that one can somehow infuse seeds with love so that they grow better is not going to do any damage to anyone. However, there are some spiritual ideas out there that cause harm to millions of people, sometimes by simply replacing their scientific counterparts. For instance, when one pretends to treat a deadly disease by switching conventional medicine with an alternative such as homeopathy, one is simply letting him/herself die, when an effective treatment may be available, and that is very sad. Or when one uses the readings of astrology or tarot to make decisions, then he/she might let important life choices be based on meaningless texts and pure card randomness. And when the believer is the President of the most powerful country in the world, as was the case of Ronald Reagan, taking important decisions by consulting an astrologer, then the fate of the whole world can be at risk.
Nobody wants to be wrong and/or deluded, at least not on purpose, so it is very important to be empathetic and understanding. Having said that, I think we should try to do our best to stop misinformation from spreading, especially when it can harm people’s life. So, it is also important to point the right way when one realises that something is not correct. And no one is at zero risk of falling prey to the non-sense, not even the most brilliant minds out there. The best example, Steve Jobs, who after being diagnosed with a cancer, decided to reject potentially life-saving surgery to follow alternatives like acupuncture, dietary supplements and juices. When he regretted the choice and asked for surgery and cutting-edge experimental methods, it was already too late.
When we want to listen to good music, we do not go to an event where someone who calls him/herself “an alternative musical artist” tells people to strongly believe in the magic of sound, while standing on a silent stage. Instead, we go to concerts where skilful musicians play different instruments loudly and nicely. Likewise, when we are sick, we should go and seek efficient treatments at a hospital, rather than letting our lives in the hands of someone who calls him/herself an “alternative medical doctor” practicing reiki or any other practice based on magical thinking.
On February 14th 1990, the Voyager 1, a spacecraft launched in 1977 with the goal of studying the outer Solar System, turned its camera towards the Sun and took one of the most emblematic scientific and spiritual pictures of history. On it, the Earth is seen as a single pixel of light floating in the immensity of space. The idea came from an astronomer called Carl Sagan (I bet you heard of him before), who had to negotiate and convince NASA to do it for years. When the image was taken, he wrote “The pale blue dot”, containing one of the most powerful and wonderful reflections ever, which you can watch in the video below. And to close this article, a quote by Ann Druyan, which I think brings spirituality into the reality shown by science.
“For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love”
