Theos-Talk Archives (October 1999 Message tt00105)

Randy & All,

You said:

"All of the achievements of science are based upon reasoning, inductive or 
deductive.  Granted there is serendipity and intuition used in some
discovery, 
but even then to bring the discovery to fruition requires reasoning.
Reasoning 
seems to be a trustworthy tried and true ally.  The other stuff--visions,
holy 
books, mentors, tradition, authority, religions, etc.--gets us in trouble
since 
it usually shifts the revelation of truth to someone other than ourselves
who 
through casuistry does great damage to man."
----------------------------------------------------------------
I agree with Louis response but would also like to add the following.
I understand that Einstein described the process of discovering relativity
as an intuitive one. That he intuitively "saw" the answer. The difficult
part was then persuading the establishment who were fixed in other ways of
thinking. ie, he needed to translate the intuitive experience into language
acceptable to science. This was the reasoning process and it was, as you
said, secondary to the direct revelation.
"When the solution is simple, God is answering." - Einstein
So, given a revelation such as Einsteins the problem is often that the rest
of the world is enmeshed in linear thinking and has great difficulty in
accepting a new paradigm.
"Thinking outside of the box creates larger boxes for the unimaginative to
think within" - Alan Harris
So I would like to question you own reasoning, Randy as it seems to me that
many people also accept the word of science as they once did the words of
religious men, on blind faith. The following is extracted from The Screwtape
Letters by C.S.Lewis:
"But the best of all is to let him read no science but to give him a grand
general idea that he knows it all and that everything he happens to have
picked up in casual talk and reading is "the results of modern
investigation".
I certainly know of many people who think in this way. They see an article
in New Scientist & therefore believe it must be the truth. Instead of
reasoning, they have come to accept the words of people THEY BELIEVE TO BE
REASONABLE. 
So I think the issues are:
1) real truths are received directly and intuitively
2) those receiving these experiences often communicate them to others
verbally or in writing
3) these words of authority, religious or scientific, can only be considered
as signposts, pointers towards you achieving your own direct understanding.
Accepting the words of any authority blindly is not useful.
4) If you have not understood a truth directly and intuitively then you are
right to question. The questioning process may be linear reasoning but the
answer will come intuitively. (often at some later time when you have
stopped thinking about the issue!!!)
Comments welcome, hope this helps.
I will try to find the quotes I had from some of the great scientists
talking about the intuitive process.

Kind Regards,
Nicholas John Street








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