The Science of Truth
By C.W. Adams
The Science of Truth
Copyright © 2010 C.W. Adams
SCIENCE OF TRUTH PUBLISHING
Wilmington, Delaware
http://www.science-of-truth.com.
All rights reserved.
Smashwords Edition
Publishers Cataloging in Publication Data
Adams, C.W.
The Science of Truth
Smashwords Edition
1. Science. 2. Philosophy
Bibliography and References; Index
Library of Congress Control Number: 2008902203
ISBN paperback 978-0-9816045-2-7
ISBN ebook 978-1-936251-14-8
License Notes: This ebook is licensed only for the use of the person who downloaded it. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please download an additional copy for each recipient. Furthermore, the copyright prohibits the copying and/or plagiarizing of any of the text contained in this book.
For my Teachers
Table of Contents
Chapter One: The Search for Truth
Chapter Three: The Science of Faith
Chapter Four: The Intentional Creation
Chapter Five: Evolution of the Living
Chapter Six: The Personal Universe
Introduction
Each of us persistently seeks fulfillment. This is because we experience an emptiness that cannot seem to be filled with the various physical things we try to consume. No matter how wealthy, famous or surrounded with people we might be, our emptiness within persists.
This constant emptiness indicates we have a deeper need beyond this physical existence. Many of us, after realizing material consumption does not fulfill us, will begin a search for the Truth. During this search, we may approach modern science for objective answers. Unfortunately, most of us find that modern science does not seem to objectively explore the Truth. Instead, we often find various science journals and publications pushing a particular agenda. We often find our modern scientists stuck in the paradigm of having to satisfy financially-driven scientific institutions, scientific publications, peers and educational institutions, all of which often seem to have particular agendas related to profits and/or reputation.
As a result, we unfortunately find that much of the institution of modern science comes up short on its obligation to help us find the Truth. This is not to say, however, that there is a lack of modern research pointing the way towards the Truth. Many of our modern researchers have made honest attempts to provide us with information indicating at least in some small way, where the Truth may lie. After even a lifetime of research and exploration through modern science, however, many of us find modern science presents very little Truth that can be applied to life in a practical manner.
Many turn to organized religion to satisfy our quest for the Truth. As we do, we are often faced again with various agendas of those who dictate the terms of faith. Though we may find honorable teachers who pass wisdom with integrity, we may also find many institutions teaching dogma emphasizing interpretations that satisfy specific agendas. We may also find religious institutions focused on the sectarian differences with other institutions rather than the science of their teachings. The conclusion of many in our society is that the teachings of some of these institutions are not practical when viewed from a perspective of science.
Continuing our pursuit, we may also come upon various philosophical teachings that partially appeal to our sense of Truth, but do not seem to answer our practical questions. Some of the newer philosophical teachings may also come with agendas and broad scientific theorization. While some are blended with the newest theories of physics and chemistry, many of these also include strong profit incentives. We might find some of these philosophies butter us up with flowery language, yet come up short on substance and practicality.
Why should the Truth not make practical sense to us? Why should we not be able to clearly understand and apply the Truth in our everyday lives? Why should we not be able to apply the Truth to scientific data and our hearts, minds and faith all at the same time?
Conversely, why should science and philosophy not answer the basic questions we have concerning the world around us, and our basic needs to understand ourselves?
This exploration of science and Truth is an attempt to reveal Truth in real terms: Truth applied to real life. Real science is Truth applied because everything in existence conforms to the Truth. Truth can be observed within all things once our vision is cleared of the fog of speculation and bias. Nature does not conflict with the Truth because nature fits inside the Truth. Since nature conforms to the Truth, its application and evidence is apparent in science.
Unlike blind faith, Truth exposes the lies and deceptions brought forth by those who seek their own gain. Truth sheds a light on the unseen parts of our lives and uncurls the mysteries of the universe. Truth shines a beam into our heart, squelching the shadows of doubt and judgment.
As it is often said, nothing of value comes easily. Finding the Truth in this lifetime undoubtedly requires diligence. It requires a serious questioning of everything around us: a doubting of everything we are taught and everything we see. It requires study and contemplation. It requires self-doubt and inner work. It requires a humble and persistent quest, without any proud stance of:
“I have found it.”
Finding the actual meaning to our existence requires sincerity and humility. It requires an honest look at ourselves and an assessment of our intentions. Are we looking for the actual Truth or are we simply trying to fit in? Are we searching for real Truth or are we trying to appear religious or philosophical in order to gain the respect of others? Are we following someone’s teachings just because others accept them or because their teachings truly make sense to us?
Indeed, during our search for Truth we must not let those who have not found the actual meaning of life convince us that it is not there. After all, if life had no meaning, why would we constantly search for it?
These are the hard questions we must ask ourselves throughout our search for Truth. It is not easy to doubt our own intentions and the intentions of others, but it is necessary. It is easy to assume that we have the best of intentions, and that what we know is all there is to know. It is harder to accept that there is a lot out there we do not know. Yet it is this very acknowledgement that is necessary to enable learning.
Knowledge is inseparable from action: To truly know something is to live within that reality—understanding it through personal application. Personal application also requires humility. The moment we become proud of what we think we know Truth will slip away from us. Within Truth, pride has no place. Real Truth in action will continually humble us, its light fading should we try to proudly claim it: Just as water will seep through our hands should we try to grasp it.
We must take comfort in knowing that ultimately the search for the actuality of our existence, as long as it is done earnestly, honestly and with integrity, will never be a waste of time. The beautiful thing about the Truth is that even a small sliver of it can shine the brightest of lights upon our lives. Like walking with a lantern in the wilderness, even one small light can light an entire path as we walk down it.
During our search for the meaning of life, we come upon so many obstacles. These obstacles are put there for a reason. We must consider the possibility that our own personal search for Truth at this moment may or may not be the search for the actual Truth. A saying that might describe this is:
“You can’t handle the truth.”
If we are truly looking for the Truth about life and who we truly are, we must be prepared for the Truth possibly destroying our misconceptions and expectations. We must therefore be ready to give up our ideas and speculations.
Although even a little Truth can quench our thirst for it, it is endless, and our need for it will never cease. While material facts eventually lead to satiation and boredom, Truth feeds our inner being. Truth satisfies our inner selves, while keeping us yearning for more. This is because actual Truth is expansive, and humility is its companion.
The information provided in this book relate to the modern culture we live in today. With information swirling around us at incredible speeds, we have more opportunity than ever to access information. In receiving information however, we must be careful to consider the source. We should consider that many media sources pad, filter, or distort information for purposes of profit and market dominance. Through satellite television and the internet, we can now potentially know more about other cultures and peoples than ever before. We can also be bombarded by images and ideas that seek to color our vision of reality and distract our attention. Skeptics of the Truth might even say:
“If it is too good to be true it probably isn’t.”
Often it is assumed that the theories and speculations supported by educational institutions are scientific fact. These scientific postulations, though presented through seemingly credible media by professional researchers with advanced degrees, are still at the end of the day, speculative guesses.
In this writing, we offer the reader logical explanations of the world around us together with common occurrences, everyday observations, documented scientific data and ancient wisdom. People who keep up with basic news media, access the internet, have had a basic science course or two and live in the modern world should be familiar with some of these points. Some of the points made and examples given may irritate those in the scientific community, as they may not be controlled observations nor referenced adequately. As we will illustrate, true control, obtained by eliminating all known and unknown variables while isolating outside influences, is virtually impossible to achieve by humans. We just do not have that sort of authority over nature. As such, we may stumble upon the realization that:
“The more we know, the more we know we don’t know.”
In an effort to illustrate some of the points advanced here, some of the observations, experiments, and theories published by scientists over the past few centuries are presented. While providing reference and illustration from documented reports, this is by no means an attempt to render a complete picture of that particular scientist, theory, observation, or experiment in this context. While an attempt to illustrate and review the science as documented in available references is being made, there is an understanding that there are often many sides and views to every subject. As discovered during the completion of the author’s doctoral degree, reviews and criticisms of peers and professors can provide substance and reference for further inquiry. While one might construe unfairness with critique, we must also recognize that one of the basic tenets of modern science is to provide a forum for review and appraisal. If a particular scientist is not accepting of any such review and appraisal, then we should hardly consider that scientist part of a peer-reviewed forum.
If we accept peer-review as part of science’s model, then we must be ready to also review and appraise the entire process and the fundamental assumptions that provide the foundation for further assumption. As any builder will tell us, the need for a strong foundation for any large building is essential. Therefore the fundamental assumptions used by modern science should be considered rather carefully and even skeptically prior to building further assumptions upon them. If modern science cannot openly consider such skeptical reviews and appraisals of its assumptions, then we can hardly call this institution a peer-reviewed science.
This said, we offer our fellow scientists respect and appreciation for their attempts to find the Truth. Whether their search comes with ulterior motive or complete integrity, we thank them for their efforts. While this book may question and identify incongruities within the institutions, assumptions, and logic of various modern scientific conclusions, it also in many cases utilizes this very same institution and research basis to establish or illustrate its conclusions. While we respect the attempt to provide an objective basis for establishing Truth, we hope those scientists who read this will also respect the need to provide logical alternatives to current assumptions and conclusions.
A number of allegorical stories and analogies are used to clarify and illustrate certain points. Most of these are presented for easy distinction. It is hoped the reader will ponder these with a consideration of the effect Truth must have upon the universe: Truth must beam into the largest and smallest; the simple and the complex—all simultaneously.
Appreciation is given to the author’s mentors, professors, and teachers who encouraged a thorough study of the facts and conclusions. Humble acknowledgement is also given to an ancient and confidential knowledge, lovingly passed down through many generations of devoted teachers. We give thanks to these devoted teachers, and hope this work fairly transmits this information for the humble seeker of Truth.
Chapter One: The Search for Truth
A man walking down the street came upon a dog. The big dog with thick golden hair weaved about the road, sniffing at the ground anxiously. Its eyes darted from one side of the road to another as it paced back and forth. The man approached the dog to check its collar. The collar had no tag. The dog appeared anxious and desperate. The dog directed his wet nose up and down the man’s body, sniffing the man’s feet and hands thoroughly, as if they might provide some solution. The dog then returned to sniffing along the ground. The anxious and purposeful behavior of the dog told the man the dog was looking for someone. The man concluded the dog must be lost and looking for its owner. As the man walked on, he kept an eye out for a man looking for a dog.
Why search for something that does not exist?
Because the dog was searching anxiously, intent on finding something or someone, the logical assessment would be that the dog was lost and looking for its owner. Why would the dog search for someone or something that did not exist?
If the man had observed the dog strolling around sniffing trees and digging up bones without any urgency, the man would probably assume the dog was not lost. He might assume it was taking a short walk away from home, combing its neighborhood for new scents, and buried treasure. He would not make any effort to locate its owner in that case because there was no problem.
If we examine human behavior, we notice a pattern similar to the lost dog. Most of us spend our lives in perpetual search. Our search typically focuses on looking for that something or someone to bring us fulfillment. Then, as we remain unfulfilled, the probe may turn inward. This is only logical because in order to know what will fulfill us, we must first know who we are. Thus we often hear people say:
We seek to find our selves.
Most of us at one time or another has asked the critical questions who am I? Why am I here? Our search for answers to these will take a number of forms. For some it may become the search for our ancestry. We might search through our family tree for the roots of our family genealogy. For an astronomer it may become a lifetime of search for life on other planets. For a psychologist it may become a search for a better understanding for what makes people tick. For an archeologist it may become a search for what happened to our ancestors. For a physicist it may become a search for the structure of the universe. For others it may become philosophical or religious study.
Most of us focus our search for fulfillment upon finding that special someone who will make us happy. From a very young age, we begin our search for a mate. We assume there is someone special out there intended just for us. Should we believe we have found that person, we may marry them. Then for a while, we may settle down. It is assumed that once we have found that special someone, our search is over and we can settle down. This concept assumes that we have settled for someone, almost as though we know the person we settled for is not necessarily the person we were searching for.
While some may successfully settle down the urge for someone of the opposite sex after marriage, this rarely stops our quest for fulfillment. We find this in our observations of couples the world over. Once they have found each other, we see couples urgently directing their search at establishing a family. We see couples change their focus from each other to having children. We see couples focus their attention on buying a home or homestead. We find couples focusing their attention on establishing the means to provide for this home: a good career and income.
Once the homestead is established, the kids have come, and career and income is set; we do not see an end to the seeking of the individuals within the family. Rather, we see the search continue in so many other forms, as these individuals reach out for other hobbies, groups, and activities in their search for fulfillment.
Simple observation reveals that in one way or another, we are all struggling in our attempts to accomplish fulfillment. On a daily basis, we toil, engaging in competitive activities to achieve particular goals and objectives. When we get frustrated with these attempts, some may for a moment ask why or what am I searching for, but for many, the conveyor belt of modern society redirects our search towards physical acquisition.
We can observe our redirected search for Truth in our media. In television, investigative journalism and mysteries of the unknown are very popular. The facts surrounding a missing child, or whether a man killed his wife intrigue most of us. Also popular are science fiction dramas that explore outer-world alien scenarios. ‘Reality shows’ are also quite popular, though many are far from real. In these ‘reality shows’, there is usually some suspense added in terms of an unknown factor: Who will win, or who will pick whom. In literature, true mystery stories or realistic fictional works are very popular. The fantasy novels popular among children are not so attractive to adults. Adults tend to have a fascination with true stories with mysterious details, or fictional works of mystery and suspense. The urge to obtain more information is why newspapers and news magazines are so popular. Finding the facts and uncovering the mystery of an event draws the readers. All of these forms of media reflect a commonality among every individual in our society: Our incessant search for Truth.
We can also see tremendous energies being focused upon scientific discovery in modern society. Billions are spent every month in efforts to peer further into outer space or see smaller units of microphysical matter. Our urge for scientific discovery has evolved into a frenzied outreach into every nook and cranny of our physical dimension. The amount of money spent by governments on scientific discovery is astounding when one considers the alternate uses of such funds. One might consider space flight and other scientific exploration a waste of money when poverty and starvation are so rampant around the world. This simply illustrates the urgency our society has for finding Truth. The search for answers regarding our existence is apparently more important than the survival or health of our society or other human beings.
We search for the place we belong.
At one time or another, we all search for a good place to live and belong. Depending upon our financial condition, we may look for that special place to call home. Our idea of home is typically a mix of being close to our job, being close with our family and friends, and being in a comfortable or convenient location: A place where we feel we belong. Often climate or convenience will be sacrificed for the ability to be close to our family. In the context of priorities, most of us rate our family ahead of physical comforts. Where we settle is usually determined by changing factors. Then after the hassle of finding a place to call home, as soon as we settle in, many of us will continue to look for a better place. Or we may spend years renovating our current house in an attempt to feel that we belong here.
Outside of the raw nature of our house, we look to belong within a family and community. When we are younger, we strive to belong with our family. As we grow we seek to belong with the people around us—our schoolmates and later our workmates. Later we may seek to form a new family to belong to as we become old enough to marry and have children. Then we may search for that right town or neighborhood to belong to. When we find an area we are comfortable with, we may seek a position and role to play within that community—all in an effort to belong to a community. Our role is critical to us, as we often relate our role within one or more of these communities or groups as defining ourselves. In these various ways, we look to find ourselves by locating that place and role where we belong.
We search for perfection.
These are only a few of the forms our search takes on. In reality, most of us are searching for something at every moment. If it is not one thing, it is another. At some point in time we’ll search for that successful job or career, pondering the purpose of our existence in relationship with our career choices. At another point we might search for that perfect partner to settle down with. At still another point we will look for the right college or school. Many of us will endeavor for many years in order to accomplish a professional career, only to later change careers; being unfulfilled with our previous choice. We will also search for friends and associates to share and exchange ideas with—typically those on the same wavelength. Some of us will also spend considerable time searching for more mundane items. We might search for the right car, the right clothes, or the right furniture. While many of us might believe these items will provide some sense of fulfillment directly, many of us might also believe that if we possess the right material objects, others will love us.
We are thus searching for the perfect mix in life—the perfect scenario. From our partner to our job, house, friends, and car, we endeavor to put together the perfect combination. For this reason, people in modern society are constantly on the go. We are rushing to achieve that perfect mix, moving and changing constantly in various attempts to rearrange things. To get things arranged just so, we might change jobs or careers, move to a new location, or buy a new car when these all may work just fine. In these ways, we continue to look for the perfect scenario.
Vacations are a good example of our search for the perfect scenario. During two or three weeks out of every year, many of us endeavor to accomplish the ultimate vacation. Rather than using those weeks to relax and rest, we prefer to endeavor with much difficulty and expense to travel to a remote location, only to lie down or run around in another place. Our hope is that by going to this remote place we will find, at least for a few days, that perfect scenario. This is why we typically vacation in tropical locations. We imagine the comfortable weather and beauty of the tropics will create that perfection for which we are searching.
We seek fulfillment.
The perfect scenario is typically so vague that we may refer to our goal as “finding it.” We may look for it through various sensual activities—seeking fulfillment within eating, sex, music, visual entertainment and other objects of the senses. Frustrated by these, we may seek to find it within our relationships, searching for that perfect partner. We may take a vacation, find a new house, change jobs, or create new goals in hopes of finding it. We may fantasize about achieving whatever it we are anticipating. This increases our hopes that it will give us happiness. We may work hard for many years to accomplish it, saving up our money to buy it. Our dreams of finding it are usually accompanied by its perceived rewards or results. We may visualize our accomplishing it with people cheering us or looking up to us with envy—wishing they had it. These types of visualizations serve to create the illusion of future happiness. This is not what happens however. The illusion of it bringing us happiness becomes obvious when—once we reach it—we immediately begin to search for the next it. The fulfilling of it must just be around the corner, we assume.
Frustration intensifies the search.
At some point or another—often after a number of failed attempts at happiness—the conscious human may embark on a quest for some hard truth about existence. This may come at a young age, when we are curious about life and want to know why things are the way they are. Our western culture can unfortunately squelch the early search: The early search can easily be overrun by our society’s persistent messages that physical things will fulfill us.
Should our earlier inquisitiveness be ignored or overrun, most of us will eventually come to a point in our lives where we urgently question everything. This might follow a trauma such as a death in the family, a serious injury, or the loss of a job. It might simply result from not being fulfilled after achieving physical success. Sometimes this is referred to as a mid-life crisis, because it often occurs after a person has had enough time to accomplish career, financial or family goals once imagined as being fulfilling. This might appear to others as an attempt to be young again, as youth is often connected with learning, exploration and starting over. Actually, it is a renewed search “to find myself.”
Sometimes a person might—after becoming completely exhausted with the stress and uncertainty of the physical world—undergo what is commonly termed a nervous breakdown. Although often we may think of the nervous breakdown as a negative and uncomfortable event, it can also lead to a serious intent to truly find ourselves.
Our incessant searching tells us that we know deep inside there is a reason for existence. Our search for the perfect scenario tells us that the perfect scenario exists. Like the lost dog, our very search implies its existence.
Every one of us asks the same questions at one time or another during our lifetime:
Who am I?
Where do I come from?
What is my purpose?
The quest to know these answers is the common thread among every human society. Every nationality, every sect, every tribe, and all humans search for the answers to these questions. These questions pervade the richest and poorest societies. They concern the young and the old. They are pondered by the most and least educated of us. They are asked among various media ranging from the oldest manuscripts and cave drawings to the latest movies, web pages and modern music lyrics.
This isn’t to say that no one finds answers. As in most things, results are relative to the effort made. A diligent effort to ponder the questions and find the answers will result in greater opportunities to obtain those answers. Good, complete answers typically require a persistent quest from the right sources. A half-hearted attempt at finding anything will typically result in half-completed discovery.
Speculation provides no answers.
Speculation does not satisfy our search because speculation comes from the mind. If a person says “I think…..” it is usually followed by “I really don’t know—I could be wrong.” Speculation does not qualify as Truth because it is tainted by the contents of the mind. The mind, like a tape recorder, records, and catalogs input from the senses. Therefore, the mind is limited by sensory input. If the input is faulty, the speculation will be faulty. A person who speculates and claims “this is fact” is only being deceptive to themselves and others.
Speculation requires no evidence. Speculation requires no observation. Speculation may follow an observation but will have no assurance that the interpretations of the observation were factual. Thus, speculation has no real scientific rigor.
Virtually anyone can speculate on any matter. A person with no formal education can speculate just as well as a person with an advanced degree. We typically give more credibility to speculators with advanced degrees though. We assume they are basing their speculations on more information. We assume the advanced degree indicates more knowledge on that subject matter. The uneducated man also may speculate on the same subjects, coming to similar conclusions. At the very least, since speculation does not require solid evidence, there is no assurance that either the educated or the non-educated speculator is correct in their postulations.
Most double blind, randomized and controlled clinical studies are concluded with speculation. The interpretation of the observations will be subject to the speculation of the researcher concluding the results. This conclusion will be based on the researcher‘s opinions, based on his or her background and history of sense perception. In this way modern science is highly speculative, and thus cannot satisfy our search for Truth.
A knowledgeable resource is more reliable than a speculative one. A person who receives information from a knowledgeable source becomes a knowledgeable resource as well. Should a person receive a fact and add speculation to it, the fact must be separated from the speculation to be considered fact again. Once facts are tainted with speculation, separating them can be quite a challenge. A conclusion drawn by a speculative interpretation of the facts is still in the end, speculation.
Truth, or reliable information, must come from a reliable source. The messenger of the information must also be reliable. One must therefore determine whether the source and the messenger are both reliable. Fortunately, Truth can be confirmed from within as well as from without. “Truths” which do not make practical sense as they are applied to reality cannot be confirmed. If it does not make practical sense it must be questioned.
We are persistent because we lost the Truth.
Our persistent searching tells us that Truth has been a part of us in the past. We have obviously become separated from it. This is why we search for it now. Something lost and searched for was previously possessed.
At the end of the day, it is logical that Truth must exist if we are, to varying degrees, each searching for it. Since we are seeking the Truth about our identity and the purpose for our existence, we must have an identity and have an ultimate purpose for existence. Again like the lost dog, we wouldn’t know we were missing something unless we had a prior experience of its existence.
If we consider the intensity of our various individual searches and our probing for answers in every nook and cranny of existence, it is obvious that the answers to these questions are critical to us. The answers are the key to our very reason to live. Not knowing who we are or why we are here makes us undeniably lost:
A man arrives at an international airport on a plane from a foreign country. The first things customs agents ask the man as he gets off the plane are: “Show me your passport,” and “what is the purpose of your stay?” In other words, who are you? and why are you here? If the man had no passport, did not remember his name, and could not state why he came into the country, the customs agents will surely identify him as being lost, and probably having dementia.
Knowing who we are and why we are here are most certainly the most vital pieces of information we can and should know. Conversely, not knowing the answers to these questions puts us in the precarious situation of not only being lost, but also puts us in a situation where we do not know what we should be living for, and what we should be doing with our lives. Functioning in such a way leaves us in the uncomfortable position of acting somewhat crazy, as we anxiously look for what we have lost—much as a lost dog might sniff around—hoping to find something we are missing.
Conclusion: As we become frustrated in our persistent search for fulfillment within the physical world, we may begin a search for the Truth regarding our existence. Since we search for this Truth, it must exist. Understanding our identity and origin is required in order to understand our purpose for existence and ultimately what will make us happy.
***
Chapter Two: True Identity
The car raced down the open freeway, hurtling its driver towards the man’s office. Just as the driver thought he was going to be on time that morning, traffic started backing up. Slowing down with the traffic, the car was rear-ended by oncoming cars. The collision from the rear forced the car to crash into the next car in front. A number of cars piled up as a result. The driver was fortunately unhurt, but his car was crushed. The driver struggled to get out of the car, but unfortunately, the car door was stuck. He was pinned under the steering wheel. Emergency vehicles were onto the scene quickly. Tow trucks began hauling away the piled-up cars one at a time. The driver was relieved when they pulled away the other cars and got to his car. Something was very wrong, however. The tow truck operators hooked his car up and began hauling the car away to the wrecking yard without pulling him out first! The man screamed to be let out as they drove away with the car in tow, but they did not hear him. Arriving at wrecking yard, they began the automated process of dumping the car into the compactor. Incredibly, they had forgotten the driver inside the car.
Who am I?
If we ask someone their identity they will most likely describe either their body’s physical features or their body‘s country of origin. They might say “I am American” or “I am black” or “I am five feet tall, weigh 125 lbs, and female with brown eyes.” The logical question is: Am I really this physical body? If so, what happens if our body gains 100 lbs of weight? Does our identity change?
Most of us have a hint that our identity runs deeper than our physical body. A person with a black body wants equality with a person with a white body because that person considers that beneath the skin, we are equal. Similarly, an obese person wants to be treated equally with someone of a more slender stature. Why would we request equality unless we are assuming we have deeper identities?
As modern science has debated this topic, there have been two general views: The first a general machine-like information-processing generating system with various modules of activity, all competing for control. This “chaos-machine” theoretically builds upon a system of learning and evolution without any central person or actor. The other, more prevalent view, portrays each of us as an individual living being, central and governing to the body’s existence.
Among proponents of the spirit-driven nature, there is also some debate regarding the characteristics of the spirit. Some suggest it is a portion of the living organism (e.g., “body, mind and spirit”). To others it is the morality or “soul” of a person. While debate on this topic continues among researchers searching for the right model of life, there are a number of observational and scientific considerations to consider before we settle our conclusions.
What happens at death?
By any physical observation made in the death of any living being, something living leaves the body at death. When we see a living body full of life, movement, energy, personality, and purpose, we understand these symptoms of life are still within the body. When death arrives, suddenly the symptoms of life leave: There is no movement, no energy, and no personality existing within the dead body. The body becomes lifeless.
After thousands of years of scientific observation and research on cadavers no one—not even our modern researchers with seemingly advanced medical instruments—has been able to find any chemical or physical element existing within the body when it is alive, missing when it is dead. The dead body has every physical and material component the living body had. All of the cells are still there. The DNA is still there. All of the nerves, the organs, the brain and central nervous system—every physical element—is still resident in the cadaver.
The claim of the soul weighing 21-grams probably best lies in the urban legend category. In 1907, family physician Dr. Duncan MacDougall attempted an experiment where six patients were monitored as they died upon a table rigged with a scale. Of the six, two were eliminated because of technical issues. Three subjects died of tuberculosis. Two of these were losing weight before and after death by “evaporation and respiratory moisture.” One subject died from “consumption” and seemingly lost ¾ of an ounce in weight as he was dying—later converted to 21.3 grams. Dr. MacDougall admitted that it was difficult in some cases to know at what point the patient had died (MacDougall 1907).
A fellow doctor in Massachusetts, Dr. A. Clarke, immediately debated Dr. MacDougal’s hypothesis. Dr. Clarke argued that the typical sudden rise in body temperature before and subsequent cooling without circulation upon death could account for slight weight changes due to evaporation. Especially noting some of the patients had lethal tuberculosis.
While Dr. MacDougal assumed the moment of death oc-curred when the patient convulsed a bit and then lay still with-out breathing, modern research tells us that brain death must also occur—something Dr. MacDougal was not monitoring for.
Until his own death in 1920, Dr. MacDougall tried to repeat the results and could not confirm his findings. In one test, he cruelly killed fifteen dogs while weighing them and found no weight loss.
Over thousands of years of intense cadaver research and autopsy, nothing has substantiated any gross difference between the live and dead body. No other scientific study has corroborated such a theory of weight loss upon death. Organs, bones, nerves, brains, blood, neurochemistry, DNA and so many other physical aspects of the live and dead body have been analyzed. Nothing physical has been found to be missing after death.
Quite obviously, the dead body is missing the immeasurable element of life. This element drove the living body. This element gave the body personality. This element gave the body energy. This element gave the body the desire to survive. This element gave the body the factors that drove the healing processes, the digestive processes, the sensual processes, the circulatory processes, and so many other biological and biochemical processes. This element of life is definite. It is not imaginary. Seeing a dead body formerly living will clearly illustrate that this key element is real.
The life force has never been seen under a microscope, a CT scan, an MRI, or by any other physical piece of equipment. Furthermore, since this living force separates from the body at death, yet is not evident in physical elements of living or dead bodies, we can scientifically conclude that the life force is not a physical part of the living body.
Since the personality is also gone when this life is gone from the body, it would only be logical to conclude that each of us ‘personalities’ is this life force, and not the physical body: Just as the car driver is not the car. The car driver can and needs to get out of the car at some point. Therefore, the car driver has a separate identity from the car. For this same reasoning, when Socrates’ students asked him how he wanted to be buried, Socrates’ reply was that they can do whatever they want with his body after death, because he will already have gone by then.
What about amputation?
If a person were to have an arm amputated because of an infection or other injury, no one considers this person any less of a person. This logic can be extended to even severe cases such as the loss of both arms and legs. An explosion or other traumatic accident might leave ones torso intact while amputating ones arms and legs. Regardless of losing these appendages, the person is still perceived as a whole person, even though their body cannot function in certain ways. The person who operates the body still contains the same conscious being with the same ability to think and reason. This is why paraplegic and quadriplegic rights are protected by law, and why quadriplegic Steven Hawking is considered one of the today’s foremost theoretical physicists. Physically disabled people are given equal rights because society considers them equal in all respects despite their physical handicap.
The physical organs can be considered using the same logic. It is now commonplace in medicine to surgically remove and replace organs such as kidneys, livers, hearts, hips and other parts in order to preserve the healthy functioning of the body. Some parts—like hearts and hip sockets—are now replaced with artificial versions. Modern medicine has illustrated through many years of organ transplants that a person’s identity does not travel with their organ. Otherwise, we might have—as a few comedic theatrical performances have suggested—people whose personalities reflect their organ donors’ personality. Imagine: A person receiving another person’s heart assuming an aspect of the personality of the dead donor?
We might compare this to an auto accident: Let’s say a car is brought into a repair shop after a collision: The shop determines the car needs the tires changed, the engine rebuilt and various other parts of the car replaced before the car can be put back on the road. These changes and new car parts do not affect the driver of the car. The driver will still be the same person no matter how many new parts are put on the car. After the engine is rebuilt, the new tires are installed and the other parts are replaced, the unchanged driver gets back into the car and drives it away.
Life is distinct from matter.
The difference between our physical body and our self requires a clear differentiation between matter and life. This investigation has been captured under the term autopoiesis. Autopoiesis is the study of the characterization of a complete living system as it compares to either a part of another living system or non-living matter.
To investigate this we could first analyze the difference between a living organism and a chunk of matter without the component of life. An easy comparison would be between single-celled bacteria and a dead cell separated from a living body. A single-cell bacterium is a complete living organism. Studies have shown bacteria indeed respond to stimuli, avoid death, and avert pain. As we know from fighting diseases, bacteria will intelligently mutate and adapt to antibiotics. The new antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” are examples of bacteria that have intelligently navigated and overcome challenges. Living bacteria also conduct the other activities required for independent survival: eating, digesting, reproduction, movement, response to stimuli, sense perception, the intention to survive, and self-organization.
Non-living objects display none of these characteristics independently. While a machine may digest and respond to stimuli, it will not have sense perception and self-organization. It relies upon a living person to organize its tasking. Once a cell has been disconnected from a living organism like a human body, the cell ceases functioning. A single cell can be put into a Petri dish however and kept alive through incubation (this is called in vitro). However, this cell’s functioning is now dependent upon the stimulation of the lab equipment driven by living lab operators. It is no longer displaying sense perception, the desire to survive or independent organization. It has simply become a surrogate of the lab scientists.
Over many years of cruel animal research, test results have revealed that animals have the same ‘self-concept’ awareness as humans. This self-concept is evident by their responses to various environmental challenges. The functions of their mechanical physiology has also confirmed that this self-concept pervades through all living tissues, reflected by the display of episodic memory—remembering specifics about the past events and others. For this reason, we see animals learning quickly which activities result in pain, and which activities result in pleasure (Dere et al. 2006). They respond simply because every living being seeks pleasure.
Within the laboratory, science has blurred the distinction between living and non-living matter. Bitbol and Luisi (2004), confirmed by Bourgine and Stewart (2004) and others, sums up the distinction between living organisms and non-living matter to be founded upon on the principle of cognition. As stated clearly by Bourqine and Stewart, “A system is cognitive if and only if sensory inputs serve to trigger actions in a specific way, so as to satisfy a viability constraint.” Bourqine and Stewart also contend “A system that is both autopoietic and cognitive is a living system.” Bitbol and Luisi add to this by saying “the very lowest level of cognition is the condition for life,” and “the lowest level of cognition does not reduce to the lowest level of autopoiesis.”
When we consider the element of cognition, we bring into focus the nature of awareness. Cognition is the awareness of self and non-self. The awareness of self and non-self are required for a living organism to consider survival important. Without an awareness of self and non-self, there is no intention for fulfillment. Without intention and the awareness of self, there is no consciousness. Without consciousness, there is no life.
The body recycles itself within five years.
Throughout its physical lifetime, our body is continually changing, yet we continue to maintain our core identity and consciousness. Research has shown all living cells in the body have a finite lifespan, ranging from minutes to days to years. It is thought a few cells of the body—such as certain bone marrow stem cells and brain cells—may exist through the duration of the body. Still there are only a handful of these cells compared to the estimated 200 trillion cells making up the body. By far the vast majority of cells in the body will participate in cell division, with the older cells becoming broken down and replaced by the newly divided cells. Thus, we see a constant sloughing off of dead cells from the body and a constant breakdown and wasting of cell parts through the liver and out the body. We might consider these facts:
Surface gastric cells are replaced about every five minutes. All stomach-lining cells are replaced within a week. Skin cells are all replaced within about a month and a half. The entire liver is regenerated within two months. The bone cells will all be replaced within a year.
Furthermore, the composition of every cell—its atoms and molecules—undergo an even faster turnover. Every cell in the body, including even the stem cells, is made up of molecular combinations of atomic waves. Molecular cell wave-parts make up the nucleus complete DNA, RNA, cytoplasm, various organelles, and a cell membrane. Each of these components is made of molecules, and each molecule is made up of various atomic standing waves. These atomic and molecular cell units are constantly being replaced by the minute with fresh atomic wave rhythms.
Each of our body’s cell membranes allows for diffusion, osmosis and ionic channel movement, giving each cell a constant exchange of molecules, atoms and ions.
Active cells will replace molecules quite rapidly. Brain cells will recycle all their molecules within three days. In fact, 98% of all the atoms and molecules in the body are replaced within a year, and most biologists agree all the atoms and molecules within the body are replaced by new ones within five years.
Noting our physical bodies change nearly every cell within days or a few years and within five years, every atom and molecule is replaced from the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe, the body we were wearing five years ago is not the same body we are wearing today. We are wearing a completely different body. In effect, we have each changed bodies. Every rhythmic element of matter—every vibrating atom—is new. This might well be compared to a waterfall. The water within a waterfall is always changing. From moment to moment, the waterfall will be made up of different water. Therefore, the waterfall we see today is not the same waterfall we saw yesterday.
Since each of us is the same person from moment to moment and year to year within an ever-changing body, logically we each have an identity separate from this temporary vehicle. We cannot be the body, since the body has been replaced while we are still here. Should we look at our photograph taken five years ago, we will be looking at a completely different body from the one we are wearing today. The eyes looking at the eyes in the picture will be different eyes.
Could I be the brain?
One might propose that since we have yet to transplant someone’s brain maybe we are the brain. Most of us have heard of or seen the famous neurosurgical experiments first documented by Dr. Wilder Penfield, wherein stimulation of the temporal cortex stimulated particular memories. These experiments or their successors might leave us with an impression we are the brain since we feel so close to our memories and emotions.
This assumption is disputed by brain research over the past fifty years on both humans and animals. In many cases various brain parts have been removed, leaving memory and emotion intact. Mishkin (1978) documented the removal of either the amygdala or the hippocampus did not severely impair memory. Mumby et al. (1992) determined that memory was only mildly affected in rats with hippocampus and amygdala lesions. According to a substantial review done by Vargha-Khadem and Polkey (1992), the past twenty years of surgical documentation revealed numerous hemidecortication operations—the removal of half the brain. In a majority of these cases, cognition and brain function continued. A few cases even documented an improvement in cognition! Additionally, in numerous cases of intractable seizures, where substantial parts of brain have been damaged, substantial cognitive recovery resulted in 80 to 90% of the cases.
These and numerous other studies illustrate that the person is not reduced by brain damage or removal. They are still the same person. They still have the same personality. Many retain all their memories. The majority of stroke patients go about living normal lives afterward. While sometimes we see memory, cognitive and motor skills affected by cerebrovascular stroke, the person within is unaffected by physical changes in the brain.
Many organisms have memory and sense perception without even having a brain. Bacteria, for example, do not have brains, yet they can memorize a wide variety of skills and events, including what damaged or helped them in the past. Other organisms such as plants, nematodes and others are living replete with memory and recall without having brains.
MRI and CT brain scans on patients with various brain injuries or stroke have shown particular functions will often move functions from one part of the brain to another after the original area was damaged. We must therefore ask: Who is it that moves these physical functions from one part of the brain to another? Is the damaged brain area making this decision? That would not make sense. Are the brain neurons making the decision? How would the new brain neurons know what functions the old neurons had if those neurons are now damaged?
The retention of memory, emotion, and the moving of brain function from one part of the brain to another is evidence there is a deeper mechanism or operator within the body who is utilizing the brain, rather than the person being the brain. The person operating the body is the continuing element. The physical structures continually undergo change while the operator remains, adapting to those changes.
How old am I then?
Consider how most of us perceive the aging of our body with respect to our identity. Most of us try to deny the age of our body in one respect or another. While younger people want to pretend their body is older, older people want to pretend it is younger. Most adults refuse to accept getting old. As any birthday party will illustrate, adults are surprised at the body’s age as it gets older. We try to disconnect ourselves from the physical age of our body somehow. This denial is often joked about, but to most of us—as we are faced with an ever-wrinkling body—it is no laughing matter. We are often embarrassed by our body’s age as we get older. For this reason, many older adults do not want to state their age. They are embarrassed by it. Furthermore, many dress the body with make-up, hair dyes and/or trendy clothes in an attempt to hide its age.
For this same reason, many in our society undergo extreme forms of surgery in order to achieve a younger-looking body. In these cases, the self is in conflict with the images left by the body. Plastic surgery, hair-removal, hair transplantation, breast enhancement, and various other medical interventions are all extraordinary attempts to desperately reconcile our true selves with the temporary physical body.
In recent years, this struggle for self-identification has become more desperate in some cases, with people undergoing drastic surgery to attempt to change their body’s gender. Grotesque procedures such as sex organ replacement, combined with hormone injections, are sadly becoming commonplace in medical centers. Gender change is another stark example of how the self feels incompatible with the physical body.
Sexual preference has become a hot topic relating to identity. Our society’s tolerance of homosexuality and cross-dressing has led to gender confusion among many in our society, including children. One recent report estimated as many as three million children in the U.S. suffer from gender confusion. Many are given hormone blockers—preventing their body’s puberty development—in a misguided attempt to facilitate their clarification of their gender.
Same-sex attraction and gender confusion is the result of identifying the body with the self. Homosexuals illustrate this when they feel the only way to alleviate their inner struggle and confusion about their real identity is to ‘come out,’ and declare being ‘gay’ to others. This perceived self-identification has nothing to do with ones actual identity however. For this reason the ‘coming out’ does not alleviate the core issue causing confusion. Its declaration to the world merely serves to distract the person from understanding their real identity as nonphysical.
Am I a collection of biochemicals?
Over recent years, various researchers have proposed from one basis or another that our identities are chemical. They have proposed emotions and personality are seated within chemical combinations such as hormones and neurotransmitters—which flow through the bloodstream and the synapses of our nervous systems. Could our identities be a mixture of complex chemicals? A logical review of the scientific evidence would indicate otherwise.
Emotional responses to environmental stimuli will initiate any number of biochemical cascades to occur within the body. A cascade occurs when one chemical release stimulates the release of another biochemical and that biochemical in turn stimulates the release of another, which in the end stimulates a particular tissue or organ response. With each cascade, there is a particular set of end responses from various tissues and nerves. For example, when we receive an indication of possible danger, our body will respond by activating the hypothalamus to send hypothalamic hormones to the pituitary gland. In response, the pituitary gland releases ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone), which in turn induces the adrenal cortex to secrete glucocorticoid hormones such as cortisol. These two hormones in turn encourage the release of biochemicals epinephrine and norepinephrine, which work with the glucocorticoids to stimulate muscle response. The lungs, the heart and the pancreas are stimulated into action by these and other biochemicals. They stimulate an increased utilization of oxygen and glucose by the muscles for their proper functioning. This entire cascade of chemical release is designed to aid the body in evasion or defense against the impending danger.
Because neurologists and other researchers have seen these neurological biochemicals at locations connected to response to emotional states, the assumption is that these biochemicals somehow contain the emotion. They propose that chemicals such as endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine, or acetylcholine each contain particular emotions, and are thus the elements of emotion or life within the body. While these signaling biochemicals connect with receptors positioned at the surface of particular cells, the response by the cell is due to the emotion somehow being released from the chemical. An example is the famed opiate receptor, which has been linked with the cell’s reception of morphine or endorphins and feelings of euphoria.
One basic problem with this speculation is that no two organisms respond identically to the same chemical. With opiates for example, some may hallucinate while others may only respond casually. On the other hand, some may have nightmarish experiences. If these structurally identical neuro-chemicals contained the emotion, why would each person respond differently to the same chemical and dose?
The major question this brings to bear is: Who is observing these euphoric feelings or hallucinations? Who observes these positive or negative sensations?
The perception of pain may offer some clarity. In 2005 Dr. Ronald Melzack, a co-author of the famous gate control theory of pain transmission, updated his theory of pain from a simple gateway effect to one of a multidimensional experience of ‘neurosignatures’. His new theory—which he calls the “body-self neuromatrix”—explains that the consensus of clinical research on acute pain, behavior and chronic pain indicates an independent perceptual state, observing and exchanging feedback and response with the locations of injury. Because doctors and researchers have found a good portion of the pain response is unrelated to specific injury but rather a modification of sensory experience, this neuromatrix indicates an interaction between the nervous system and what Melzack calls the “self.”
Elaborating, pain requires two components: 1) The sensory transmission of pain and 2) the observer or experiencer of that pain. Now once that pain is experienced, there may also be a feedback response from the experiencer. This feedback may either be: 1) take action to remove the cause of the pain; or 2) if there is no apparent cause then become extra-sensitive to the pain (Baranauskas and Nistri 1998) until the cause is determined. This increased sensory elevation may lead to what is called noiceptic pain, or pain not appearing to have a direct physical cause. Some might also refer to this type of pain as being psychosomatic, although psychosomatic pain is often thought of as not real. Noiceptic pain is considered real, but its cause is not physically apparent.
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