Richard J. Di Rocco Consilience, Truth and the Mind of God Science, Philosophy and Theology in the Search for Ultimate Meaning Consilience, Truth and the Mind of God Richard J. Di Rocco Consilience, Truth and the Mind of God Science, Philosophy and Theology in the Search for Ultimate Meaning With Contributions by Arthur J. Kyriazis and Edgar E. Coons Richard J. Di Rocco Psychology Department University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA Psychology Department St. Joseph’s University Philadelphia, PA, USA ISBN 978-3-030-01868-9 ISBN 978-3-030-01869-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01869-6 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018959105 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland If natural Philosophy in all its Parts, by pursuing this Method, shall at length be perfected, the Bounds of Moral Philosophy will be also enlarged. For so far as we can know by natural Philosophy what is the first Cause, what Power he has over us, and what Benefits we receive from him, so far our Duty towards him, as well as that towards one another, will appear to us by the Light of Nature. (Sir Isaac Newton, Opticks) The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms – this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness. (Albert Einstein, The Merging of Spirit and Science) This book is dedicated to my father, Mario Di Rocco, who set an example of passion in the pursuit of wisdom. His love of nature and learning is passed on to others in honor of his memory. Preface Since the dawn of human self-awareness, people have lived with a sense of existen- tial dread that arises from the fear of death and more generally from fear of the unknown. Questions related to the origin of the universe and the purpose and meaning of human life, mind, and death are still a cause of curiosity, wonder, and fear. Is there an essential truth that is the essence and the source of all reality and being? Our human ancestors first attempted to explain reality by the invention of myths that attributed the control of nature’s forces to gods or spirits with supernat- ural powers. Primitive religious beliefs were generated on this basis, and people felt a deep connection to the postulated but unseen realm of spirits. This same type of magical thinking is observed in the explanations that children offer for things they do not understand, including their own behavior at times. Is belief in God no more than this? Many scientists would answer yes that belief in God is a mere superstition. They believe that the power of science to explain the wonders of the universe obviates the necessity of a supreme intelligence as its creative source. The idea expressed by these scientists is that humanity has had recourse to the concept of a Divine Creator as an explanation for the natural world because of large gaps in knowledge before the era of modern science. As science made progress in explaining nature, so the argument goes, the need for the so-called God of the gaps to rationalize the unknown became an obsolete crutch. This book explains why this specious argument is false by demonstrating that it is not by the narrowing of the gaps in knowledge that God is disproved by science but rather that it is within the edifice of the scientific under- standing of physics, cosmology, biology, psychology, and philosophy1 that God can be found. For it is in the natural history of the universe that we can find the chain of causative events that lead from the Big Bang to the origin of life and ultimately to 1The scientific understanding of philosophy is available to us in the understanding of brain mechanisms and behaviors responsible for deductive and inductive reasoning. The foundation of this understanding will be laid in Chap. 6 (Paleopsychology) and will be developed further in Chap. 7 (Mind Knowing Truth). ix x Preface intelligent human mind that is competent to ponder this question and to demonstrate the necessity of God’s existence, if indeed God is real. The imperative to explain reality is a pervasive human trait that has led to the creation of the modern world religions, philosophy, and science based on rational empiricism.2 Unfortunately, while they both seek explanations of reality, the dia- logue between science and religion has polarized dramatically, especially with regard to the question of God’s existence. In the context of this polarization, a number of irrelevant issues have been raised concerning the existence of God. These proxy issues provide “straw men” that are easily dismissed. One of these straw men, which concerns the literal truth of the Bible, has been accepted by both atheists and theists as a proxy issue for the existence of God. Atheists point to the success of science in generating knowledge that contradicts the literal interpretation of the biblical narrative, including its many allegorical passages. The debate in the seventeenth century between the Church and Galileo and the nineteenth century debate concerning the validity of Darwinian evolution provide two well-known examples. Many believers have taken up the diversionary challenge and have proposed various pseudoscientific arguments that are advanced under the banner of creationism or intelligent design to counter refutations of the Bible as literal truth. It is clear on the basis of prima facie evidence, however, that the existence of God does not depend on the literal truth of the Bible. It is likewise clear that the existence of God cannot be refuted by the efficacy of science as a method to discover truth about nature. The idea that the reality of God’s existence is somehow “squeezed out” of scientifically narrowing gaps in human knowledge is false. Consilience, Truth and the Mind of God is concerned with scientific, philosoph- ical, and theological subject matter that I hope will contribute to an inquiry into the big questions that have puzzled humanity from the dawn of sapience.3 While such a broad purview of subject matter may seem ambitious, the multidisciplinary approach is necessitated by the magnitude of the task at hand. In part, this book will consider whether a convincing argument for the existence of a unique, singular, and eternal supreme intelligence, commonly referred to as God, can be attained. Owing to the importance of the question, and the inherent difficulty to be expected in the search for the answer, it seems reasonable to expect that success will be facilitated by a broad approach rather than a more limited tack. Moreover, from the perspective of consilience,4 which posits the unitary nature and coherence of all knowledge, the perception of boundaries between disciplines seems more artificial than real and is likely to result primarily from the imperfection of understanding. This is to say that the distinctions that we perceive among the truths revealed in different areas of inquiry are essentially superficial. A corollary of this supposition is that deeper understanding of what at first may appear to be 2Rational empiricism is the modern scientific method established by Sir Francis Bacon and others. 3Sapience is the faculty of intelligence that is possessed by the modern human mind. 4Consilience refers to the inherent unity of all the different areas of knowledge. This concept will be explained in the chapters that follow. Preface xi unrelated truths should increasingly reveal elements of correspondence. From this perspective, it is fair to say that all truth has the potential to attain to a demonstration of God’s existence, if God exists; but there’s the problem, for that is what is to be proved. Therein also may be found a potential criticism of the book. There is the danger that the synthesis required is too encompassing and that it could be perceived as superficial as a result. Yet, there is a grand coherence among all that is or can ever be known that is suggested by the concept of consilience.