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This page is
a sketch of what will become (in conjunction with the workshop series)
the core focus of SII's efforts: A resource center and clearinghouse
of accurate and reliable scientific information which is woven together
within a context which organizes, arranges, and interprets the information
to serve the needs of people looking to science as part of their
search for meaning. One can find resources to serve almost every
need: buying a house, taking care of one's health, following sports
teams, etc. A resource center is needed to serve people looking
for guidance in how to develop their worldview to be consistent
with what is known from science, and that makes use of science to
help build it. This collection of resources will be centered around
the question, "How do you use science as a tool in building a meaningful
and significant life?"Science is both a set of insights into the
nature of the universe we live in, and a tool for developing further
insights. This section of our web site contains a set of resources
developed by SII staff and associates to help provide guidance and
information for your efforts to incorporate the insights and process
of science into your worldview-building process. It is (and will
always be!) a work in progress. In the first stage of its development,
we'll outline a structure of the kinds of information we think will
be helpful and important in this process. We'll continue filling
in the outline and adding links to tutorials and other resources,
to provide more complete tools, as our resources permit. If you
have suggestions for other topics that should be included, or would
like to help develop some of the materials in the outline, please
contact us. Our aim is to provide the structure for a collaborative
effort on this important task. It will be set up to allow you to
follow your own path through the information you need to help you
develop your own answers to questions about your role in the universe.
"The
question of all questions for humanity, the problem which lies behind
all others and is more interesting than any of them is that of the
determination of man's place in Nature and his relation to the Cosmos.
Whence our race came, what sorts of limits are set to our power
over nature and to Nature's power over us, to what goals we are
striving, are the problems which present themselves afresh, with
undiminished interest, to every human being born on earth."
--
T.H. Huxley
Draft outline for
organization of this portion of the web site:
Introduction
- How is science relevant to your worldview and your search for
meaning?
- Help in starting
the process of using science in your worldview development
Illustrations/arguments
that science is useful and relevant for worldview development
- "Understanding
Anti-science Sentiments" essay
- Relevant
sections from "An Ordinary World: the role of science in the
search for meaning in everyday life"
- Feynman
essay on the value of science
- Essay addressing
the question of whether there is "room" for meaning in the scientific
picture of the universe (response to Bryan Appleyard, etc.)
- "Stage"
activity - illustration that looking at the natural world to
figure out meaning and context is analogous to finding yourself
on an unknown stage, and trying to figure out the plot of the
play by studying the props.
Example Interpretations/worldviews
- We don't want to endorse any particular worldview - just provide
building blocks to let people construct their own. But it does make
sense to offer "position options" - illustrating how one might interpret
information from science as part of a meaningful worldview. It's
much easier to recognize a point of view that makes sense to you,
and to choose from among possible positions, than to formulate
such positions from scratch. (analogous to position papers that
other think tanks provide on public policy issues such as transit,
health care plans, etc.)
- Maybe ask
associates/board members to write out their current assessment
of how they see their role in the universe, as samples. Started
this with conference
submissions.
- Position papers
on "controversial" subjects like astrology, the evolution/creationism
debate, the big bang, genetically engineered foods, etc.
- "The Unfinished
Universe," Louise B. Young - Example of someone thinking of a
general worldview of a universe that is exploring, trying things
out.
- "Man's Search
for Meaning," Viktor Frankl - not directly related to science,
but some perspective on the whole idea of looking for meaning,
how we find it or construct it individually
- "Beyond the
Fall of Night," Clarke and Benford - sci fi story which has a
lot of useful commentary on trying to think of what things could
be all about, in a broad context of looking for meaning and purpose
- "The Philosopher's
Stone," Colin Wilson
- "Origins:
The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists," Alan Lightman and
Roberta Brawer - Discussions with a few prominent cosmologists,
about their work and motivations for studying the large scale
universe. Many of the conversations at least touch on the "worldviews"
of the cosmologists, the overall perspective they have gained.
- "Lonely Hearts
of the Cosmos: The Story of the Scientific Quest for the Secrets
of the Universe," Dennis Overbye - Tells the story of the development
of our modern picture of the universe, focusing on the participants
and their perspectives and motivations.
- Brian Swimme
and Thomas Berry books
- other examples
of "worldviews," from various cultures and periods of history,
whether or not they include insights from science. Just to trigger
ideas about what worldviews do for us, what common elements they
tend to provide. ("Beyond the Blue Horizon" might be one good
book for this)
Listing of key
insights from science to be aware of, which are important in providing
the context for meaning:
- Brainstorming
to generate this list is a current topic in the e-mail
discussion forum
- Tutorial on
the process/methods of science, from which these insights are
generated
- Books covering
basic science in a way that is connected to daily life
- Hobson,
"Physics: Concepts and Connections"
- Books covering
"big ideas" from science
- Leggett,
"The Problems of Physics"
- Quantum theory
and the "nature of reality" (discussions on implications of the
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox and Bell's Theorem)
- Mermin
article, "Is the Moon Really There when Nobody Looks?"
- Notes
of key ideas from Mermin article
- Expanding
Universe/Big Bang Cosmology
- link to
tutorials on cosmology
- Measuring
the Hubble Constant (On-line lab at U. of Washington lets
you work through examples of the evidence for the expansion
of the universe)
- link to
cosmology class
- Some of
the popular cosmology books, with summaries/reviews
- Key constraints
and limitations that are common themes in daily life: evolution
of life forms, conservation of energy, distance scale in solar
system and beyond,...
- Facts
useful in making everyday decisions more concrete and "real"
(grounded in the context of the natural world). For example,
translate energy bill numbers into amount of fuel used, calories
burned into acres to grow food, radio waves for music that
you hear, etc.)
- energy
tutorial ?
- scale
of the universe tutorial ?
- biology
principles tutorial ?
- tutorial
on time, how it's measured, etc.
- Resources
organized specifically to support/supplement each of the workshops
we offer.
Recent Developments
- "Science in
the News" - Interpretive summaries of how current developments
in science might be relevant to your worldview (In the spirit
of Feynman's
interpretation of the "radioactive phosphorous content of
a rat's brain" research.)
- SciCentral
- Comprehensive online science news source
Research Directions
- Fundamental (open) questions to be investigated scientifically,
whose answers will impact our search for meaning (contrast to key
insights already known)
- link to Eric
Chaisson's "Cosmic Evolution" book and project
- Second law
of thermodynamics work
- link to Jack
Semura's Complexity page - other ideas about how modern developments
are starting to make some "philosophical" questions real and concrete
- cloning, self/other problem, etc.
- properties
we think make a universe "meaningful" to us
- Submit proposals
for research that we could have a fund to support
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