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OCTAIKON | | |
 Two interweaving magisteria
Even if you accept that we have a spiritual side to us, there is always an issue of
how we should study and gain more understanding of our body and soul.
It may be helpful here to remind ourselves of some terms, and to make a
comment. Religions are systems of faith and worship that try to make sense of
what we humans understand to be the spiritual side of life. Theology can be
defined as the science of religion (especially Christian) – making sense of the
evidence and facts. I think that we often argue fruitlessly about religious
interpretations, when we should step back from religion and simply look at the
factual evidence for a spiritual dimension to life. Dawkins’ arguments in the God
Delusion might have taken a different route had he done that.
While pondering over the current debate between science and religion, I read a
book by Stephen J. Gould, called Rocks of Ages. In it, he tries to tackle the
conflict about sources of knowledge and the link between body and soul -
physical and spiritual - and comes up with a resolution.
His answer is to propose what he calls NOMA – Non-Overlapping Magisteria
(this coincidentally sounds like the soma just mentioned, but is completely
different). The magisteria are the bodies of authority that inform science and
religion. Gould argues that these bodies should be mutually exclusive, and
should not interfere one with the other as we are dealing with completely
different realms of knowledge.
It’s a compelling argument, but I have come to the conclusion that I cannot go
along with it – and many scientists who are Christians cannot, either.
Interestingly, Gould himself is an atheist, but he does not let that get in the way of
his arguments.
My view is that if science is the realm of theories developed from evidence
observed, interpreted, expressed and acted upon by our physical bodies, then
religion should accept all that, but add to it the vital circumstantial evidence ‘of
the soul’. That is, people’s beliefs and behaviour - those millions of small ways
in which people have been affected by, and act out, what they believe.
The Octaikon shows where Gould’s boundary lies, according to his thinking, but
– like the colours of our body that merge into the white of our soul – the reality is
that there is either a gradually overlap, or complete integration, or something
else. But not a neat divide. That’s why this website is written as it is!
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