Rationalist Spirituality: An Exploration of the Meaning of Life and Existence Informed by Logic and Science

Rationalist Spirituality: An Exploration of the Meaning of Life and Existence Informed by Logic and Science

by Bernardo Kastrup
Rationalist Spirituality: An Exploration of the Meaning of Life and Existence Informed by Logic and Science

Rationalist Spirituality: An Exploration of the Meaning of Life and Existence Informed by Logic and Science

by Bernardo Kastrup

Paperback(Reprint)

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Overview

Why does the universe exist and what are you supposed to do in it? This question has been addressed by religions since time immemorial, but popular answers often fail to account for obvious aspects of reality. Indeed, if God knows everything, why do we need to learn through pain and suffering? If God is omnipotent, why are we needed to do good? If the universe is fundamentally good, why are wars, crime, and injustice all around us? In modern society, orthodox science takes the rational high-ground and tackles these contradictions by denying the very need for, and the existence of, meaning. Indeed, many of us implicitly accept the notion that rationality somehow contradicts spirituality. That is a modern human tragedy, not only for its insidiousness, but for the fact that it is simply not true. In this book, the author constructs a coherent and logical argument for the meaning of existence, informed by science itself. A framework is laid out wherein all aspects of human existence have a logical, coh

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781846944079
Publisher: Collective Ink
Publication date: 02/16/2011
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 125
Sales rank: 272,584
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Bernardo Kastrup has a Ph.D. in philosophy and another in computer engineering. He has been a scientist in some of the world's foremost scientific laboratories. His main interests are metaphysics and philosophy of mind.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The hypothesis of meaning 1

Chapter 2 A search for ultimate purpose 3

Chapter 3 A process of universal enrichment 7

Chapter 4 The unrealized potential of consciousness 10

Chapter 5 The brain as a consciousness transceiver 22

Chapter 6 Science does not claim to explain it all 33

Chapter 7 The role of intelligence 41

Chapter 8 The beginnings of a theory of purpose 58

Chapter 9 Recapping our journey thus far 74

Chapter 10 A return to boundless consciousness 76

Chapter 11 God 82

Chapter 12 A natural tendency towards insight 84

Chapter 13 A universal memory of qualia 90

Chapter 14 Interpretation and guidelines for purposeful living 96

Chapter 15 Related concepts 106

Endnotes 110

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