Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Open Philosophy

The writings in this blog are based on the principles of Open Philosophy. The principles of Open Philosophy are as follows:

1) It is not possible to know anything with absolute certainty.


2) Knowledge is a model of reality, not reality itself.


3) Not all knowledge is equal.


4) Knowledge should be tested and compared to the extent that it can be.


5) Language is capable of error and contradiction therefore, where possible, knowledge should be tested against experience as well as reason.


6) The less capable an area of knowledge is of being tested, the more tolerance there should be of differences of belief.


7) Tolerance of a belief is not acceptance of it.


8) Knowledge cannot be separated from its use.


9) The use of knowledge should be tempered by its level of certainty and consequences


10) Systems of knowledge should be capable of accepting new knowledge as it emerges.

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Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Knowledge and Spirituality

Scientific views end in awe and mystery, lost at the edge in uncertainty, but they appear to be so deep and so impressive that the theory that it is all arranged as a stage for God to watch man's struggle for good and evil seems inadequate. Richard P. Feynman My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.
Albert Einstein

We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.
Stephen Hawking

The whole history of science has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order, which may or may not be divinely inspired.
Stephen Hawking


A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
Albert Einstein