The framework for debate: definitions,rules and boundaries
In order to have a meaningful dialog on mysticism, science, art and spirituality, we need to set rules: we need a foundation on which to build this discussion.
•What kind of knowledge are we talking about
•What kind of statement are we going to compare?
The human mind is capable of two kinds of knowledge, or two modes of consciousness: the rational and the intuitive
Epistemology: the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope. Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.
Science without epistemology is--in so far as it is thinkable at all--primitive and muddled
The scientist must appear to be the systematic epistemologist
•A realist in describing a world independent of the acts of perception
•An idealist looking upon concepts and theories as the free inventions of human spirit (not logically derivable from what is empirically given)
•A positivist in so far as his concepts and theories are justified only to the extent of logical representation of relations among sensory experiences
•A Platonist or Pythagorean in so far as he considers the viewpoint of logical simplicity an effective and indispensable tool