Project
title:
The Relationship between Science and Spirituality from a Postmodern
Perspective. On Scientific Approaches to Human Consciousness and the
Implications for Taoist Religion.
Abstract:
The
paper examines the scientific works on Consciousness by three Nobel
Prize Laureates, and their inherited problems. The problems are duo
to their deficiency in philosophy. Given the various monist echoes
in current Western Philosophy, Chinese traditional Taoism has a crucial
role to play. We believe that there exists a mutual relation of support
and compatibility exists between Taoist dualism and the works in neuroscience.
Taoism can provide an insight into the complex findings in neuroscience.
A correct interpretation of the achievements in neuroscience can extend
a support for the reality of human spirituality. A creative interface
between science and religion may lead to an expansion of scientific
method from purely third-person objective observation to a notion
accommodating subjective conscious experience.
Short
biography:
Dr
Gang Chen is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Research Centre
of Current Philosophy, specialised in History, the Philosophy of Science
and the Philosophy of Mind. He studied at Wuhan University, the University
of Cambridge (UK) and the University of Western Ontario (USA). Professor
Chen’s articles have appeared in some of the most influential
journals and newspapers in China in recent years. He is the Executive
Director of the Research Center for Current Philosophy sponsored by
the "State 985 Fund". He is responsible for the International
Academic Exchange for the Department of Philosophy at Huazhong University
of Science and Technology (HUST), and will be HUST’s 2005 on-campus
coordinator of the Sino-British Summer Philosophy School.
