Today the field of the neurological sciences is at the forefront of scientific study and research worldwide. The findings these investigations bring to light assure us that this trend has come to stay for years and decades. Almost every week researchers are coming up with very valuable data and information that are bound to rewrite many past views and ideas about the human brain, mind and even some of the activities of our innermost self. Many long-held myths have been exploded, bringing self-esteem and dignity to many past victims, many new insights and techniques are appearing on the horizon assuring hope and solace to those still living in anxiety and fear. The medical science perhaps is the greatest beneficiary of this rich inflow of information, invention of new diagnostic methods, production of effective medicines, introduction of new techniques, etc. There is every reason to be optimistic that our world will be a better and happier one, thanks to these unprecedented achievements of the neurological sciences.
Today it is becoming clear that developments in science and technology are no mere carrier of welcome amenities and comforts. Their impact goes deeper and wider to touch and transform many aspects of human life and activities, particularly in the social and religious fields. Not only our meaning system and value system are being reshaped, but also even our way of thinking, our personality itself, is being re-formed and reoriented. How are the recent developments in the world of the neurological sciences impacting men and women of today? What are some of the changes that have already taken place, and yet to come? How should religion and society respond to these developments so as to maximize the benefits and minimize the harm they entail?
Echoes of this neurological revolution are perhaps most seriously felt in the field of spirituality or the spiritual dimension of humans, which is usually referred to as the human soul. As we know, the brain, consciousness, mind and the spiritual dimension of humans or the soul have been intimately interlinked from time immemorial, although clarity with regard to this interrelationship still remains elusive. We can be glad and grateful that many findings in recent times have contributed considerably towards clarifying these important concepts and their interrelationship. In the past these areas, particularly of the human soul, were deemed outside the purview of hard sciences, and were left in the hands of philosophers and psychologists. But today, owing to the developments in the different branches of science and technology, scientists are in a position to study these matters empirically and in vivo – while they are in normal operation – and come up with new ideas and insights with regard their nature and activities. Detailed brain mapping is no more part of science fiction. We have far better and more reliable ideas about the plasticity, powers and limitations of the brain, etc. In the light of all these developments, many past beliefs have been challenged. For instance, till the beginning of the 20th century, it was believed that the brain cells could not change. But today research has brought the good news that the brain cells can change and further develop, can repair themselves, and even find new pathways when the natural ones are damaged, etc. Also, it has been pointed out by researchers that the brain is not able to distinguish between real events and imagined (e.g., in dream) events. More importantly, doubts have been raised with regard to the existence and nature of free will. Some researchers claim that the free will is nothing but a trick the brain plays on itself.
Another area that has attracted the attention of scientists and scholars is the genesis of the spiritual dimension or soul of humans. Although in most religions and cultures the existence and attributes of the soul occupy a central place, none of them seems to have paid any attention to the genesis of the soul. All of them take it for granted that the soul has a divine origin, is directly created by God and has a superior status compared to the body. It is also assumed that no material agent could have given rise to this immaterial and superior being. However, this situation is also changing, thanks not only due to developments in the neurological sciences, but also owing to the new findings in other branches of science, particularly on the dynamic and creative character and potentialities of matter. For Newton and his followers matter was inert and incapable of moving by itself, having no energy of its own. However, special theory of relativity has revealed the revolutionary idea that matter (mass) and energy are inter-convertible, and hence matter can be a source of immense energy. The general theory of relativity has revealed that spacetime, although inaccessible to our ordinary senses, is real and matter is capable of interacting with and curving it (new understanding of gravitation). Quantum theory also has exposed many new features and capabilities of matter. Matter has dual nature. Newton thought that matter could exist only as point particles. But quantum theory has shown that it can have wave nature also, and hence be dynamic. Quantum entanglement is a very strange phenomenon, but reveals a remarkable property of particles. The phenomenon shows that once two particles are entangled or united, that unity does not go away even when they are separated by a long distance. A change in one of them is reflected in the other and the other responds accordingly. All this happens instantly, at a speed faster than that of light. Again, it has been found that at least in the quantum world the same atom can be in two different places at the same time. Dark energy and dark matter are still vastly an unexplored world. One can confidently expect more surprises about the capabilities of matter to spring up when this dark world becomes accessible to detailed scientific study. Many scientists today question the justifiability of the superior status accorded to the spiritual world traditionally. After all, one of the traditional arguments Plato, Aristotle, and others gave for the superior status of the celestial (spiritual) over the terrestrial (material), founders in the sea of the data and information contemporary science is revealing. For instance, for Plato and Aristotle, the celestial was superior because it was the paradigm of order and immutability, whereas the terrestrial faired very poorly in both these criteria. Also according to them, being at rest assured stability, whereas being in motion or in a state of change foreclosed all possibility of stability. Modern science has exposed the hollowness of such claims. For instance, for Plato, Aristotle and others the celestial world could not be stable if it changed and moved. Today we know that this stability is possible only if it moves; once it stops moving it will collapse. Furthermore, in the past it was believed that the spiritual was indestructible, whereas the material was destructible. Today science tells us that matter-energy is indestructible. In the light of these scientific findings, it seems that the traditional claim of the innate superiority of the spiritual and corresponding inferiority of matter needs to be reconsidered or at least reinterpreted.
Given the above observations and related developments, particularly the findings about the inherent, Creator-given, powers of material reality, philosophically-minded scientists and other thinkers have proposed a process which the Creator might have used to give rise to the spiritual dimension, traditionally called the soul. It makes use of the phenomenon of emergence which is understood as a process “whereby larger entities arise through interactions among smaller or simpler entities such that the larger entities exhibit properties the smaller/simpler entities do not exhibit.”In other words, matter has the capability to take on more and more superior forms as it becomes more and more complex by combining with other matter. Also there is a direct relationship between the level of complexity of matter and the properties and capabilities it develops. The more complex the matter, the higher the level and variety of properties and capabilities it manifests. A simple illustration of emergence is the case of oxygen and hydrogen forming the compound water, which has properties not found either in oxygen or hydrogen and are of a higher level compared to those of its simple constituents. In this explanation it is assumed that the initial material stuff that underwent evolution had emergence as an inherent property, just like gravitation and similar properties. As the material stuff evolves more and more, it becomes more complex and more capable of having higher level properties. At some stage of this long ongoing process matter reaches a level of complexification where the properties involved are the ones found in living beings – self-growth, self-maintenance, self-replication, etc. Further developments will lead to properties associated with rational beings – reasoning, decision-making, choosing, etc. Finally the complexification gives rise to further developed states and becomes capable of self-reflection. It is known that the human brain is the most complex being in the known universe, and the human being endowed with this brain manifests capabilities of thinking, willing, freely choosing and self-reflection. It may be noted that traditionally the human soul is considered a distinct being capable of existing by itself, but our knowledge of the soul is only phenomenological; we know only certain manifestations usually attributed to the soul. Although materialists generally deny a separate, independent existence of the soul, many theistic thinkers like Teilhard consider it as a separate being. It must be emphasized that the phenomenon of emergence attempts to account for the origin or the process of formation of the soul or the spiritual dimension in humans.
Perhaps, the origin of the soul can be better explained by a modified version of some of Teilhard’s fundamental Ideas, such as “the universe is evolving, and Christ is its centre,” “the within” and “the without,” the “Law of Complexity Consciousness,” etc. In his view, in the beginning God created the simple initial stuff which has been constantly evolving with all its potentialities towards its final destination of the Omega-Point. It is assumed that the initial stuff is endowed with the property of emergence. Teilhard believes that every being has two aspects – “the within,” which refers to the immaterial, conscious aspect, whereas “the without” refers to the material, measurable aspect. The Law of Complexity-Consciousness sees a direct relationship between the complexity of a being and its level of consciousness. The more complex a being, the more developed it is and the more dominant its “within” aspect. The human being, particularly the human brain, is the most complex, and hence the most developed of all beings, and so the highest its level of consciousness. Humans are not only conscious, but also self-conscious. Correspondingly, its intellect, will power, knowledge also are highly developed. Since self-consciousness, high level of intellect, will and associated faculties and capabilities are the external manifestations through which we identify the human soul, this process can be considered the way the human soul is formed. Since Teilhard believes in theistic evolution, since for him God is the alpha and omega of the evolutionary process, God’s role is in no way compromised, only the way God exercises that role is made more in consonant with the scientific ideas and data available today.
No doubt, this proposal for the process of the genesis of the human soul involves many questions. It is hoped that as more and more knowledge from neurological sciences pours in and experts start studying it more carefully assisted by better equipments and advanced techniques, some of these problems will be clarified and resolved. Its philosophical and theological implications and consequences also will have to be studied, reflected upon and evaluated with an open mind and a critical spirit so that it will lead to a better and deeper understanding of the mystery and nobility of humans and other beings in the universe.
Prof. Dr. Job Kozhamthadam is the Founder- Director of IISR (Indian Institute of Science and Religion) Delhi. He is also Professor Emeritus of Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune, India, of Cosmology, Philosophy of Science, Science-Religion Interfacing, etc. He has published 8 books and 135 scholarly papers in national and international journals. His book The Discovery of Kepler’s Laws, published by University of Notre Dame Press, USA, in 1994, was selected by Choice Magazine as one of the Outstanding Academic Books of the Year 1994. The present International Symposium on “Recent Developments in the Neurological Sciences and the New Interpretation of the Spiritual Dimension in Humans” is the 12th international symposium organized by him.
