Fundamentals III - The Unseen Universe (some philosophical considerations)

"The most perfect philosophy of the natural kind only staves off our ignorance a little longer, as perhaps the most perfect philosophy of the moral or metaphysical kind serves only to discover larger portions of it. Thus the observation of human blindness and weakness is the result of all philosophy, and meets us at every turn, in spite of our endeavours to elude or avoid it." David Hume (An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, 1772)

Even though the scope of this page is not philosophical, it is interesting to realize that deep philosophical questions are behind the fact that most of our universe is invisible and that we are confined to a very limited sensorial realm.

Such questions arise when one considers the existence of objects external to us, the objects of 'human enquiry' and how one can be certain about their existence. We know that science has developed its own procedures in order to explain natural phenomena. Today we known that there are many invisible things in our Universe, things that do not interact with our sensory organs. How do we know that they exist ? 

Non-observed and invisible phenomena are understood in terms of theories that first explain how the intermediary devices or methods, used to make such facts visible, can work. In order to build or develop such equipments or methods, we need to understand the theory and strongly believe the existence of the things they are design to show.

In this sense, we must broaden our view, considering not only what is 'observable' and 'visible' as part of the Universe. We must be guided by procedures and tacit considerations in order not to neglect what is not directly observable, for these things might possess a rich ontological content (they may exist independent of us and represent a new reality) and they may be identified as the cause of many phenomena yet unexplained. 

Science has unveil the existence of unobservable things along its history, and this is hardly a finished process.

The Great Book of Nature

“[The universe] cannot be read until we have learnt the language and become familiar with the characters in which it is written. It is written in mathematical language, and the letters are triangles, circles and other geometrical figures, without which it is humanly impossible to comprehend a single word." (Galileo Galilei, Opere Il Saggiatore p. 171.)

The 'Book of Nature' is the last great book that we are still browsing. It was written since the beginning of time by a single Author. It is written in a peculiar language, grasped by no men but admitting a single interpretation. It is also a code of laws applicable to all objects of the world, governing the relation between causes and effects. It can not be copied, but it can be imitated, and men frequently gaze at hidden passages that reveal a remarkable structure, an enchanting if not scary regularity. The content of this Book is infinitely larger than anything that we had ever known, showing the existence of intricate details,  laws and truths never imagined before.

If we admit the world is composed not only by material elements, but also by spiritual elements, just as there are laws in the great book applicable to matter, unknown laws might exist to regulate and govern the spiritual elements. Thus, the content of the Book remains almost completely ignored. It is important not to take scientific theories as the very content of this book. Scientific theories are drafts written in human language (that is, in a human understandable code) about the Nature structures that have an independent existence. It is often said that scientists continually revise their theories. But the Book of Nature can not change, it is our understanding that always changes after a first and unsuccessful  reading of the Great Book. Surely, no human description or forecast will survive in disagreement with it. Conflict between Science and Religion arises because religious groups fail to realize the existence and supremacy of this Book, just as scientist think that the drafts they compose are the final expression of it. The conflict solely originates from human ignorance and presumption.    

In this conflict, dogmatic Religions will not escape being compared and judged in accordance to the all Truths contained in the Book. Human knowledge will embrace the reality of the Spiritual and a new Science will be born.