On Philosophy, Science and Spirituality- The Inner and Outer Sciences

"In this age, the word philosophy has little meaning unless accompanied by some other qualifying term. The body of philosophy has been broken up into numerous isms more or less antagonistic, which have become so concerned with the effort to disprove each other's fallacies that the sublimer issues of divine order an human destiny have suffered deplorable neglect. The ideal function of philosophy is to serve as the stabilizing influence in human thought. By virtue of its intrinsic nature it should prevent man from ever establishing unreasonable codes of life. Philosophers themselves, however, have frustrated the ends of philosophy by exceeding their woolgathering these untrained minds whom they are supposed to lead in the straight and narrow path of rational thinking."

What Manly P. Hall wrote in the introduction to his Magnum Opus, The Secret Teachings of All Ages has only become increasingly more true over time. A philosopher today is as Alan Watts frequently put, "... a practical fellow come comes to the university with a briefcase at nine in the morning and leaves at five. He does philosophy during the day, which is discussing whether certain sentences have meaning and if so, what, and - as William Earle said in a very funny essay - he would come to work in a white coat if he thought he could get away with it."

Philosophy by its truest definition is a search for truth. And a philosopher, according to the coiner of the term, Pythagoras, is, "a lover of wisdom," whereas wisdom and truth are one in the same. Wisdom is meant to guide and progress mankind forward, and so is the sole and original purpose of the application of philosophy. One could also argue this is the goal of the application of science and religion- however much they seem to clash. But I argue both science and religion/spirituality alone are incomplete parts in the search for truth. "For Pythagoras science is a search for truth in the objective world and religion[spirituality] is a search for truth in the subjective world- and philosophy is a search for the truth. So science and religion[spirituality] are like two hands or two wings. They are not opposite but complementary." (Osho)

Another word of note that the original philosopher coined was 'cosmos,' it means order or harmony. The universe is a cosmos and it itself is often labeled as the 'cosmos.' This is important to understand because understanding that the universe is a cosmos and by labeling it the cosmos we understand that existence can only be if it is indeed a cosmos. Science can only exist if existence is a cosmos, if it was chaotic there would not be science. If the laws of science changed at any moment there could not be science, there would be no way to measure or observe anything. So then, it seems that science presupposes that existence functions in a certain and consistent way. If we search deep into existence as many scientist try and do, we are bound to find universal laws and we label them as scientific law. Those laws are the keys to the cosmos that open a door of understanding and can become ever increasingly aware. However, just as this is for science, ignored and misunderstood, so it is true for spirituality too. The outer science is simply called science while spirituality is the science of the inner.

There are too, laws of the inner and they correspond directly to the laws of the outer science, in fact they must in order for the universe to be a cosmos. Laws of the inner science have been discovered just as much as scientific laws have been discovered. Laws of the inner are discovered and recorded by the mystics, the alchemists and the occultists, and so are thus taught just as scientific law in school. "Such schooling is called esoteric or mystery schooling; and the instruction one receives there is called esoteric or occult teaching. By their very nature, these terms invite misunderstanding. Hearing them, we might be led to believe that those who provide this kind of schooling wish to form a privileged class of human beings who arbitrarily withhold their knowledge from their fellows. We might even think that perhaps there is nothing much to this kind of knowledge. Were it genuine knowledge, we are tempted to think, there would be no need to make a secret of it; it could be made public and its benefits shared by all... In actuality, esoteric or inner knowledge is no different from other kinds of human knowledge and ability. It is a mystery to the average person only to the extent that writing is a mystery for those who have not yet learned to write. Just as, given the right teaching methods, any one can learn to write, so too any one can become a student of esoteric knowledge..." (Rudolf Steiner, How to Know Higher Worlds)

In other words, truth can be discovered inside and out. "Einstein discovers a certain law; Patanjali also discovers a certain law; Newton discovers gravitation, Krishna discovers grace- both are laws." (Osho) But those who blend both the inner and outer in search for truth in a perennial way are very rare. Pythagoras was the first known in writing to embody this and Isaac Newton was the last well known in this category. As economist John Maynard Keynes semi-properly wrote, "Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he was the last of the magicians." In the true form of philosophy, the father of alchemy, Hermes Tristmegistus serves as its archetype; As above so below is the ultimate laws. And if one is to be a genuine seeker of truth and wisdom one ought to seek within and out. One without the other is disorderly and as with all things in a cosmos, there must be a balance. A whole person is a materialist and a spiritualist and enjoys the best of both worlds and the world would be better off it was reminded of this again.