A Sense of the Cosmos: Scientific Knowledge and Spiritual Truth
By Jacob Needleman
Rhinebeck, NY: Monkfish Books Publishing, 2003. Paperback, 178 pages.
Explorations of the relationship between science and religion/spirituality generally focus on the pressing need to reconcile these two great domains. The aim of Jacob Needleman's A Sense of the Cosmos, originally published in 1975 and now reissued, is very different though equally important: It probes our attitudes toward both science and ourselves.
Few can be better qualified for such probing than Jacob Needleman, distinguished philosopher, teacher, widely published author and editor (and the general editor of two outstanding metaphysical/philosophical series), and sought-after consultant in many fields including psychology, education, medical ethics, philanthropy, and business.
In the preface to the present edition, Needleman states: "We cannot know, so the great spiritual traditions teach, with only one part of the human intelligence." The greatness of modern science is rooted in its courageous effort of reliance on what it considered the pure intellect as it was joined to and supported by a rediscovered respect for the bodily senses, .. as the source of knowledge. But in this revolutionary development ... what was forgotten is that the heart, the power of profound feeling, is absolutely necessary in order both to be good and to see the good." The ultimate question we must deeply ponder is the "Being of beings." If this sounds too abstract, simply "step outside one starry night