Process Theology and Science, David Bohm Lecture

The first paragraph discusses the historical shift in understanding the universe, from a mechanistic view where everything is seen as a machine composed of basic elements like particles or an ether, to a more complex, interconnected view. This mechanistic view, prevalent in the 19th century, influenced not only physics but all sciences and society, leading to a perception of humans as tiny machines within a larger one. This perspective is critiqued for potentially removing meaning from life and creating psychological difficulties by reducing humans to mere components of a vast, unending system.

This paragraph explores the evolution of scientific worldviews, from animism to mechanism, and the challenges faced by the mechanistic view in light of unsolved problems in physics. It discusses how worldviews can profoundly affect societies and individuals, and how the mechanistic model, despite its successes, may not be the ultimate truth. The paragraph also touches on the historical optimism of physicists like Lord Kelvin and the subsequent revolutions in physics brought about by relativity and quantum mechanics, which challenged the mechanistic view with concepts of fields and particles.

The third paragraph delves into the revolutionary changes brought by relativity and quantum mechanics to the scientific understanding of the universe. It explains how relativity introduced the concept of an unbroken wholeness of the field, challenging the idea of separate, independently existing elements. Quantum mechanics further complicated this by introducing wave-particle duality and non-local connections, suggesting a more complex, interconnected reality that deviates from the simple mechanistic model of the universe.

The fourth paragraph examines the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics, which introduced a non-deterministic element to the fundamental theory of the universe. It discusses how quantum mechanics revealed that light and matter exhibit both wave and particle properties, and how this led to the understanding that the universe is not governed by deterministic laws but by probabilities. This paragraph also touches on the concept of non-local connections and the idea that the state of the whole organizes the parts, contrasting with the mechanistic view.

In this paragraph, the discussion turns to the commonalities between quantum mechanics and relativity, particularly the concept of unbroken wholeness. It highlights the context-dependence of physical phenomena and how the nature of reality can change based on the observer's perspective. The paragraph also addresses the limitations of the mechanistic view in explaining the interconnectedness and wholeness suggested by modern physics.

The sixth paragraph reflects on the impact of the Cartesian coordinate system on scientific thought, particularly its role in reinforcing the mechanistic view of the universe. It suggests that this system of coordinates, which has been fundamental to physics since Descartes, may no longer be sufficient for capturing the more nuanced, interconnected understanding of reality emerging from modern physics.

This paragraph introduces the holographic principle as a way to conceptualize wholeness in the universe. It contrasts the traditional photographic image, which represents parts of an object, with a hologram, which contains information about the entire object in each of its regions. This principle suggests a new way of thinking about the structure of reality, where each part contains the information of the whole.

The seventh paragraph presents the concept of enfoldment and unfoldment as a fundamental process of reality, suggesting that the universe is an unbroken whole where everything is interconnected. It discusses how this process is more in line with our everyday experiences and intuitions than the mechanistic view, and how it might offer a more intuitive understanding of quantum mechanics.

In this paragraph, the analogy of computer games is used to further explain the concept of the implicit order, where information is organized and unfolded in a dynamic, interactive process. It illustrates how the player, the computer, and the game form a unified whole, with each influencing and being influenced by the others, reflecting the interconnectedness of reality.

The ninth paragraph explores the idea of tacit knowledge, or the kind of knowledge that is inherent in our actions and experiences but not easily articulated, such as riding a bicycle. It suggests that our implicit understanding of the world, which is based on enfoldment and unfoldment, is more fundamental than our explicit, mechanistic understanding.

The tenth paragraph delves into the nature of time and consciousness, suggesting that our experience of time is characterized by a series of moments that enfold and unfold each other, much like the nested Chinese boxes. It discusses the sense of becoming that is part of our consciousness and how it relates to the physical world, as well as the potential for creativity that arises from the ambiguity of time.

This paragraph examines the illusion of becoming, which is experienced through phenomena like moving pictures, where a series of still images create the sensation of motion. It relates this to our experience of time, where notes in music or moments in consciousness must be close enough to be perceived as a cohesive whole, suggesting a fundamental connection between our perception of time and the process of unfoldment.

The twelfth paragraph discusses the concept of time in physics, highlighting its context-dependent nature in relativity and its irreversibility in thermodynamics. It also touches on the uncertainty principle in quantum mechanics, which introduces an inherent ambiguity to time similar to that experienced in consciousness. The paragraph suggests that these scientific perspectives on time can be integrated with our conscious experience of time through the process of unfoldment.

In the final paragraph, the concept of the implicate order is introduced as a way to understand time, entropy, and wholeness. It suggests that each moment of time unfolds from the whole, carrying with it the past, and that this process can help explain the increase of entropy over time. The paragraph concludes with a discussion on the psychological and social importance of thinking in terms of wholeness rather than fragmentation, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all elements within the whole.