Walker's ideas remind me of a similar notion I read about years ago. Nobel laureate John Eccles suggested that the immaterial mind and consciousness was connected to the material brain and its component neurons, synapses, etc. through the agency of "probablity fields" generated by the actions of quantum particles. Those interested might want to look into his work... I haven't found anything yet.
It seems reasonable to me, based on if nothing else gut feeling, that both the material and spiritual sides of "reality" should be based on the same set of principles... that the laws of thermodynamics, relativity, etc. should be just as applicable to the actions of the mind and spirit as to the actions of celestial bodies... Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle applies equally to electrons and Tarot cards. There should exist a discoverable system of equations, based on observable laws, that governs reincarnation or heaven or hell, mysticism, mythology, or what have you. The idea that God created a universe of startling complexity, beauty, and subtlety yet sits on a throne to toss goats and sheep to the left and right at some arbitrary time t makes no sense. A Taoist personally, I would suggest that the observable pattern of the universe is not just an expression of the Will of God, but is indeed God itself.
In response to Amphigory's first statement, I disagree with the suggestion that Eastern religions are "mostly godless"... Hinduism, Tantric Buddhism, Shintoism, and _religious_ Taoism (tao chiao as opposed to tao chia) have pantheons so large you have to express them in scientific notation. however, I do heartily agree with his idea that reason and religion are not mustually exclusive, but rather supportive, and that the laws of physics are evidence for the existence of God, not against.
Slashdot Mirror
It seems reasonable to me, based on if nothing else gut feeling, that both the material and spiritual sides of "reality" should be based on the same set of principles... that the laws of thermodynamics, relativity, etc. should be just as applicable to the actions of the mind and spirit as to the actions of celestial bodies... Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle applies equally to electrons and Tarot cards. There should exist a discoverable system of equations, based on observable laws, that governs reincarnation or heaven or hell, mysticism, mythology, or what have you. The idea that God created a universe of startling complexity, beauty, and subtlety yet sits on a throne to toss goats and sheep to the left and right at some arbitrary time t makes no sense. A Taoist personally, I would suggest that the observable pattern of the universe is not just an expression of the Will of God, but is indeed God itself.
In response to Amphigory's first statement, I disagree with the suggestion that Eastern religions are "mostly godless"... Hinduism, Tantric Buddhism, Shintoism, and _religious_ Taoism (tao chiao as opposed to tao chia) have pantheons so large you have to express them in scientific notation. however, I do heartily agree with his idea that reason and religion are not mustually exclusive, but rather supportive, and that the laws of physics are evidence for the existence of God, not against.