Untitled Document

Alan Wallace

The Intersubjective Worlds of Science and Religion
3:00-5:00 PM Friday June 1
Corwin Pavilion, University Center (Note Change in Venue)
Discussant: Alice Alldredge, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
Discussant: Greg Ashby, Department of Psychology
Discussant: Anita Guerrini, Department of History and Environmental Studies Program

Abstract Bio Event VideoText

Abstract

Science is often characterized as providing objective knowledge of the world as it exists independently of consciousness, whereas the humanities in general, and religion in particular, pertain to human experience. In this way, science is commonly viewed as being "objective," whereas religion is "subjective." In contrast to this popular idea, in this paper I shall argue that both scientific and religious truths cover a spectrum in terms of their invariance across multiple cognitive frames of reference. A highly objective truth, for instance, is one that is invariant across a wide range of cognitive frames of reference, including different modes of observation and different types of conceptual frameworks. A highly subjective truth, on the other hand, is one that is valid only for a very limited range of cognitive frames of reference. Following this model of intersubjective frames of reference, the validity of a truth-claim is tested, not in reference to some purely objective realm of existence, independent of all modes of inquiry, but in reference to multiple modes of perceptual and conceptual knowledge. With this criterion of truth, both scientific and religious modes of knowledge are seen to be inextricably embedded in human experience. Moreover, following this model, human consciousness--so long omitted from the scientific worldview--is seen to play a central role in both the natural world of science as well as the world of religious truths.

Photo by Thomas Tarleton

Trained for ten years in Buddhist monasteries in India and Switzerland, Alan Wallace has taught Buddhist theory and practice in Europe and America since 1976; and he has served as interpreter for numerous Tibetan scholars and contemplatives, including H. H. the Dalai Lama. After graduating summa cum laude from Amherst College, where he studied physics and the philosophy of science, he earned a doctorate in religious studies at Stanford University, where he pursued interdisciplinary research into ways of exploring the nature of consciousness. He has edited, translated, authored, or contributed to more than thirty books on Tibetan Buddhism, medicine, language, and culture, as well as the interface between religion and science. He currently teaches in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he has been teaching courses in the field of Tibetan Buddhist studies as well as science and religion. His published works include The Bridge of Quiescence: Experiencing Buddhist Meditation, Choosing Reality: A Buddhist View of Physics and the Mind, and The Taboo of Subjectivity: Toward a New Science of Consciousness.

Event
Alan Wallace's talk, the final in our spring 2001 lecture series, drew approximately 300 people to Corwin Pavilion on Friday afternoon, June 1, a strong turnout in spite of several other prominent events on campus. His talk and the discussants' comments prompted a half-hour question-and-answer session, and a vigorous debate during the reception that followed. For the text of Dr. Wallace's talk or his discussants' comments, click here. Below are some pictures from the event.

	Program Director Jim Proctor introducing upcoming lecturers and relevant publications; in this case, historian Ronald Numbers (University of Wisconsin) is mentioned, along with his book, Darwinism Comes to America.
	Dan Smith, Associate Dean of UCSB's Office of International Students and Scholars, and faculty member of the College of Creative Studies, introduces Dr. Wallace.
	Alan Wallace delivers his lecture.
	Another side to Dr. Wallace.
	Alice Alldredge, Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, delivers her comments.
	Greg Ashby, Professor of Psychology, with his comments.
	The final discussant is Anita Guerrini, Associate Professor of History and Environmental Studies.
	The panel considers a response by Dr. Wallace to a question.
	Dr. Proctor, Dr. Wallace, and the panel during the question-and-answer time.
	A general reception was held immediately after the lecture.