Isaac Newton and The Occult.
Isaac Newton
“See the great Newton, he who first surveyed The plan by which the universe was made;
Saw Nature’s simple yet stupendous laws, And proved the effects, though not explained the cause.”
“…how did the force of gravitation manage to make itself felt across gulfs of empty space, without benefit of any medium of contact between the planets involved?
This absence of causal explanation for gravity in Newton’s theory prompted sharp criticism: Leibniz branded Newton’s conception of gravity “occult,” and Huygens called it “absurd.”
Newton agreed, calling the idea of gravity acting at a distance “so great an absurdity, that I believe no man who has in philosophical matters a competent faculty of thinking, can ever fall into it.”
Oh yes, we all have our doubts from time-to-time. And facts that don’t fit the prevailing worldview. And critics. (Yawn)
From Coming of Age in the Milky Way
I believe it was Albert Einstein who recommended looking at what scientists do and not what they say. The explanations are always a poor imitation of the profound mystery that they purport to contain by explaining.
Dear Ryan,
I thought after I complained about your blog some time ago you would at least remove the inaccuracies. Do you know for example that I have a Ph.D. in inorganic-physical chemistry. To get that I studied quantum mechanics which was useful in understanding chemical bonding etc. I read enough in physics to support my contention that physical nature is more complex than you think in your limited way. I did research for that degree and am thoroughly versed in classic scientific research. Medical research today is many steps below physical science. Biology is even more complex than what you learn in school. The people you attack spent years learning from Feldenkrais himself. He was way ahead of his time. He saw in his wisdom that cause and effect thinking limits what you can learn through observation and awareness. And yes he was interested in epistemology as a problem area in philosophy. So I agree with Robert McNeilly
Hi Carl – For you to make blanket statements about “inaccuracies” is not particularly useful. That does not give me much to go on. What specifically are you proposing is inaccurate? Simply repeating – as you have stated in other emails and blog comments – that you have a PhD and “learned from Moshe himself” adds nothing to the conversation.
And this comment” ” I read enough in physics to support my contention that physical nature is more complex than you think in your limited way.” is nothing more than mind-reading. You do not know what I think. For you to claim otherwise is a little sad.
I am in complete agreement with your comments on awareness, the limits of cause-effect thinking and epistemology. However, your article on a “New Epistemology” was not particularly convincing to me. I agree with the need but do not think you in any way pulled it off. If that constitutes an “attack” in your world, so be it. Perhaps if you have a message to get across to the larger community, you should take responsibility for that desire and write in a way that is rigorous and understandable.
- Ryan