Reinventing the sacred: complexity and the emergence of a natural God

Consider the woven integrated complexity of a living cell after 3.8 billion years of evolution. Is it more awe-inspiring to suppose that a transcendent God fashioned the cell, or to consider that the living organism was created by the evolving biosphere? As the eminent complexity theorist Stuart Kauffman explains in this ambitious and groundbreaking new book, people who do not believe in God have largely lost their sense of the sacred and the deep human legitimacy of our inherited spirituality. For those who believe in a Creator God, no science will ever disprove that belief. In Reinventing the Sacred , Kauffman argues that the science of complexity provides a way to move beyond reductionist science to something new: a unified culture where we see God in the creativity of the universe, biosphere, and humanity. Kauffman explains that the ceaseless natural creativity of the world can be a profound source of meaning, wonder, and further grounding of our place in the universe. His theory carries with it a new ethic for an emerging civilization and a reinterpretation of the divine. He asserts that we are impelled by the imperative of life itself to live with faith and courage-and the fact that we do so is indeed sublime. Reinventing the Sacred will change the way we all think about the evolution of humanity, the universe, faith, and reason.

Consider the complexity of a living cell after 3.8 billion years of evolution. Is it more awesome to suppose that a transcendent God fashioned the cell at a stroke, or to realize that it evolved with no Almighty Hand, but arose on its own in the changing biosphere?

In this bold and fresh look at science and religion, complexity theorist Stuart Kauffman argues that the qualities of divinity that we revere—creativity, meaning, purposeful action—are properties of the universe that can be investigated methodically. He offers stunning evidence for this idea in an abundance of fields, from cell biology to the philosophy of mind, and uses it to find common ground between belief systems often at odds with one another.

A daring and ambitious argument for a new understanding of natural divinity, Reinventing the Sacred challenges readers both scientifically and philosophically.

Consider the woven integrated complexity of a living cell after 3.8 billion years of evolution. Is it more awesome to suppose that a transcendent God fashioned the cell at a stroke, or to recognize the truth: that the living organism arose by no Creator, but was created by the evolving biosphere? In Reinventing the Sacred, eminent complexity theorist Stuart Kauffman proposes a new understanding of a natural divinity based on an emerging, scientifically based worldview. He does not try to insert "god" into a cold, lifeless universe. Instead he argues that the qualities of divinity that we hold sacred--creativity, meaning, purposeful action--are in fact properties of the universe that can be investigated scientifically. Daring and ambitious. Kauffan's interpretation of divinity will challenge reader' ideas on every level of scientific thought In Reinventing the Sacred, Kauffman argues that the science of complexity provides a way to move beyond reductionist science to something new: a unified culture where we see God in the creativity of the universe, biosphere, and humanity. Kauffman explains that the ceaseless natural creativity of the world can be a profound source of meaning, wonder, and further grounding of our place in the universe. His theory carries with it a new ethic for an emerging civilization and a reinterpretation of the divine. He asserts that we are impelled by the imperative of life itself to live with faith and courage-and the fact that we do so is indeed sublime. Reinventing the Sacred will change the way we all think about the evolution of humanity, the universe, faith, and reason. - Publisher CONTENTS 9 PREFACE 11 1 BEYOND REDUCTIONISM 17 2 REDUCTIONISM 26 3 THE PHYSICISTS REBEL 35 4 THE NONREDUCIBILITY OF BIOLOGY TO PHYSICS 47 5 THE ORIGIN OF LIFE 60 6 AGENCY, VALUE, AND MEANING 88 7 THE CYCLE OF WORK 104 8 ORDER FOR FREE 117 9 THE NONERGODIC UNIVERSE 136 10 BREAKING GALILEAN SPELL 145 11 THE EVOLUTION OF THE ECONOMY 166 12 MIND 193 13 THE QUANTUM BRAIN? 213 14 LIVING INTO MYSTERY 246 15 THE TWO CULTURES 262 16 BROKEN BONES 271 17 ETHICS EVOLVING 275 18 A GLOBAL ETHIC 289 19 GOD AND REINVENTING THE SACRED 297 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 305 NOTES 307 BIBLIOGRAPHY 321 INDEX 323 Preface Beyond Reductionism Reductionism The Physicists Rebel The Nonreducibility of Biology to Physics The Origin of Life Agency, Value, and Meaning The Cycle of Work Order for Free The Nonergodic Universe Breaking the Galilean Spell The Evolution of the Economy Mind The Quantum Brain? Living into Mystery The Two Cultures Broken Bones Ethics Evolving A Global Ethic God and Reinventing the Sacred Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Index A compelling and sweeping argument that complexity theory can build a bridge between science and religion Stuart A. Kauffman. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 305-306) And Index.