CHAPTER 5 -
THE 6 NON-PHYSICAL DIMENSIONS

In this chapter we will be discussing some of the broader implications of Superstring theory with regards to philosophy and our every day lives, and specifically how it might affect the debate between Science, Religion, and Barbarism.  But before we do that, we want to take the opportunity to provide an initial hypothesis about what the 6 non-physical dimensions might be.  We must emphasize that anything we suggest is pure speculation, and is meant to provide possible insights for the investigations of others.  Sometimes when areas of investigation are uncovered it is helpful to hear initial ideas and insights that might stimulate further discussion.  Our hypotheses are of that nature, meant to provide some possible insights for others in their investigation and thinking on this subject.

A New Puzzle

In the previous chapter, we described how Superstring theory has been hailed by scientists as a mathematical miracle that gathers all scientific phenomena (space, time, matter, electromagnetism, gravity, etc.) under one set of mathematical formulas.  It is the grand unification theory of science that puts on the table one set of formulas that explains ALL of reality. 

This breakthrough, however, has come with a wrinkle, because superstring theory proposes that the fundamental building block of the universe is a tiny string that vibrates in 10 dimensions, 6 of these dimensions being non-physical.  A new conundrum facing science is explaining what these 6 non-physical dimensions are, or even what it means for there to be non-physical dimensions.

We then went on to demonstrate how some of the major symbols of the 5 Books of Moses - that many maintain were direct revelations from God over 3000 years ago - seem to be symbols that imply a similar division of the world into 4 physical dimensions and 6 non-physical dimensions.  The talis that the Jew wraps around himself while praying and the table and the menorah in the inner sanctum of the holy Temple also have two components: a 4 cornered rectangle that the Talmud says refers to the physical world (the 4 physical dimensions), and a component with 6 white strings or arms that the Bible and Talmud emphasizes represents a spiritual world that is the domain of an eternal, omnipresent, and omniscient God.

We therefore find ourselves in the very strange position that science and religion mutually corroborate the proposition that there are 6 - yes count them, 6 - non-physical dimensions.  This is exciting because it points towards a new frontier in man's investigating and understanding of reality.  But this is also a dilemma, because we can feel at a loss how to proceed in investigating the suggestion by both science and religion that there is world beyond the physical - that Kant called the metaphysical - composed of exactly 6 dimensions.  We can ask ourselves, "'What is a non-physical dimension, and what does it mean that there are 6 of them?"

What Is A Dimension?

Perhaps we can get a glimmering of an insight into the possible 6 non-physical dimensions by understanding what a dimension is.  We can begin investigating that question by looking at the 4 dimensions of the physical world.  As we know, the 4 physical dimensions are height, width, depth, and time.  In geometry, a line has one dimension, a plane has 2 dimensions, and a cube has 3 dimensions.

One thing we see is that each extra dimension is not separate from the previous dimensions, but extends and adds to them.  When we take a 2 dimensional circle and add a 3rd dimension, it becomes a sphere, and we have extended it in some way.  And if we now add to the ball the 4th dimension of time, it can move and bounce through time, an extension that enables it to do something it couldn't do before.  Each new dimension extends and is not separate from what exists before.

Perhaps this is true for dimensions 5 through 10, the six non-physical dimensions.  Even though these dimensions are non-physical, perhaps they are in some way extensions of the previous dimensions in some way, and not separate from them.  Just as the 4th dimension of time gives a ball the capability for movement, so also dimensions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 may add new capabilities to physical things. 

It's possible that the 6 non-physical dimensions are not somewhere else in never-never land, but are right here, somehow adding new non-physical capabilities to the physical things they are extending.  Though we don't as yet understand what these new capabilities are, perhaps they are non-physical extensions of the physical just as a ball in time is able to do more than a ball without time.

Non-Physical Jewelry Box

There is another possible source of insight in our investigation of the 6 non-physical dimensions.  We can examine reality looking for previously unexplained phenomena that are ethereal or non-physical, in the hope that they might have something to do with the 6 non-physical dimensions.  If the 6 non-physical dimensions manifest themselves in some way in world that we are familiar with, chances are these manifestations would have resisted scientific investigation and puzzled philosophers through the ages precisely because of their non-physical nature.

It's as if we were given a jewelry box and then looked around the house for pieces of jewelry that have gotten lost over the years because we hadn't had a jewelry box to put them into.  The insight that there might be 6 non-physical dimensions is like having an empty jewelry box.  Are there philosophical pieces of jewelry that because of their non-physical nature have puzzled science through the ages, and that have defied categorization and understanding, and belong in our jewelry box with its 6 compartments?

Surprisingly, we don't have to look far to find phenomena that meet these criteria of being non-physical and having puzzled science.  We discussed some of these areas in our previous chapter when we mentioned that science has not been able to understand many aspects of the mind.  We mentioned that science and philosophy is as baffled as ever as to the nature of the mind, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and sensation.  These phenomena seem to have defied understanding for thousands of years because of their incorporeal and non-physical nature.  Though the greatest minds throughout the history have devoted considerable effort to understanding the mind, consciousness, thinking, emotions, and sensation, these topics have resisted scientific investigation and understanding.

Perhaps we can turn a liability into an asset, and maybe these phenomena have resisted explanation because they are not physical, and belong in our jewelry box of the non-physical dimensions.  While we are at it, we want to add some more non-physical phenomena that we have discussed previously, that have been a source of contention between science and religion for quite a while, namely the soul and spiritual reality. 

The soul and spiritual reality certainly fit this description of being 'non-physical and puzzling'.  Religion and many of history's greatest philosophers have maintained they exist, but have not been able to see what or where they are.  Perhaps these are other non-physical phenomena that belong in our jewelry box of 6 non-physical dimensions.

So our investigation has turned up some non-physical phenomena that have puzzled people throughout the ages.  Here is a list of them: the mind, consciousness, thinking, emotion, sensation, the soul, and spiritual reality.  Perhaps these have something to do with the 6 non-physical dimensions predicted by superstring theory and hinted at by the 6 white strings of the talis and the arms of the menorah.  But what does this mean, and how can we proceed with an investigation if these 6 dimensions are  not physical?

An Hypothesis

We want to proceed by offering an hypothesis about the 6 non-physical dimensions.  As we stated at the beginning of this chapter, we want to emphasize that this hypothesis is only meant to stimulate further investigation by others on this topic.

If we examine our list of 'non-physical' phenomena, we may notice an interesting property about the items on the list.  Some of the items are more 'physical' than others.  That is, some have more of a connection and involvement with the physical world than others.  For example, sensations and emotions might be said to have more involvement with the physical world than what we usually associate with thinking and the soul.  By this we mean that when we touch something or are angry, we are in a sense more involved with the physical world than when we think of ideas or pray.  This germ of an insight can be expanded into a larger hypothesis about how the six dimensions may differ from each other.

We suggest that it is possible that the 6 non-physical dimensions differ from each other in the amount of connection they have to the physical world. This may be analogous to how each of the electron rings in an atom vary in their distance from the atom.  Therefore, perhaps the 6 non-physical dimensions vary in stages from a greater to a lesser connection to the physical world.  If there are 6 such levels, we can draw the following chart:

            dimension       part physical            part non-physical

                        1                      5/6                   1/6

                        2                      4/6                   2/6                  

                        3                      3/6                   3/6

                        4                      2/6                   4/6

                        5                      1/6                   5/6

                        6                        0                    6/6

In other words, a reason there may be 6 dimensions is that they vary in their involvement with the physical, from a higher to a lesser involvement.  To expand our hypothesis  further, we can associate areas from our every day experience  with each of these levels.

            name               dimension       part physical            part non-physical  

            being                          1                      5/6                   1/6                              

            sensation                     2                      4/6                   2/6                                          

            emotion                       3                      3/6                   3/6                  

            thought                        4                      2/6                   4/6                  

            soul                             5                      1/6                   5/6

            pure spirit                    6                        0                    6/6

Let's flesh out this hypothesis, and describe what each of these 6 non-physical dimensions might be and how they might differ from one another.

From Being to Pure Spirit

According to this theory, the most physical of the non-physical dimensions is 'being', a quality shared by even the most primitive plant or animal.  The Hebrew word of this level is 'nefesh'.  It is the common denominator of all life.

The next level, 'sensation', is one step less physical than 'being', but it is the conduit through which we maintain contact with the physical world.  When we touch some wood or are burnt by a flame, we are operating at the level of sensation. 

'Emotions', according to this hypothesis, is half physical and half 'spiritual'.  It is certainly less tangible than touching something, but emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness certainly have an 'earthy' quality that makes them directly responsive to their physical surroundings.

The level that is only 1/3 physical is thinking, one level less tangible than emotions.  Here is where the mind is involved with ideas and thoughts, abstractions that we use to make sense of the world.

When we move one more step away from the physical, we come to the 'soul'.  Here almost all connection to the physical is gone, though the soul, at least during life, is intertwined with the body it inhabits.  The Hebrew word for this mostly non-physical dimension is 'neshomah'. 

Finally we come to the non-physical dimension that is totally non-physical, the level we call 'pure spirit'.  Perhaps this is the dimension the soul returns to after a person dies and the soul is freed from the body. 

These six distinct gradations of non-physical dimensions, from the most to the least physical, all use terms and concepts we have heard before.  We have no 'proof' that they bear any resemblance to what the 6 non-physical dimensions actually are.  This theory springs solely from the hypothesis that perhaps the 6 non-physical dimensions vary in stages from 5/6 physical to not physical at all.

We offer this theory purely as food for thought for future thinkers trying to grapple with an understanding of what the 6 non-physical dimensions might be.  One interesting aspect of this theory is that it includes and categorizes many of the non-physical phenomena that have puzzled philosophers and scientists for eons.

A New Partnership

The above theory is just an initial foray into the new and uncharted frontier that entails investigating what is the nature of the 6 non-physical dimensions.  Surely more elaborate and accurate theories will be put forward in the future by theorists in the fields of science, philosophy, and religion.

But one of our key points has been that there is mutually corroborating evidence from both one of the latest scientific theories in theoretical physics (Superstring theory) and one of the oldest religious works (The Bible) indicating that our world has part of it 6 non-physical dimensions.  Investigation into this phenomenon calls for a new partnership between Science and Religion, with each contributing insights, theories, and critical review.  Expertise, experience, and perspective from both scientific and religious minds will be required to conquer this new frontier.  To be successful, old hatchets, grudges, and animosities must be buried.

Hopefully it will be a fulfillment of Noah's prophesy:

"God will enlarge the domain of Yephet (Science), and he will live in the tents of Shem (Religion)".

Beating the Barbarian

It is  precisely such a partnership between Science and Religion that may be needed to reverse the extensive and pervasive inroads that Barbarian philosophy has made into our 'modern' culture and thinking.  In many ways over the last 150 years, we have come to accept as a tautology the barbarian dictums of "Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die", and "Might makes right."

As we described in our review of Western philosophy, ever since Hume's ridiculing of Religion and climaxing with Nietzsche's glorifying the barbarian ideals and saying that the Almighty is dead, Science's cold shoulder towards and de-legitimizing of Religion contributed heartily towards opening the Pandora's box of barbarism in our modern world.

It is time for a reconciliation, a new partnership between Science and Religion to, among other activities, investigate the 6 non-physical dimensions of reality, and in the process to de-legitimize the Barbarian in our midst.  People who resist this invitation should examine if it is because they have come to enjoy the Barbarian hedonism, license, and nihilism too much to subject Barbarism to the same glare of scrutiny they have subjected Religion to in the past.  Barbarism promises pleasure in the short run and delivers destruction in the long run.  Barbarism mocks and scorns the possibility that there is anything beyond the physical world.  Evidence from both Science and Religion that there are 6 non-physical dimensions answers the Barbarian.

Where is God?

We have made the case that the Bible, with its description of the talis and menorah,  and its general orientation towards the non-physical, anticipated Superstring theory. The main focus of the Bible, of course, is that there is one God that commands us to be good.  This raises the interesting question as to where, in relation to the 6 non-physical dimension, might God exist?   If we look closely at the talis and menorah, we can see a possible clue.

When the Bible describes the strings that are attached to each of the 4 corners of the talis, it says that one of the strings should be blue.  The Talmud explains that 6 of the strings in each corner should be white, and two should be blue to represent God by reminding us of the blue of Heaven.  If the 6 white strings represent the 6 non-physical dimensions, then the 2 blue strings representing God are separate from the white strings yet of a similar material.  The implication is that God has something in common with the 6 non-physical dimensions, in that God is not physical, but is separate from the 6 non-physical dimensions.

Similarly, with regards to the Menorah, there is a central shaft that runs through the Menorah that holds the 6 arms in place.  The central shaft has something in common with the 6 arms in that it too has a light of oil on top of it, yet it is distinct from the other 6 arms that it binds together.  If the 6 arms represent the 6 non-physical dimensions, perhaps the central shaft represents God that holds them together.

Incidentally, this theme is echoed by another 'symbol' described very early in the Bible, the 7 day week. The 6 weekdays culminate in a 7th special and holy day, the Sabbath, that is separate from the other 6 days.  We are told that on the Sabbath we should rest and devote extra effort to sense God and His holiness.

The implication in these symbols is that God has something in common with the 6 non-physical dimensions in that God is also non-physical, but He is separate from them.  What this means deserves investigation by those scientists and religious people investigating the 6 non-physical dimensions.

A Word of Caution

The Menorah might carry with it another implication that deserves mention.  The six arms of the Menorah would fall apart in disarray without the central shaft that holds them in place.  Perhaps this hints to us that investigating the 6 non-physical dimensions without having a strong love and fear of God to 'orient' us could lead to disarray.  Idol worship, criticized mercilessly in the Bible, was involved in some aspect of worship of the spiritual, but it didn't have a devotion to God to keep it from veering into debauchery, and in some cases was an amalgam of barbarism and religion. 

The Bible tells us that involvement with the spiritual should be accompanied by an obedient awe of God.  The holy Temple was a domain of the priests who had to act very carefully. Moses' brother Aaron, the first priest, lost two of his four sons the day of the Temple's inauguration because they did something 'wrong' in its inner sanctum.  Jewish law even prohibits making a model of the Menorah, warning us of the awe we are to have regarding its holiness.  The Talmud tells us that while Rabbi Akiva and some fellow rabbis were investigating the secrets of the spiritual world, one died and another went mad.

Perhaps this implies that it is advisable to investigate the 6 non-physical dimensions carefully, accompanied by a healthy respect for God's Will. 

A Better Metaphor

Since the time of the Greeks, society has held Science in great veneration because Science has been seen by many as the key that mankind uses to understand the world we live in.  The predominant theory of Science at any one time has often been popularized into the weltenschauung, the world view, the metaphor, that people use to see the world.

From the time of Aristotle until Sir Isaac Newton, Aristotelian philosophy, astronomy, and other ideas was taught as the way the world really works.  Questioning Aristotle was tantamount to heresy. 

This was overturned in the 17th Century by Newton's concept of the movement of the Heavenly spheres governed by the law of gravity.  The world was seen as a smoothly functioning clock with a myriad of pieces dancing in synchronization.  We can hear this world view of how Renaissance Man saw himself when we listen to Renaissance music, with its clockwork precision of harmonies.

This world view was overturned again in the late 19th Century by the theories of Charles Darwin, and the extension of  his ideas by Nietzsche.  Many people adopted this world view that the world is a jungle, and that progress is made by the survival of the fittest in the struggle to remain alive.  We can see this world view reflected in the resurgence of Barbarism a la Hitler in the 20th century.

Science's 20th Century theories, including Einstein's theory of Relativity, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, and quantum mechanics, is reflected in the existential view of the world where everything is seen as relative and uncertain.

Let's examine what view of the world could spring from a popularization of Superstring theory, that is as yet too new to have been adopted as a popular metaphor of the world.  According to Supersting theory, everything is made up of tiny vibrating strings in 10 dimensions that combine together to create better arrangements  The metaphor would picture the world as filled with music, with the vibrating strings in search of greater harmony. Green and Schwartz, the authors of the theory, compare the superstrings to violin strings. 

Superstring theory's revelation that there are 6 non-physical dimensions can help people be more comfortable with the concept of a spiritual, metaphysical aspect of reality.  Applying this metaphor, we see the world filled with music and spirituality, the vibrating strings dancing in search of greater harmony.

We feel this is a more attractive, and hopefully more accurate, view of the world than Nietzsche's jungle or Heisenberg's uncertainty.  Perhaps a popularization of Superstring theory would have a salutary effect on society.

Potential Applications

A team effort by Science and Religion to explore the nature of the 6 non-physical dimensions has many practical applications.  We will list a few:

Understanding Relationships - Perhaps no aspect of living is as crucial and central to our lives as relationships.  This includes the relationships we have with our family (spouse, parents, children, and siblings), friends, and those people we work with.  Psychology has offered many valuable insights into these areas.  However, understanding harmony and discord between people and why some are attracted to others and get along, while others bicker, is really more of an art than a science.

Perhaps much of what goes on in these areas is operating at the level of the 6 non-physical dimensions, and scientific investigation of these dimensions will yield a more precise understanding of the mechanisms of relationships.  This would have practical application, for example, in promoting marital harmony, or developing a questionnaire  for singles that could predict the likelihood of a good marriage.  For example, singles could be asked questions that might determine the nature of the 6 'songs' each person 'sings' on each non-physical dimension, and the likelihood of harmony or dissonance in each of these dimensions.

Understanding The Mind - Perhaps the mind has resisted scientific scrutiny and understanding because aspects of its activity operate in the 6 non-physical dimensions.  If true, study of these dimensions may give us greater insight into consciousness, sensation, thinking emotion, dreams, and so on.

Understanding Government And Business - Why do some people make better leaders than others, what is charisma, and what can reduce the chances of a government veering towards dictatorship or anarchy?  What kinds of business organizations and work environments make for more effective businesses?  Perhaps understanding the harmony and dissonance that occurs on the level of the 6 non-physical dimensions will help us understand these phenomena better.

Reconciling Science and Religion - As our outline of history showed, Science and Religion have not been getting along well with each other for almost 200 years.  One cause of this has been Science's skepticism about anything but a physical world.  Perhaps a mutual investigation by Science and Religion into the 6 non-physical dimensions will reopen channels of communication harmony and mutual understanding.