INTRODUCTIONFor
thousands of
years, the saga of human history tells of empires rising and falling
caused by
military wars being won and lost.
But
alongside these major and cataclysmic events has been another,
continuous war
that has been equally important, and that is the battle for Man's mind. This other war has been a
war of ideas, and
has been a struggle between three major philosophies, three different
ways of
looking at the world. We
call these
three philosophies Religious, Scientific, and Barbaric.
In
the first chapter
we define these three philosophies, and describe the kinds of dialogues
they
have between them. In
the second and
third chapters, we trace these three philosophies through Western
history,
seeing how they developed, combined, and alternatively rose and fell. The
fourth chapter
describes a recent theory in theoretical physics called Superstring
theory that
we feel has the potential for altering the current balance among the
three
philosophies. The
fifth chapter
examines further how Superstring theory - especially its notion of
there being
six non-physical dimensions - can be applied to some problems in
science and
everyday life. The
sixth chapter
explores in greater detail what it might mean for there to be six
non-physical
dimensions. The
Appendix looks at
poetry through the ages and how it reflects the changes that Man's
spirit has
undergone, providing insights into the nature and effects of Religion,
Science,
and Barbarism. |