Morning session: crucial question is about Hinduism and science.
Depends on what you understand by "Hinduism" and what you understand by "science".
In the morning we agreed that a powerful way to understand Hinduism and Dharma is based on Advait Vedant and moksha.
The question is whether this is compatible with science.
Then I added that Christian beliefs have infiltrated science.
Simple example of this is the first lesson in serious science. Newton's laws, or the belief that there are laws of nature. This was actually a theological belief stated by Aquinas. How do you know there are laws of nature?
But there is a much more fundamental reason for this: Christian theology has invaded mathematics and through that it systematically invades science.
- Let me explain just the part about mathematics.
Europe learnt most of its basic mathematics (the stuff we teach in schools today) from India. this includes arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry, calculus, probability and statistics.
But not all. Geometry from Egypt. Plato, Pythagoras and religious geometry.
- This religious belief generated the superstition that mathematics is exact. The sulba sutra etc. take math as inexact.
- The deprecation of the empirical by Plato led eventually to the prohibition of the empirical in formal mathematics. Indian ganita always accepted empirical proofs like science.
European difficulties with arithmetic.
- Difficulties arose because Europeand attempted to reconcile two distinct traditions.
- Abacus vs algorisumus
- Case of zero or cypher.
- Europe took centuries to understand.
European difficulties with calculus.
- Europeans tried to reconcile calculus with their own superstition that mathematics is exact.
- Summing infinite series exactly not possible.
- Led to the metaphysics of formal math.
This modified math was returned through colonial education and superior.
- The key thing colonial education taught us was to imitate the West.
- We are still doing it.
Take the calculus
- Today we teach that real numbers and limits are needed for it.
- This forces time to be like the real line. Kills idea of quasi-cyclic time and moksha and dharma.