Enlightenment, Meaning, and the Religion versus Science-Academia Divide: Waking up versus “Waking up”

Abstract

The unfolding problems with science&#8217;s materialist understanding of life are obviously noteworthy in and of themselves, but the associated potential support for dualistic/religious beliefs is particularly significant. Beyond a number of behavioral conundrums, the general problem facing the scientific molecular-only vision is the unfolding missing heritability (or DNA origins)&#8212;problem. Given our innate dualistic/religious understanding of life and its presumed&#8212;but increasingly questionable&#8212;DNA basis, it is argued here that this combination offers a straightforward preliminary argument supporting the basic dualism common to religions. With this as a backdrop, a focus herein will be placed on experiences of transcendence (or unified consciousness or enlightenment) associated with religious/mystical practices. With such real-life transformations, there is the possibility of glimpsing the ultimate goal associated with religious practices. An introduction will be provided via the independent Unity experience given in Jacque Lusseyran&#8217;s <i>And There Was Light</i>. Next, a sequence of similar experiences associated with Buddhist practices is given. A suggested framework then connects such experiences to the religious/dualistic element, a soul, and with this a potential new avenue for discussions on meaning. A modern framing of these discussions is found in comparisons between traditional Buddhism, and its contemporary science-influenced, Western peer. Sam Harris&#8217; <i>Waking Up</i> is utilized in part as a guide to the latter. It is not unlikely that other spiritual or religious traditions are facing analogous detours in our science-led, meaning-deprived, and increasingly superficial era.