This is http://www.essayz.com/b0301074.htm Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words. {Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.} ========================================================== %RESOLVE CONFLICT OSTENSIBLE AUTHORITIES REALMS GOD+030107 %COSMOLOGIES MYTHOLOGIES CAUSE EFFECTS CORRELATIONS+030107 %ASTRONOMY PHYSICS CHEMISTRY BIOLOGY SOCIAL SCIENCE+030107 %EXPERIMENTAL LABORATORIES FRIENDSHIPS INTIMACIES+030107 %CONTROL DOMINATION REGULATIONS COMMANDMENTS LAWYER+030107 %JUDGMENTAL ARROGANCE SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS DEVILS NO 030107 How are we to resolve conflicts between ostensible authorities in ostensibly different realms of authority, regarding patterns of cause-and-effect? Contrast the following two realms: 1. The realm of natural causes-and-effects as described by the descriptive laws of astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology and the emerging social sciences; i.e., the realm of experimental-quantitative sciences and their mathematical descriptions. 2. The realm of theological causes-and-effects described by religious scriptures, pre-scriptions, pro- scriptions, rules, regulations and laws; i.e., the realm of authorities dealing in God's Will and Laws --- dealing with what God has said we must do to gain His ultimate favor and favorable judgments. The methodologies of authoritarians in the above two realms are different; and how they protect their respective/respected turfs is different: 1. By and large experimental-quantitative scientists do NOT attempt to describe the relationships and processes within which they themselves play dominant personal roles; e.g., as regards human: emotions, desires, fears, cooperation, conflicts, controls, dominance, decisions, initiatives, freedoms, intimacies, estrangements, alienations and excommunications. 2. Religious authorities have traditionally attempted to focused much of their attention upon those realms which experimental-quantitative scientists have traditionally ignored; as indicated just above. Starting with the founding of the British Royal Society; experimental scientists, religious authorities, philosophers and political leaders have tacitly agreed to respect each other's "turfs", realms of influence/power, and so to avoid conflicts over objective, theological, philosophical and political turfs and objections. However, the boundaries between turfs were not clearly drawn in the charter of the British Royal Society. It was tacitly agreed that the boundaries did exist somewhere out in the no-man's-land which had not yet (and have not yet) been explored in any cooperative way. As scientists, theologians, philosophers and political leaders have independently explored their respective turfs --- it has become clearer that we live in one cosmos which has integrity in ways which earlier leaders did not know about or understand. The limits of our competencies are slowly being illuminated --- much to the embarrassment of people who have claimed that they personally have been more comprehensively knowledgeable, competent, authoritative, and empowered --- than they have been in reality. Humility is now the order of the day; for otherwise violent conflicts and chaos will increase. At issue is who has the authority to prescribe how other people may experiment; describe, proscribe, and prescribe --- what others may and may not do, say and write. Who is to be in control and dominate over others? Who is to exercise political, spiritual, philosophical, existential and scientific controls over others? Who is to have the authority to expose to the light of day: the arrogance, self- righteousness and pretentiousness of others --- by openly and honestly describing them and the consequences of their attitudes, assumptions, reasoning, decisions and actions? What are the effects of diplomacy, and of the absence of diplomacy? Who is to say? It seems clear that authorities who presume to be competent outside of the realm of their own experience and experimentation --- end up embarrassing themselves and each other. Relatively few authorities have competency regarding the locations of, and the natures of, the boundary areas between what have seemed to have been distinctively different turfs. How then are we to discern the best ways to discover and articulate the true nature of the integrity which is present in the cosmos as a whole? How are we to integrate the different ways of knowing as they have traditionally been practiced by the leaders/authorities within each realm/turf? The situation is actually more complicated than the above suggests: Artists, musicians, dancers, novelists, historians, actors, play writes, humorists, cartoonists and editorial writers have all manage to have much to say which is relevant to the above. What authority do they have? How are they to be integrated into the whole, to reflect the integrity of the whole, without embarrassing many powerful people? (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy) ==========================================================