The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion
by Ken Wilber
(Broadway Books, 1998)

Deep thinkers are few and far between. The number of true philosophers at the close of the twentieth century is despairingly small. Once upon a time, thinkers crossed the lines of their own disciplines to be well-versed in arts, sciences, letters, and religion. Specialization is the reality of our day, and we suffer from a dearth of eclectic thinkers.

Ken Wilber qualifies as a philosopher in the classic sense of the word. Drawing from a wide knowledge of religion, science, art, culture, philosophy, psychology, and history, Wilber offers challenging insights into the current relationship between science and religion in our day. Wilber's thesis states that the time has come -- indeed is long past -- for science and religion to discover a common ground that will usher in a much-needed integration as we enter the twenty-first century. Wilber calls both leaders of science and leaders of the world's religions to set aside self-righteousness to better examine the commonalties of the two spheres.

The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion proposes a new way of dealing with differences between religion and science. Rather than continuing to attempt to discredit the other, Wilber examines what might be entailed in developing a common means of evaluating the intrinsic merits of both science and religion. Drawing upon a comprehensive knowledge of the history of both science and religion, Wilber proposes the application of a scientific method not bound by limiting empirical standards. The important relationships among art, science, and morals (the beautiful, the true, and the good) are lifted forth as areas for integration. The equally important relationship between modernism and post-modernism is examined to lay the groundwork for a marriage of religion and science that honors both and offers a reasonable alternative to the fragmentation that currently occurs in our world.

The discussion guide that follows is a tool for groups that would like to read and understand Ken Wilber's proposal better. It is intended as a way to focus on the major points raised throughout The Marriage of Sense and Soul. Reading groups should allow a minimum of five weeks to cover all the major topic areas. This guide may also be used by individuals for personal reflection.

Reading Group Discussion Guide for
The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion

This discussion guide is a tool for groups that would like to read and understand Ken Wilber's proposal better. It is intended as a way to focus on the major points raised throughout The Marriage of Sense and Soul. Reading groups should allow a minimum of five weeks to cover all the major topic areas. This guide may also be used by individuals for personal reflection.

Week One -- Chapter 1 Through Chapter 3

1. Describe your understanding of the relationship between science and religion. In what ways do proponents of science dismiss the proponents of religion? In what ways do the proponents of religion dismiss the proponents of science?

2. Discuss the "Great Nest of Being" (pages 6-9). What is the major significance of the "Great Nest of Being"?
3. What is the "dignity of modernity"? What is the "disaster of modernity"?
4. What is the difference between "differentiation" and "dissociation"?
5. Why is it important to reconcile science and spirituality?

Chapter 2

1. What are the five basic descriptions of the relationship between science and religion? What are the shortcomings of each? (pages 15-24)

Chapter 3

1. What was Thomas Kuhn's understanding of "paradigm"? How did the "theoreticists" misunderstand and misapply this concept? (pages 27-28)
2. What are the primary claims of extreme postmodernism? What is extreme postmodernism's fundamental flaw? (pages 34-35)
3. How does empirical science address issues of spirit? What effect has science had on the disciplines of contemplation and meditation? (pages 35-36)
4. Define and discuss the three types of interpretation: monological, dialogical, and translogical (pages 36-37). What is "the real problem of our modern fragmentation" -- the disaster of modernity? (page 38)

Week Two -- Chapter 4 Through Chapter 5

1. Discuss the shifts that occurred in the different spheres of culture in the age of modernity (pages 41-42).
2. What are some of the improvements brought about by modernity?
3. What is the "language" of each of the spheres of modernity? Why are these distinctions important? (pages 50-51)
4. What is the impact of "flatland" on the church? Do you believe that "flatland" is an accurate description of the world that we have been brought up in? Why or why not? (pages 56-57)

Chapter 5

1. Discuss the contrasts between:

   • interior realities and external realities
   • subject and object
   • depth and surface
   • quality and quantity
   • levels of significance and levels of size
   • value and veneer
   • translogical/dialogical and monological.

   
   
2. Discuss the four quadrants -- sharing insights, questions, and confusions. What are some possible implications of the four quadrants for the church? (pages 63-74)
3. How do the four quadrants correlate to the dignity of modernity -- art, morals, and science? (page 74)

Week Three -- Chapter 6 Through Chapter 8

1. Discuss the impact of Immanuel Kant on the shift from modernism to postmodernism (pages 85-89).

1. What are the aspirations of Romanticism? What are the strengths? What are the pathologies? (pages 90-101)

Chapter 8

1. What are the aspirations of Idealism? What are the strengths? What are the pathologies? (pages 102-115)

Week Four -- Chapter 9 Through Chapter 12

1. What are the aspirations of postmodernism? What are the strengths? What are the pathologies? (pages 116-131)
2. What are the aspirations of integral-aperspectival postmodernism? What are the strengths? What are the pathologies? (pages 131-136)

Chapter 10

1. What must necessarily happen for the integration of the Big Three? What are the challenges to the church as we strive toward integration? (page 142)

Chapter 11

1. What are the limits to the scientific method for defining reality? (pages 150-155)
2. What are the two types of empiricism? (pages 152-155)
3. Discuss the three strands of valid knowledge. What are their implications for the church? for our culture? (pages 155-161)

Chapter 12

1. What is the relationship of mythology to premodern religion? to modern religion? (pages162-164)
2. What constitutes the core of authentic religion that will stand up to the tests of modernity and valid knowledge? (pages 164-174)
3. What do injunction, apprehension, and confirmation/rejection look like in the sphere of spirituality and religion? (pages 171-174)

Week Five -- Chapter 13 Through Chapter 15

1. Discuss the application of "broad science" to each of the four quadrants. What are some implications for the church? (pages 177-180)
2. Discuss the four higher stages of consciousness development discovered by transpersonal psychology (pages 181-183).

Chapter 14

1. What are the implications for the church of the levels of art (pages 191-194), levels of morals (pages 194-195), and levels of science (pages 196-201)?
2. Reflect on the four aspects of the Wesleyan quadrilateral. How do these aspects relate to the Big Three/four quadrants?

Chapter 15

1. Why is the acceptance of evolution necessary for a marriage of science and religion? Why is evolution so difficult for many Christians to accept? (pages 205-207)
2. How can "all quadrant, all level" research benefit the church? (pages 207-209)
3. What does the marriage of science and religion have to offer the church as we enter the twenty-first century? What difficulties lie ahead if religion and science remain at odds with each other?

Dan R. Dick is a former staff member of the General Board of Discipleship.

(originally posted November 24, 1999)

    Text Only Version