:Spirit:      

:John Templeton Foundation Questions:

• What role do philosophical assumptions play in science and religion?
• Is epistemological and ontological reductionism a necessary assumption in science or a hypothesis to be justified and applied to appropriate fields?
• Is there any validity in means of obtaining knowledge other than through the five senses?
• What is the relationship between the self or consciousness and the brain? How do you justify your position on this question and on what basis do you reject other positions? Is there any evidence-value in near-death experiences that might relate to this question?
• Which data from mystical experiences might challenge current materialistic assumptions and which of these data might validate propositions about the existence of God and a transcendent dimension as the source of values?
• How might one account for the transformative effects of mystical and near-death experiences?
• What evidence is there for purpose and meaning in the universe?
• What might be recognised as a point of spiritual convergence between the great religions - or possibly even beyond them, including science, thus giving a new perspective on science?
• On what basis do you derive your own deepest values and sense of meaning?
• How might a new science of consciousness contribute to moral and spiritual progress?