Why do most scientists hate spirituality?

[Kiki04]

I think Hybrid was joking around ;)
You are going to get some people that are spiritual and some that are not. Even those that are spiritual have different points of views. It all depends on what your interests are really. :)
I don't think scientist hate spirituality. I think that some people just tend to lean towards things they can see in the physical world and some spiritual phenomenon can only be "seen" by some not all. Or maybe they are simply not open to it and that's why they can't see what spiritual people can?
We were having a discussion last time on chat on how some scientist are trying to prove that these things that spiritual people are witness to do actually exists. They believe but they also want to make sense of it in a scientific way instead of just having faith in it. Apparently Albert Einstein believed in spirituality? ;)

Love and light,
Kiki04

Originally Posted by Greg

I thought here of all places I'd get a bit more support, but obvioulsy not

[hybrid]

Originally Posted by Greg

Hybrid, why on earth are you on this site? You obvioulsy have no spirituality

oops, sorry greg if i come to you as being unsupportive. let me explain .... crackpots abound in the scientific community as well as in the spiritual community.

science is the study of objects like atoms or the universe as whole, or say the study of physical matter and it's processes, like say the brain.

spirituality is the study of subjectivity. it concentrates more on the mind and the heart. most importantly understanding consciousness, under the assumption that these things responsible for our experience comes from the spirit within us.

so while science looks outward in their study. spirituality looks inward. so they are not really at odds and in contrary they all agreed in many things.

one agreement is that they both acknowledge the oneness of all things.

[glucan]

As a scientist, I don't hate spirituality. A spiritual and a non-spiritual alike can undertake scientific investigations. Spirituality is personal and a scared experience. I can't represent all the scientists of course, as it is true for non-scientists, we have our individual spiritual outlooks. Science is not an appropriate tool to prove spirituality or the existence of god/higher being, it is a way of investigating and describing nature, universe and materiality. Science has developed through time and is continually developing. Personally, I appreciate the beauty of what I investigate and study, for me this is a spiritual experience as well. Both spirituality (individual) and science should be respected and cherished, in my view.

Awesome reply, thanks Uma. Highly informative.

[psychoslice]

I think spirituality has learnt a lot through science, a dam lot.

For me, science and spirituality dont mix since the basics of science is fact and more mind driven. However, there are some who think that maybe science needs some adjustment to its format in order to accomadate spirituality.

P.S. I believe science has no room for "hate" either.

[UniverseofLove]

I think this is a great question to explore.

One way of looking at it:
Scientists understand complicated mathematics, advanced chemistry, etc. about the world as we can provide evidence for it that is contemplated by the brain. Spiritual people have an understanding in the heart of mystic matters that the brain can conceive but rely on their heart to tell them the truth (unless they blindly follow a doctrine). There are also those who understand both. Science is taught because evidence can be given in a simpler form that people will observe and believe whereas Spirituality cannot be taught in the same way. There are some scientists who don’t understand how to trust in something they can’t provide evidence for and don’t accept it, and there are some Spirituals who can’t understand science and/or won’t accept it.


Notable spiritual scientists: Isaac Newton and/or Albert Einstein were Christian; my mum is fond of maths, astronomy, electronics and many other sciences and has been Buddhist for much of her life, practices Reiki and believes in a lot of New Age Spirituality; a friend of mine loves maths and chemistry (wanting to do chemistry at Uni) and is an open-minded Christian; another friend shares my beliefs and studied Biomedical Science.

I think there are varying degrees in some scientists’ dislike of Spirituality and it’s often because they don’t understand the trust and faith that many of us feel in our hearts, amplified by the distinct lack of proof we have to give them. “I saw Jesus”, “I heard an Angel”, “I had a conversation with Odin” – they want proof or they’ll say you’re hallucinating or making it up!
They can provide evidence for their findings and won’t accept our word for our experiences, for whatever reason.

There is proof/evidence for some things, though, eg. placebo, psychic activity, twin telepathy.

I hope this helps you and that you find my answer supportive

Love and Light

Originally Posted by Greg

Is it because spirituality attempts to use science in it's attempts to describe the universe, and scientists get very defensive? I saw a programme today about an Astronomer who was giving a lecture on quantum physics. He called anyone who had a spiritual explanation on this as 'Mischievous Hippies' who spoke mumbo jumbo.
I often get very self conscious about my spiritual beliefs and am scared that I may be going against logic, going against the laws of the universe, but at the same time I can't ignore this innate spirituality I feel in me, It wont let me ignore it, no matter how much pain I feel.

Where do you get this "most" from? I have known many scientists that don't hate spirituality (and I'm speaking in terms of scientists who have at least a master's or higher in their respective fields and are working in that field). Many acknowledge that it's possible to be spiritual and to have spiritual encounters (some feeling it's something that science hasn't progressed to the point of being able to understand yet and some feeling that it isn't something science will ever be able to understand). There are some scientists who feel that spirituality is mumbo jumbo, but (from my experiences) they're not the majority of all scientists.

It's a falsehood to say that science and spirituality can't go together. I work with a variety of gods and different other things that can be considered spiritual, but I also look to science for answers to things that can be answered through science. Only when science fails to provide an explanation do I look to the spiritual side of things.

Originally Posted by beautydylan

It's maybe because they only think they understand everything? Just a guess

Sorry to say spoken like a true judgementalist

As a scientist myself my very presence on such a forum as this disproves the idea that scientists hate spirituality.

Its all about balance! And the media unfortunately has prevailed in convincing people we hate spirituality. And scientists come in many forms, and whilst one scientist may think its all mumbo jumbo just mean we all do.

I don't think that scientists generally hate spirituality. What I do think happens, though, is that sometimes science is misunderstood and misrepresented by individuals who may be trying to make a spiritual point, which can annoy scientists, and may make them appear defensive. The scientists may have no problem with the spiritual conclusion, but if a person gets there by using incorrect science, of course a scientist is going to call them out on it.