Ellen Granfield #fundie theestablishment.co

One of the most obvious examples of scientism today is the theory of evolution, which is still upheld as the dominant explanation of how life generates itself. The problem is that biologists still can’t answer the most basic of questions involved, including the origin of life itself, sexual reproduction, or how species originate.

Mainstream science – despite declaring again and again that this theory explains these functions – in truth merely describes biological phenomena involved in ecosystem diversity.

The political fight over curriculum between religious Fundamentalists and neo-Darwinists has pushed any meaningful discussion of this topic off the table, as mainstream science remains stubbornly fearful of giving up ground if they admit that there are serious controversies raging around the theory of evolution as the catch-all explanation for our current existence.

It leaves no room for the possibility of Intelligent Design Theory, which posits “certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause.” IDT is often made synonymous with creationism – neo-Darwinists argue that it’s just Creationism in disguise – but there are many scientists and philosophers alike that believe IDT is just as compelling a theory as evolution for “the way things are.”

There are many exciting studies in earth sciences, published by pioneers like Hywel Williams and Timothy Lenton, which deepen our understanding of the planet as a microbial biosphere capable of generating enormously complex systems, however.

The field of science is ripe with compelling counternarratives to evolution that we’re choosing to ignore, from the symbiosis between microbes and minerals that together formed earth’s diversity as shown by Robert Hazen, to Tyler Volk’s understanding of bacteria using metapatterns to generate themselves into ever more complex life, to species diversity that stabilize living ecosystems.

There’s also Lewis Thomas‘ theory that humanity could be a complex form of microbial life the planet produced in order to seed itself into the solar system.

We stand at the frontier of a whole new field of science if we suspend our egos and become willing to alter our perspectives – and perhaps fallacious beliefs – in order to pursue a greater understanding of our species and our role on Earth.

Another example of scientism is the continued definition of the heart as nothing more than a mechanical pump, giving the brain all the credit for who and what we are – the home of our soul, as it were.

Doing so means holding on to the linear, reductionist view of a mechanical universe which reduces life to mere quantifiable parts in spite of the latest heart research that is producing a perspective vital in finding a reconnection with something western society has lost.

As nature writer Stephen Buhner eloquently illustrates in his book The Secret Teachings of Plants, it’s now believed that when we stop thinking and start feeling with the heart, our physiological functioning becomes more balanced and calm; neuronal discharge in the brain comes into phase with the heart and lungs in a process called heart coherence.

More than half our heart cells are neural, the heart’s nervous system wired to the brain’s amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus, and cortex. The heart has its own memory and is the primary organ of sense; the brain is secondary and responsive.

We feel the world first, but when we believe – and are told, again and again – that the brain is the center of our being, our perception of our humanity and the world becomes stymied.

Understanding the heart’s neural connections within the brain and how these areas deal with emotional memories, sensory experience, spatial relationships and meaning, problem solving, reasoning, and learning, we’re better equipped to understand that feelings come through the heart and body, whereas emotions come from thoughts that play through our minds (often like a broken record).

One affects us, the other has an effect on us. It’s a slippery slope to follow, and mainstream science is leading the way by continuing to claim the brain is the end all and be all.

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So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!

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