Science and Beyond

Toward Greater Sanity through Science, Philosophy, Art and Spirituality

Clarion Rating: 4 out of 5

Science and Beyond combines science and philosophy to argue that a new understanding of the limitations of science is needed to avoid global catastrophe.

Focusing on rampant misconceptions about science, researcher and teacher Rolf Sattler’s Science and Beyond concerns the limitations of the discipline, as well as the dangers posed by unbalanced technological power.

This is a text that seeks to explain the practical, theoretical, and philosophical applications of science, as well as to issue a warning that evading comprehensiveness can lead to limited, misleading, or dangerous interpretations. It also philosophizes on what is involved in accurate and comprehensive understandings of life, going beyond the purview of “science” itself to take a broader, deeper view—one that leads into mystery and transcendence, stating that, “If we cannot see and go beyond science, our lives and society will remain impoverished.” Insights from spiritual luminaries and the musings of scientists including Albert Einstein and ecological philosopher Elisabet Sahtouris are invoked in support of the book’s arguments, and the text is enhanced with bright, clear illustrations, many of them reproductions of the work of visionary artists.

While giving science its due, the book looks beyond it to examine and honor modes of knowing other than the scientific. Gesturing to values like spirituality, wisdom, and love, the book’s arguments in their favor are clear, pointed, and logical, as is its warning that failure to recognize the limitations of science will lead to global catastrophe. Using what it calls the “widespread virus mania” around Covid-19 as a practical example, the book argues that distorted views of science have resulted in unnecessary deaths, economic disasters, and the loss of civil liberties.

Organized so that each topic addressed builds upon what came before it, the book’s arguments are backed up with extensive references to information garnered from reputable sources. Several appendices amplify and further refine its discussions, bringing its work to a provocative conclusion.

The book reintroduces familiar concepts and terms to develop new meanings; for example, the terms sanity and insanity are taken beyond medical and psychiatric uses to describe “understanding and being in tune with life and reality,” or conversely, being subject to “any misconception or delusion about reality,” making these strong terms applicable to a wider range of issues. And in taking the stance that “truth is unattainable for science,” the text invites exploration and logic well, though if without a clear plan for getting people in general to adopt its suggested ways of thinking.

Science and Beyond combines science and philosophy to argue that a new understanding of the limitations of science is needed to avoid global catastrophe.

Reviewed by Kristine Morris

Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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