As we enter what promises to be a momentous second half of the present decade, we at Neohumanist Review are pleased to offer another collection of up-to-date cutting edge articles of both general and particular interest.
Our fourth issue kicks off with three profound articles each addressing what we envision as the fullness of science; the rational potential to comprehend the wholeness of existence. Frank van den Bovenkamp takes the lead by inviting us to join an exploration of sound and color, revealing profound links between perception and the mechanisms of creation. “The term ‘Universe’,” he writes, “conveys an inherent unity—a single, indivisible whole. The forces shaping the vast cosmos and the atom’s inner realms are interconnected, springing from a shared source. Yet energy alone cannot explain the harmony and beauty of creation; a guiding principle must imbue it with purpose and order.”
Suresh Emre argues that no single theory can achieve the unification of physical forces, let alone the unification of biological and mental phenomena with physics. In order to have wider and deeper scientific coverage, we need a conceptual framework that can integrate multiple perspectives. Drawing on breakthroughs in fields including complexity science, quantum mechanics, and formal logic, Aaron Frank takes this synthetical view further by integrating the spiritual worldview of yoga and Shrii P.R. Sarkar’s neohumanism, offering an understanding of nature as a dynamic, living system which will come to redefine our relationship to concepts of ‘truth’.
The shared conclusion of the above three writers is that rather than a single universal truth, many truths exist and must be situated in their appropriate context.
In a landmark essay, Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar echoes the findings and sentiments of the above scientists, finding that “the language of the ‘inner voice’ is always one and indivisible; only in the outer manifestation do we get so many languages.”
Clinical psychologist Guldeniz Yucelen bridges psychology science with socioeconomic realities in the first installment of her two-part series on inferiority complex and psycho-economic exploitation. By surveying past and current causes and symptoms of disruptive socioeconomic dynamics, she finds they “shatter our birth right to feel safe and secure; to be treated equally in society; knowingly or unknowingly we develop self-demeaning, self-sabotaging ways of being in the world, such as appeasing others who have more power or status or making ourselves physically smaller, desperately believing or hoping it may help us feel safe and protect us.”
Blazing yet another neohumanist trail, Shaman Hatley examines old and new concepts of mental afflictions, exploring a new path towards freeing ourselves of obsessive clinging and embracing the liberation of all.
In an overture to linking up India’s spiritual culture with that of China’s, Hao V. Zhuang draws up a powerful perspective on a shared subtle legacy of those two mighty civilizations. Perhaps it is what our decade needs the most, proper reminding of our common sublime humanity.
In response to an earlier article on climate change (M. Towsey, NR2) Roar Bjonnes rethinks climate change by way of offering a holistic, systemic approach to economic and environmental solutions.
The issue is rounded off by two reviews of Kathleen Kesson’s fresh work on neohumanist education, Becoming One With the World. “We long for something different, and this book has it in itself to be a companion to teachers in their journey, if they so choose, to be part of making this difference,” Shakil Ahmed writes. A compelling call for walking all that talk, then!