Source: “On the Resurrection: volume 1”: Evidences, 2024 by Gary Habermas Published by B&H Academic Brentwood, Tennessee.

The Podcast Dialogue

0. Bridging Cosmos, Consciousness, and Humanity - A Deeper Science.mp3

Main Theme:

This source delves into the profound work of Wolfgang Smith, a scientist and philosopher who sought to bridge modern science with ancient wisdom, particularly by proposing a tripartite cosmos. This framework posits three interconnected levels of reality: the avetal plane (beyond space and time, the ultimate source), the psychic or intermediary realm (subject to time but not space, encompassing thoughts and dreams), and the corporeal world (our familiar reality, subject to both time and space). Smith applies this tripartite ontology not only to the universe but also to human beings (spiritus, anima, corpus), arguing that modern science’s reductionist focus on the corporeal limits our understanding of reality. He controversially uses this model to offer a solution to the quantum measurement problem through "vertical causation" and critiques widely accepted theories like evolution, ultimately advocating for a reorientation of human understanding towards a top-down view of reality originating from God.

Summary

The work of a brilliant scientist, mathematician, and physicist who recently passed away at 94, offers a unique vision that bridges cutting-edge modern science with ancient wisdom traditions. His life's mission was to articulate a singular, coherent understanding of the cosmos, the nature of consciousness, and what it truly means to be human, aiming for a deeper science beyond conventional understanding.

Here are ten key topics from his profound insights:

• The Tripartite Cosmos as the Fundamental Structure of Reality This scholar posits that reality is not a flat, one-dimensional plane but a layered, interconnected structure consisting of three distinct yet profoundly interconnected levels. The highest is the avatal plane, existing entirely beyond both space and time, serving as the ultimate source or eternal origin of being. Below this is the psychic or intermediary realm, which is subject to time (having duration and sequence) but crucially, not subject to space. This is where thoughts, ideas, dreams, and certain aspects of consciousness reside, akin to a melody unfolding in time without physical location. Finally, there is the corporeal world, our everyday physical reality, which is undeniably subject to both time and space. Recognizing this inherent structure is deemed crucial for a genuine understanding of the universe.
• The Tripartite Nature of Human Beings This tripartite structure is not limited to the cosmos but also applies to every individual. Humans too are tripartite in their very nature, forming one irreducible wholeness rather than separate parts. Our corpus (physical body) is linked to the corporeal realm; our anima (soul or mind, encompassing emotions, thoughts, memories, and personality) is associated with the psychic realm, unfolding in time but not space; and our spiritus (spirit) is connected to the highest, eternal avatal realm, existing beyond time. Modern science's reductionist tendency to view humans solely through a corporeal or physical lens is seen as missing the full reality of what it means to be human.
• Contrasting Vadic and Christian Cosmologies The scholar offers a striking comparison between major traditions. The Vadic outlook describes the cosmos as fundamentally cyclic, an unending process of creation, preservation, and dissolution, with no inherent purpose. It is ultimately considered unreal or illusory (Maya), and the spiritual goal is to transcend this cosmos to achieve union with ultimate reality. In radical contrast, the Christian outlook views the cosmos as having reality and divine purpose. It is a temporary, pedagogical creation that will eventually come to an end once its divine purpose is fulfilled. Despite these dramatic differences in purpose and end, both Platonist and Vadic cosmologies are seen as fundamentally sharing the same underlying tripartite structural understanding of reality.
• Solving the Quantum Measurement Problem with a New Ontology Modern physics faces the enigma of the measurement problem in quantum mechanics: probabilistic quantum states instantly collapse into definite, localized classical states upon observation. This scholar proposes a groundbreaking solution by distinguishing between the corporeal world (the qualitative, directly perceived world) and the physical universe (the quantitative abstraction of the corporeal world as conceived by physics). He argues that physics, by its very methodology, deals with a reduced version of reality, missing its full qualitative richness.
• Introducing Vertical Causation The instantaneous collapse in quantum mechanics cannot be explained by conventional horizontal causation (time-bound, sequential cause and effect within physics). Instead, he introduces vertical causation, a mode of causation that is instantaneous, an immediate direct influence that does not take place in time and is outside the domain of physics. This concept suggests a non-temporal causality from a higher ontological level. The 2022 Nobel Prize in physics, which confirmed instantaneous non-local effects with entangled particles (implying faster-than-light influence and contradicting classical local realism), is seen as a monumental scientific confirmation of this very type of causality.
• The Nature of Quantum Reality: Potentialities, Not Intrinsic Entities From an ontological standpoint, quantum particles as quantum particles are argued not to exist intrinsically as fully formed independent entities. Instead, they are mere potentialities. Their reality comes from the corporeal level, actualizing into definite particles precisely when they interact with a corporeal instrument (i.e., when observed or measured). This represents a crucial inversion of usual thinking, suggesting that all reality and being derive from the highest avatal plane and flow down through vertical causation, rather than building up from the smallest material bits. Classical physics deals with objects that receive their wholeness from the corporeal level, while quantum mechanics deals with entities that have no reality in themselves until interacting with corporeal instruments.
• Free Will and the Divine Origin of Consciousness The scholar posits that free will pertains to our current "state of half knowing." Upon achieving enlightenment or salvation, a state of complete knowledge, free will dissolves because one's will becomes perfectly aligned with ultimate truth. He strongly asserts that consciousness definitively derives from the eternal realm, from God himself, directly confronting materialistic views that claim consciousness arises from matter or neural networks as "nonsense" and an "inversion of reality." He draws on the Vadic insight of Sat-Chit-Ananda (Being, Consciousness, Bliss) as fundamental attributes of God, with the tripartite creation being manifestations of these, implying consciousness flows down through the psychic realm from God.
• The Path of Spiritual Ascent and Saintthood Profound insights into life's ultimate purpose include the Vadic four stages of life: brahmacharia (youthful study/spiritual learning), grihastha (married life/social engagement), vanaprastha (retirement/spiritual reflection), and sannyasa (total detachment, fixation on God). This offers a stark contrast to Western progression. He describes saintthood as a "very real thing" that is a discontinuity, a matter of kind, not degree, meaning saints are generically different, having undergone profound transformation. Crucially, saintthood is almost always associated with great pain and suffering, which is an indispensable condition in the journey to God, challenging the natural human desire to avoid discomfort for higher spiritual states.
• Critique of the Modern Worldview and Scientific Materialism A scathing critique is leveled against the "contemporary worldview," labeling it "nonsense" and "poison." This worldview is considered flawed because it is metaphysically formed on the basis of mathematical physics, deriving its fundamental assumptions from quantitative, reductive methods rather than deeper qualitative or metaphysical understanding. This renders modern intellectuals incapable of understanding the deeper nature of being. He takes an uncompromising position against the theory of evolution, declaring it a heresy and fundamentally false doctrine with no scientific evidence, seeing it as a "complete inversion of the true hierarchy of being" that posits reality arising "from below" rather than descending "from above." He stresses that spiritual truths cannot be understood through modern scientific or psychological frameworks but must be approached from traditional scriptural bases and the teachings of saints and mystics.