Can Science Benefit from Gaudiya Vaishnava Ontology?

Abstract

Can Science Benefit from Gaudiya Vaishnava Ontology ? In this paper, I attempt to understand and review the problematic and complex relationship between science and religion by focusing on the relationship between science and Gaudiya Vaishnavism in particular. I will explore the question of whether science needs Gaudiya Vaishnavism. In order to do this, I will need to explain the sense in which I mean ‘can science benefit from Gaudiya Vaishnava ontology?’’ before I begin to argue for this. Then, I will review three reasons why scientific inquiry is insufficient to provide a holistic and stable ontology and metaphysics. Firstly, I will argue that scientific ontology is meta-scientific, that is it involves interpretation and is not a direct outcome of empirical methods employed by scientific method. Secondly, I will show that scientific method leads to underdetermination of scientific ontology which means that scientific method by itself doesn’t provide enough evidence to describe definite ontology. Thirdly, I argue that scientific ontology is pluralistic and inconsistent for at least some practical purposes. By the above arguments, I make the case that the scientific method generally fails to provide a definite ontology and hence leaves a conceptual space for a foundational ontology which can be articulated by alternate ontological and metaphysical systems. It is in this respect, I propose that Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy can provide an adequate alternate ontology and metaphysical framework. Towards the end, I will offer some positive perspectives that should be helpful in developing a synergistic relationship between Gaudiya Vaishnava ontology and Science. Finally, I will also explore some of the implications of the synergistic relationship between science and Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Keywords: Gaudiya Vaishnavism, scientific realism, ontology, theology, philosophy