The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion [Paperback]

Ken Wilber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 1999

There is arguably no more critical and pressing topic than the relation of science and religion in the modern world. Science has given us the methods for discovering truth, while religion remains the single greatest force for generating meaning. Yet the two are seen as mutually exclusive, with wrenching consequences for humanity. In The Marriage of Sense and Soul, one of today's most important philosophers brilliantly articulates how we might begin to think about science and religion in ways that allow for their reconciliation and union, on terms that will be acceptable to both camps.
        Ken Wilber is widely acclaimed as the foremost thinker in integrating Western psychology and the Eastern spiritual traditions. His many books have reached across disciplines and synthesized the teachings of religion, psychology, physics, mysticism, sociology, and anthropology, earning him a devoted international following. The Marriage of Sense and Soul is his most accessible work yet, aimed at guiding a general audience to the mutual accord between the spiritual, subjective world of ancient wisdom and the objective, empirical world of modern knowledge.
        Wilber clearly and succinctly explores the schism between science and religion, and the impact of this "philosophical Cold War" on the fate of humanity. He systematically reviews previous attempts at integration, explaining why romantic, idealistic, and postmodern theories failed. And he demonstrates how science is compatible with certain deep features common to all of the world's major religious traditions. In pointing the way to a union between truth and meaning, Ken Wilber has created an elegant and accessible book that is breathtaking in its scope.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ever since the Copernican revolution, the battle lines between science and religion have been drawn. In succeeding generations, science and religion have been depicted as two cultural juggernauts slugging it out to establish their ideas as the dominant worldview. In his new book, Wilber (A Brief History of Everything) contends that attempts to reconcile science (sense) and religion (soul) have failed because scholars have not taken into account the fundamental differences between the two. Science, he argues, is a product of modernity characterized by differentiation?a spiritless materialism. Religion, on the other hand, is a product of a premodern worldview less enamored of a portrait of reality (viewed as so much soulless matter) and characterized by an emphasis on humanity's connection to a spiritual dimension. Using A.O. Lovejoy's idea of the Great Chain of Being, Wilber fashions what he calls "the Great Nest of Being" in which soul, body, matter, mind and spirit intersect and coalesce. Imitating Plato's scheme of realms of truth, knowledge and reality, Wilber divides his Great Nest into four quadrants, each of which has a subjective, objective, intersubjective and interobjective dimension. Wilber contends that this scheme of unity-in-diversity provides the key to integrating science and religion. As ambitious as it is, Wilber's study is filled with simplistic generalizations ("Modern science and premodern religion aggressively inhabit the same globe, each vying, in its own way, for world domination") and mushy quasi-romantic pronouncements ("Art is the Beauty of Spirit/ Art is in the eye of the beholder, in the I of the beholder: Art is the I of the Spirit."). Moreover, in order to marry sense and soul, Wilber does violence to science by representing it in terms of spirit rather than on its own terms. Wilber's attempt to integrate science and religion is far surpassed by physicist Ian Barbour's trenchant Religion and Science.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This book is an intriguing attempt at finding common foundations or agreements between scientific and religious world views. Wilber (The Eye of Spirit, LJ 2/15/97) relies heavily on traditional philosophers to support his argument for multiple layers of knowing and the potential of empirical science to accept it. At the same time, he suggests that the religious world needs to be open to new ways of spiritual knowledge and validation. Wilber is writing for a popular audience, and his easy-to-read work will likely be compared to Paul Davies's The Mind of God (S. & S., 1992) and Connie Barlow's Green Space, Green Time (LJ 11/1/97). While he has not given us the ultimate answer to the division between science and religion, his book is worth reading. For large public and academic libraries.?Eric D. Albright, Duke Univ. Medical Ctr. Lib., Durham, N.C.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (April 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767903439
• ISBN-13: 978-0767903431
• Product Dimensions: 5.3 x 0.5 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Science & Religion
  • #63 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Sociology

More About the Author

Ken Wilber is one of the most widely read and influential American philosophers of our time. His recent books include "A Brief History of Everything", "The Marriage of Sense and Soul" and "Grace and Grit".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant synthesis of the major branches of knowledge, June 17, 1999

By 

Brian Cumberland <brian_telarc@hotmail.... (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion (Paperback)

Ken Wilber presents a brilliant synthesis of the major branches of knowledge and clearly shows their relationship to "Religion in General". It is clear from some of the reviews, which rated this book poorly, that they do not understand where Wilber is coming from. Some reviews are just too stupid to even comment upon. (Eg. granpubah) The Kirkus review states that Wilber doesn't explain how the integration of the Great Chain of Being with the major differientiations of modernity is supposed to occur. I can't follow this line of reasoning as Wilber has clearly shown how this can be achieved. I do agree, however, that Wilber does not tackle the old epistemological question of the relation of consciousness/mind to matter, although he does touch on this question in pages 145-147. The philosopher Rudolf Steiner did an excellent job in solving this problem from an introspective point of view in his books "Truth & Knowledge" and the "Philosophy of Freedom". (No I am not an Anthroposophist!) Basically, Wilber tackles the problem of the unification of knowledge from an external perspective and clearly defines what he means by empiricism (observation/experiment) and knowledge (understanding of experience). These terms are not loosely equated as implied in the Kirkus review, far from it. Wilber also defines what he means by religion in a very precise manner, ie. religion is at its core, "direct mystical, transendental, meditative, contemplative, or yogic experiences". What else could it be? Virgin births or 'crossing the Red Sea' are unsubstantiated beliefs which have grown around religion. These myths may have symbolic meaning but they were not real events. The criticism that Wilber makes vague generalisations about the scientific method are unfounded and way of the mark. (Kirkus) He very precisely defines the scientific method as having three basic strands. To paraphrase him they are: experimental practice, collection of data and the confirmation or rejection of results. Again what else could it be? I don't recall Wilber stating that the deeply religous and deeply scientific feel a strong need to integrate science and religion (Charles Stout review) Wilber's view could not be termed manipulative by any stretch of the imagination as claimed. He asks only that science broaden its focus and religion identify its core essence. If this is done then the scientific method can be applied to an analysis of "inner experience". Phenomenological tests could then establish the consistency, or otherwise, of inner structures reported by subjects experienced in the art of meditation. The word science is derived from an old Latin word scire, meaning 'to know', and as Wilber states all knowledge is based on experience, whether inner or outer. There is no science apart from consciousness observers and sometimes this fact is easily forgotten. Consciousness, and what we call matter, are inextricably linked together and one cannot be reduced to the other. This, I believe, is the essence of Wilber's argument.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great & Accessible Intro to Wiber IV Integral Philosophy, August 18, 2004

By 

DOC BARHAM "COACH HOLLYWOOD" (LOS ANGELES, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion (Paperback)

Have you ever found a book that looked fairly interesting but completley blew you away instead? Where you finished the last page only to sit there in stunned silence thinking, "Holy...this is exactly what I've been looking for!" This was that book for me. After reading it the first time, I felt as if I should have discovered this slim volume in a dusty, darkened attic trunk like some long lost hidden treasure, rather than at a book store at O'Hare airport. It's the first book by Wilber I read, and since then I've devoured everything else of his I could get my hands on. Yes, it's that good.

'Sense & Soul' is a great place to take a quick dip in the deep blue ocean that is Wilber's Integral Philosophy. His grand idea is simple yet profound, and a Herculean undertaking: everybody's right (to a degree), so we'll gather the best of all knowledge, east and west, from both the past and today while discarding what doesn't work, and create something new and remarkable, an integral philosophy. The breadth and depth of his work to integrate the world's knowledge into a functional and coherent system is nothing short of staggering and delightful.

Wilber's vision expands and deepens while becoming more refined with each new book, and it is clear that what he is creating is a viable blueprint for a globally and spiritually aware future for this planet and it's inhabitants. 'Sense & Soul' is a beautifully clear glimpse of this vision. I can't recommend it highly enough.

From here I would move on to 'A Brief History Of Everything' and then perhaps tackle 'Sex, Ecology, Spirituality'. After that, you're on your own to cherry pick as you please.

The ideas contained within Ken Wilber's works are utterly transformative, but don't believe me, come see the future for yourself.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to Wilber, October 8, 2004

By 

Nicq MacDonald (Sioux Falls, SD United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion (Paperback)

Ken Wilber is quite possibly the most significant philosopher writing today. Yet his work is dense, academic, and difficult for those outside of academia or professional psychology to grasp.

With "The Marriage of Sense and Soul", Wilber writes a popular introduction to Integral thought, in which he outlines the basics of his philosophy- the "nest of being", interiors vs. exteriors, prerational/rational/transrational thinking, mystical states of consciousness, and the rest of the essentials of his philosophy. While there's still a lot of terminology to digest, and Wilber drops more than a few names that non-academics probably won't recognize, Wilber does manage to strip his philosophy down to a brief introduction that is far more elegant and feels like less of an abridgement than "A Brief History of Everything".

At the same time, I don't know if Wilber succeeds in pulling off the mission of the book- "Integrating Science and Religion." While Wilber does a fine job of defining science and the limits of science, his definition of religion throws out the very components of religion that are most relevant to the typical religious believer! He strips religion down to meditative contemplation, while rendering the other components of religion irrelevant to his model. Ultimately, his "integration" is only possible by redefining religion into his model. While Wilber's philosophy is powerful and coherent, (and hence I'm not ashamed to admit to being a "Wilberian") his explaining-away of religion makes the own purpose of his book impossible. You might as well ask Richard Dawkins (the famously atheistic evolutionary biologist) to write a book on the integration of science and religion- it would be just as unsatisfactory.

Despite this, however, the book does do an excellent job of presenting integral theory to a broader audience. As a companion volume, I'd recommend Robert Wright's "Nonzero" as another fine book on the integral vision.