George Gantz - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by George Gantz

Research paper thumbnail of Is there a spiritual significance to the number phi (φ)

The New philosophy, 2005

We know that numbers are important in the natural world and particularly in understanding the nat... more We know that numbers are important in the natural world and particularly in understanding the natural world through science. From the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg we learn that numbers are important in a spiritual sense as well. From beginning to end, the Word (Bible) is filled with numbers, and one of its books is so named. Swedenborg explains the significance of these numbers in many of his works. In the Apocalypse Explained (n. 336) he says that numbers or measures denote the quantity of a thing in the natural sense, and the quality of a thing in the spiritual sense. He also refers to the fact that numbers are used as a kind of language in the spiritual world, with each idea represented by a unique number, in a way that only those in the same heaven can understand. (Heaven and Hell, n. 263; Arcana Coelesta, n. 4495)

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Research paper thumbnail of A discussion of modern philosophy : The trend to naturalism, and swedenborg : A philosophy for the third millennium?

L'A. souligne l'actualite de la definition de la philosophie moderne etablie par Swedenbo... more L'A. souligne l'actualite de la definition de la philosophie moderne etablie par Swedenborg dans ses «Principia» en 1734, dans le contexte du conflit entre la science et l'Eglise herite de Descartes. Du rationalisme cartesien au raisonnement par analogie chez Swedenborg, l'A. caracterise la modernite philosophique par la tendance au naturalisme qui se manifeste a la fois en logique et en theologie.

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Research paper thumbnail of The Door That Has No Key

FQXi 2020 Essay Contest, 2020

There are many layers to our understanding of the world. There are things that are immediate to o... more There are many layers to our understanding of the world. There are things that are immediate to our senses, which we know (or think we know). There are models we construct to explain, and which correspond with, the physical world that we sense, observe and measure. There are mathematical concepts we imagine that can be seen to be true in-and-of-themselves. But, over the last century, advances in science and mathematics have revealed many things we would like to know that we do not. Some have been proven to be impossible to know. FQXi has asked us to explore these limits in our ability to understand the world. How are these limits related and what do they mean? This essay addresses that challenge by exploring features that the physical world and mathematics share with consciousness. Self-reference, entanglement and purposeful agency are key features of autonoetic (self-knowing) consciousness. They are also found in physical and mathematical systems and are manifest at the limits of knowledge that FQXi is exploring. These autonoetic features serve as gatekeepers limiting our understanding of the world we live in, but they also make living in this world so marvelously interesting and beautiful.

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Research paper thumbnail of Faith is Fundamental

FQXi Essay Contest, 2017

My essay this year is the fourth in a series, and it addresses two themes my earlier essays each ... more My essay this year is the fourth in a series, and it addresses two themes my earlier essays each touched upon in different ways. First, we need to recognize and accept the fact that a complete empirical description of physical reality is inaccessible to us as reflective participants inside that reality. Second, our perception and investigation of this physical reality through science rests on guiding principles constructed on faith. I highlight some of the shared beliefs that appropriately guide the scientific enterprise, and provide a specific critique of certain common articles of faith that I believe interfere with productive inquiry. My plea is for a broader and more open conversation about the articles of faith that provide the foundation for our understanding of the physical world. My hope is that by doing so we will invite a deeper humility and a greater capacity for the experience of wonder, joy, love, beauty and meaningful participation, including the full and enthusiastic pursuit of science, in this most marvelous world we live in.

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Research paper thumbnail of Thinking Beyond The Empirical Frontiers

Hard limits on the empirical frontier demand a reassessment of our obsession with material realit... more Hard limits on the empirical frontier demand a reassessment of our obsession with material reality. Understanding the world requires both empirical knowledge and an exploration of faith, which governs the far side of the empirical frontier. Complexity science points towards faith in a purposeful world guided by intentional, flowing love.

This paper was presented October 22, 2017, at the Science and Nonduality conference (SAND US 17) in San Jose, CA.

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Research paper thumbnail of The Empirical Standard for Knowing - Faith Misplaced

Humans have always sought to understand the world. Originally, understanding was derived from dir... more Humans have always sought to understand the world. Originally, understanding was derived from direct personal experience, intuition, imagination and shared cultural knowledge. In time, measurement and codification of regularities in nature added to human understanding. Natural philosophy (empirical science) became a key partner with human aspirations, leading to vast accumulations of physical goods and gratifications. As human economic progress exploded, particularly in the 20 th century, our culture became increasingly secular and materialist. Pathways to knowing other than the empirical are often viewed as outmoded and sometimes ridiculed. This shift fails to acknowledge the hard limits to empirical knowledge and the implicit tenets of faith that ground the empirical enterprise. We explore the limits in physics, complexity theory and mathematics, and conclude that the empirical tenets of faith contradict our shared personal experience and deny the obvious mystery and intentionality of the universe. A new symbiosis of spiritual and empirical inquiry as pathways to knowing is needed.

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Research paper thumbnail of The How and the Why of Emergence and Intention

This essay was submitted in the 2017 FQXi Essay Contest "Wandering Towards a Goal - How Do Mindle... more This essay was submitted in the 2017 FQXi Essay Contest "Wandering Towards a Goal - How Do Mindless Mathematical Laws Give Rise to Aims and Intentions." The essay critiques the speculations on the infinite multiverse and explores the significance for cosmology of findings from the science of complex dynamic systems. From the study of emergence, causation and intention, we learn that a universal field guides the emergent cascade to increasing complexity, to life and to sentient consciousness.

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Research paper thumbnail of Is there a Spiritual Significance to the number Phi (φ)

Numbers are important in the natural world and particularly in the sciences. The writings of Emm... more Numbers are important in the natural world and particularly in the sciences. The writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg also suggest that numbers have a unique spiritual significance, and he explains the meaning for selected numbers that appear throughout the bible. For example, the unitary one (1), refers to God - “God is One”. This paper explores the remarkable properties of the number phi (φ) from this perspective and concludes that φ reflects the infinite unfolding, through roots, fractions, or additions, of the number one itself. This suggests that φ may correspond spiritually to the act of Divine Creation. Indeed, φ is ubiquitous within nature in a wide variety of forms including the perfect spiral --- found in the nautilus shell, the trajectory of a falcon, the head of a sunflower or the arms of a spiral nebula. The perfect spiral offers a beautiful image of what Swedenborg refers to regeneration - the process by which each one of is able to move toward conjunction with the God.

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Research paper thumbnail of The Hole at the Center of Creation

FQXi Essay Contest, Spring 2015, Mar 15, 2015

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Research paper thumbnail of A Discussion of Modern Philosophy, the Trend to Naturalism, and Swedenborg

This paper, originally presented in January 2000 at the annual meeting of the Swedenborg Scientif... more This paper, originally presented in January 2000 at the annual meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, provides a critique of the the rise of naturalism in western philosophy and its implications for the science - religion debate. While naturalism began, in the works of Descartes, Hume and other, with skepticism and suspension of belief, its embrace of deductive methods caused it to become trapped in dogmatic rejection of all belief. Belief, and the drawing of inferences from experience, is critical to science as well as to life. This paper calls for an experimental approach to spiritual inquiry. First, suspend dis-belief in spiritual questions. Then treat belief experimentally. "A true theology works. It explains, it illuminates and it resonates with our own experience...." True belief also helps us lead better, more open and more fulfilling lives. The paper concludes with a series of quotes from the writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg.

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Research paper thumbnail of The Tip of the Spear

FQXi Essay Contest, Spring 2014, Apr 7, 2014

The evidence is clear – there is a new emergent phenomenon arising from the global integration of... more The evidence is clear – there is a new emergent phenomenon arising from the global integration of human knowledge and aspirations linked through advanced networks. As in each previous emergence of higher order from lower, the behaviors that evolve from the complex interaction of the individual components cannot be predicted. Can we influence the trajectory of this emergence in ways that benefit the individuals that comprise it and increase the probabilities of continued progress? In addition, can we prepare for the potentially rare but nevertheless real possibility of first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization? Yes, by drawing on evolutionary lessons to identify and promote collectively beneficial behaviors in our global institutions, including the institution of science. As human civilization continues to evolve, progress will be powered by knowledge, but we should arm “the tip of the spear” with the human empathic values of trust, humility, mutual respect and shared commitment: in a word, with love, in its most universal form.

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Research paper thumbnail of Is there a spiritual significance to the number phi (φ)

The New philosophy, 2005

We know that numbers are important in the natural world and particularly in understanding the nat... more We know that numbers are important in the natural world and particularly in understanding the natural world through science. From the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg we learn that numbers are important in a spiritual sense as well. From beginning to end, the Word (Bible) is filled with numbers, and one of its books is so named. Swedenborg explains the significance of these numbers in many of his works. In the Apocalypse Explained (n. 336) he says that numbers or measures denote the quantity of a thing in the natural sense, and the quality of a thing in the spiritual sense. He also refers to the fact that numbers are used as a kind of language in the spiritual world, with each idea represented by a unique number, in a way that only those in the same heaven can understand. (Heaven and Hell, n. 263; Arcana Coelesta, n. 4495)

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of A discussion of modern philosophy : The trend to naturalism, and swedenborg : A philosophy for the third millennium?

L'A. souligne l'actualite de la definition de la philosophie moderne etablie par Swedenbo... more L'A. souligne l'actualite de la definition de la philosophie moderne etablie par Swedenborg dans ses «Principia» en 1734, dans le contexte du conflit entre la science et l'Eglise herite de Descartes. Du rationalisme cartesien au raisonnement par analogie chez Swedenborg, l'A. caracterise la modernite philosophique par la tendance au naturalisme qui se manifeste a la fois en logique et en theologie.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Door That Has No Key

FQXi 2020 Essay Contest, 2020

There are many layers to our understanding of the world. There are things that are immediate to o... more There are many layers to our understanding of the world. There are things that are immediate to our senses, which we know (or think we know). There are models we construct to explain, and which correspond with, the physical world that we sense, observe and measure. There are mathematical concepts we imagine that can be seen to be true in-and-of-themselves. But, over the last century, advances in science and mathematics have revealed many things we would like to know that we do not. Some have been proven to be impossible to know. FQXi has asked us to explore these limits in our ability to understand the world. How are these limits related and what do they mean? This essay addresses that challenge by exploring features that the physical world and mathematics share with consciousness. Self-reference, entanglement and purposeful agency are key features of autonoetic (self-knowing) consciousness. They are also found in physical and mathematical systems and are manifest at the limits of knowledge that FQXi is exploring. These autonoetic features serve as gatekeepers limiting our understanding of the world we live in, but they also make living in this world so marvelously interesting and beautiful.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Faith is Fundamental

FQXi Essay Contest, 2017

My essay this year is the fourth in a series, and it addresses two themes my earlier essays each ... more My essay this year is the fourth in a series, and it addresses two themes my earlier essays each touched upon in different ways. First, we need to recognize and accept the fact that a complete empirical description of physical reality is inaccessible to us as reflective participants inside that reality. Second, our perception and investigation of this physical reality through science rests on guiding principles constructed on faith. I highlight some of the shared beliefs that appropriately guide the scientific enterprise, and provide a specific critique of certain common articles of faith that I believe interfere with productive inquiry. My plea is for a broader and more open conversation about the articles of faith that provide the foundation for our understanding of the physical world. My hope is that by doing so we will invite a deeper humility and a greater capacity for the experience of wonder, joy, love, beauty and meaningful participation, including the full and enthusiastic pursuit of science, in this most marvelous world we live in.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Thinking Beyond The Empirical Frontiers

Hard limits on the empirical frontier demand a reassessment of our obsession with material realit... more Hard limits on the empirical frontier demand a reassessment of our obsession with material reality. Understanding the world requires both empirical knowledge and an exploration of faith, which governs the far side of the empirical frontier. Complexity science points towards faith in a purposeful world guided by intentional, flowing love.

This paper was presented October 22, 2017, at the Science and Nonduality conference (SAND US 17) in San Jose, CA.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Empirical Standard for Knowing - Faith Misplaced

Humans have always sought to understand the world. Originally, understanding was derived from dir... more Humans have always sought to understand the world. Originally, understanding was derived from direct personal experience, intuition, imagination and shared cultural knowledge. In time, measurement and codification of regularities in nature added to human understanding. Natural philosophy (empirical science) became a key partner with human aspirations, leading to vast accumulations of physical goods and gratifications. As human economic progress exploded, particularly in the 20 th century, our culture became increasingly secular and materialist. Pathways to knowing other than the empirical are often viewed as outmoded and sometimes ridiculed. This shift fails to acknowledge the hard limits to empirical knowledge and the implicit tenets of faith that ground the empirical enterprise. We explore the limits in physics, complexity theory and mathematics, and conclude that the empirical tenets of faith contradict our shared personal experience and deny the obvious mystery and intentionality of the universe. A new symbiosis of spiritual and empirical inquiry as pathways to knowing is needed.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The How and the Why of Emergence and Intention

This essay was submitted in the 2017 FQXi Essay Contest "Wandering Towards a Goal - How Do Mindle... more This essay was submitted in the 2017 FQXi Essay Contest "Wandering Towards a Goal - How Do Mindless Mathematical Laws Give Rise to Aims and Intentions." The essay critiques the speculations on the infinite multiverse and explores the significance for cosmology of findings from the science of complex dynamic systems. From the study of emergence, causation and intention, we learn that a universal field guides the emergent cascade to increasing complexity, to life and to sentient consciousness.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of Is there a Spiritual Significance to the number Phi (φ)

Numbers are important in the natural world and particularly in the sciences. The writings of Emm... more Numbers are important in the natural world and particularly in the sciences. The writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg also suggest that numbers have a unique spiritual significance, and he explains the meaning for selected numbers that appear throughout the bible. For example, the unitary one (1), refers to God - “God is One”. This paper explores the remarkable properties of the number phi (φ) from this perspective and concludes that φ reflects the infinite unfolding, through roots, fractions, or additions, of the number one itself. This suggests that φ may correspond spiritually to the act of Divine Creation. Indeed, φ is ubiquitous within nature in a wide variety of forms including the perfect spiral --- found in the nautilus shell, the trajectory of a falcon, the head of a sunflower or the arms of a spiral nebula. The perfect spiral offers a beautiful image of what Swedenborg refers to regeneration - the process by which each one of is able to move toward conjunction with the God.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Hole at the Center of Creation

FQXi Essay Contest, Spring 2015, Mar 15, 2015

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of A Discussion of Modern Philosophy, the Trend to Naturalism, and Swedenborg

This paper, originally presented in January 2000 at the annual meeting of the Swedenborg Scientif... more This paper, originally presented in January 2000 at the annual meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, provides a critique of the the rise of naturalism in western philosophy and its implications for the science - religion debate. While naturalism began, in the works of Descartes, Hume and other, with skepticism and suspension of belief, its embrace of deductive methods caused it to become trapped in dogmatic rejection of all belief. Belief, and the drawing of inferences from experience, is critical to science as well as to life. This paper calls for an experimental approach to spiritual inquiry. First, suspend dis-belief in spiritual questions. Then treat belief experimentally. "A true theology works. It explains, it illuminates and it resonates with our own experience...." True belief also helps us lead better, more open and more fulfilling lives. The paper concludes with a series of quotes from the writings of Emmanuel Swedenborg.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact

Research paper thumbnail of The Tip of the Spear

FQXi Essay Contest, Spring 2014, Apr 7, 2014

The evidence is clear – there is a new emergent phenomenon arising from the global integration of... more The evidence is clear – there is a new emergent phenomenon arising from the global integration of human knowledge and aspirations linked through advanced networks. As in each previous emergence of higher order from lower, the behaviors that evolve from the complex interaction of the individual components cannot be predicted. Can we influence the trajectory of this emergence in ways that benefit the individuals that comprise it and increase the probabilities of continued progress? In addition, can we prepare for the potentially rare but nevertheless real possibility of first contact with an extraterrestrial civilization? Yes, by drawing on evolutionary lessons to identify and promote collectively beneficial behaviors in our global institutions, including the institution of science. As human civilization continues to evolve, progress will be powered by knowledge, but we should arm “the tip of the spear” with the human empathic values of trust, humility, mutual respect and shared commitment: in a word, with love, in its most universal form.

Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact