ULTIMATE REALITY

The author appears to be a largely self-taught polymath who has amassed considerable scientific knowledge and who has then sat back to contemplate the pattern and meaning of reality with an informed, fresh and open mind. He takes the evolution of life as his central theme. He sees a guiding principle behind the fantastically improbable chances of molecules linking up to make proteins, proteins to make cells, and cells in turn to make life. The force behind biological evolution he terms the "cosmic grain" of reality and that explains not only life on this planet, but the whole cosmos, universe upon universe. This is a more intelligent version of "Intelligent Design" than most. The problem about re-inventing the wheel is that those who got there first have gone to worry about spokes, pneumatic tyres and the right suspension to fit it on to a moving vehicle. This vision of reality was proclaimed in the 20th century by Sri Aurobindo and Teilhard de Chardin and goes back to Plotinus and the Upanishads. How might mankind contact the "cosmic grain"? Ken Moseley's answer is brain surgery, but surely the way to that which is inward, is inward. The whole tradition of mysticism East and West is the history of that attempt. This in turn raises deeper questions. If the "cosmic grain" guides evolution, it is a power of conscious awareness greater than ours. What then is its attitude towards us as individuals, and what is the answer to the problem of evil and suffering ? One admires Ken Moseley's attempt to think for himself about the deepest metaphysical questions, but Mt. Everest cannot be climbed by the single unaided climber. The same applies to the pursuit of truth.