Prof. Gomatam, Visiting Professor, Indian Council for Philosophical Research (ICPR) gave a talk at University of Delhi. The talk was organized and sponsored by ICPR
Western science claims a full, unswerving commitment to empiricism, the demand that all appeals to knowledge must be grounded in verifiable consequences in sense experiences, also called outer
experiences. Upon this view point, knowledge claims from traditions based on revealed knowledge or trans-sensory meditative experiences, as found in various religious traditions, are treated as not
scientific and discounted as metaphysics, or worse (irrational belief, etc.)
He argued that even physics, the most fundamental of empirical sciences, is at present only semi- empirical because of reducing the observations (which are our experiences) to objective events in
the external world via naïve realism (NR). But, NR has decisively failed in physics at the macro level with quantum mechanics, as shown by the famous ‘cat paradox’. Yet, Quantum Mechanics (QM) has historically progressed by treating the macro world as classical by retaining NR, and limiting QM to the micro regime. The famed quantum measurement problem is a direct result of this.
The various tenets of Gaudiya Vaishnava Vedanta (GVV) as elucidated by Sri Caitanya 500 years ago, show how NR can be avoided and a full empiricism is possible even from the transcendental Vedic viewpoint, and it has contemporary, scientific relevance. In particular, these tenets of GVV in particular point at a cogent resolution of the quantum measurement problem.
A few selected feedback from the audience:
“An excellent, profound and interesting talk!”
Prof H. S. Prasad
HOD, Department of Philosophy, University of Delhi
“A very informative and thought provoking talk. Prof. Gomatam’s ideas paved a way for looking
science from a new perspective and his views on quantum mechanics and Vedic empiricism were
quite enlightening.”
Dr. Ayesha Gautam
Dept. of Philosophy, University of Delhi
“A very enlightening and interesting talk throwing up many thoughts for scholars/thinkers to ponder
on taking us into depths of fundament scientific and philosophical concepts. Thanks”
Prof. Shashi Motilal
Dept. of Philosophy, University of Delhi