9^th International Conference

Science and Scientist 2021:

Difference between Artificial and Natural Intelligence

Autonomous cars would be an example of artificial intelligence in practical use. But such cars still have many problems, although they were promised years ago. The responsibility for any accidents in such cars is not held to be the computers, or the programmers, but the intelligent drivers. Computers are not considered responsible agents. The fact that decision making can be computerized does not mean that legal judgements (determinations) can be made on the basis of artificial intelligent computers. No one would consider that today. These limitations are important factors to consider in discussing the hype that now surrounds artificial intelligence and the way we think about it. A deeper understanding of what we mean by human intelligence is necessary. Especially noted in the area of scriptural study, the human form of life is considered unique in awakening to one’s spiritual nature. This is a philosophical issue requiring thoughtful inquiry, and a religious matter involving meditation. Neither of these activities can be performed by computers. They are hardly performed by the average human intelligence, although these are their most unique and important abilities as a human.

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7th International Conference
Science and Scientist 2019:
Understanding the Source and Nature of Consciousness and Life

The concept of the subjective evolution of consciousness, as contrasted with the
objective evolution of bodies propounded in Darwin’s hypothesis and other similar
narratives of physical/material nature, is a fundamental idea in the whole Vedic
system of knowledge. The spiritual/sentient dimension of Man and its significance in
Nature is rather ignored and/or neglected in a science based merely upon bodily or
physical considerations. However, the most current biological research of the 21st
Century demonstrates that the mechanical and chemical laws of physical bodies
cannot account for the sentient behavior that is characteristic of living organisms
even at the sub-cellular bio-chemical level. This calls for a re-examination of the
older systems of knowledge that ground their scientific knowledge on a
sentient/spiritual foundation and how that is related to matter or the material
world.

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Service to the Lord’s devotee is not a trifling matter—

Some people take shelter in the path of action (karma) while others take shelter in the path of knowledge (jnan). But as far as we are concerned, we have chosen the sandals of the servants of Lord Hari as the only refuge.

– Sri Desika Acharya

[from Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Dev-goswami Maharaja, Sri Prapanna Jivanamrtam 3.14]

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Devotional service rendered to the devotee bestows the highest fruit –

“O Supreme Lord of all beings, O slayer of the demons Madhu and Kaitabha, this is the purpose of my life, this is my prayer, and this is Your grace – that You will remember me as Your servant, a servant of a servant of a Vaisnava, a servant of a servant of such a servant of a servant of a Vaisnava, and a servant of a servant of the servant of a servant of a Vaisnava’s servant’s servant.” – Sri Kulasekhara

[from Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar, Sri Prapanna Jivanamrtam 3.13]

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Unity of Thought and Empirical Knowledge
by Bhakti Madhava Puri, Ph. D.
December 20, 2020

8th International Conference
Science and Scientist 2020:
Understanding the Subject/Object, Mind/Body Unity

Albert Einstein: “But before mankind could be ripe for a science which takes in the whole of reality, a second fundamental truth was needed, which only became common property among philosophers with the advent of Kepler and Galileo. Pure logical thinking cannot yield us any knowledge of the empirical world; all knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it. Propositions arrived at by purely logical means are completely empty as regards reality. Because Galileo saw this, and particularly because he drummed it into the scientific world, he is the father of modern physics — indeed, of modern science altogether.”

This article will show the duality between logical thinking and experience, held in common by Einstein [in the quote above] and most modern scientists, is a misconception that has led to severe consequences for arriving at a proper scientific conception of reality. The problem is this: while logical thinking is obviously involed in systematizing experiences, the details of that thinking are not included in the final result or truths of empirical observation. The term ‘result’ always implies the presumption of a process for arriving at it, and is thus a necessary part of it.

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