How the World Can Be the Way It Is: An Inquiry for the New Millennium into Science, Philosophy, and Perception by Steve Hagen

How the World Can Be the Way It Is: An Inquiry for the New Millennium into Science, Philosophy, and Perception Reviews

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  Bob Couchenour

  Steve Hagan makes no secret of the influence of Zen Buddhism in his life from the very beginnng, and I was thus skeptical at first regarding what he might be presenting. But I was encouraged as I discovered explanations of scientific theories in the field of Quantum Physics, which I have some familiarity with, which expanded my understanding, as limited as that may be for any concerning Quantum Physics. These were brought into alignment with possibilities of "seeing" the world in a different light than what we have, for the most, been taught to "conceive". The necessity to "perceive" as opposed to "concieve" is stressed as fundamental to experiencing the "real" world, whether that which is "material" or that composed of "thought" or "spiritual".
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  Dale

  Hagen is a scientist at heart and by profession. That has always been clear in his writings. I have thoroughly enjoyed his later works, and wanted to back track to read this one. It's incredibly scientific and mathematical. At times I found it difficult to follow; this is a work that would benefit from multiple read throughs in order to fully grasp all that Hagen's trying to say. Or, one could just read Buddhism Plain and Simple and get the layman's version.
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  Dan

  Challenging, fascinating book about the fundamental element of existence -consciousness. I refrained from giving five stars, because the book was a bit opaque in places. Also, the author did not give much account to instinct and evolutionary theory.
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  Barbara Richardson

  The fractals section is powerful. I don't much like Hagen's set-up, as it's too intellectually driven to draw me in, but there's great material here. Worth reading.
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  Marcy Marisela

  The enlightenment is real..
  
  We're never called on to do what hurts. We just do what hurts out of ignorance and habit. Once we see what we're doing, we can stop.