Subjective and Objective Knowledge

In our modern scientific era, we don’t pay much attention to “subjective” knowledge; instead we prefer “objective” knowledge. That is knowledge that is fact based and empirically verifiable. If we can’t demonstrate a concept’s validity objectively, then how can we accept it. If we accepted anything anyone thought was true, based only on their own subjective biases, it would lead to chaos.

The Importance of Objective Knowledge

So scientific and objective knowledge with its focus on reason and empirical evidence is important. This was a major contribution of the modern age. We see the dangers of unsupported ideas in our modern world today.

Many propound unsupported ideas like the 2020 election was stolen despite those who believe this, losing all 60 cases in various courts where Republican and Democratic nominated judges, ruled against their lawsuits.

Or the insanity of not raising the debt ceiling. People mistakenly think this is about debt we will incur from future spending, but it’s not. It’s about paying off the debt we have already accumulated. Not paying it off would be akin to telling our bank that we now have too much debt, so will no longer be sending in our mortgage payments.

Also, not raising the debt ceiling, can potentially bring down, not only the U.S. economy, but also the world economy. Nobody in their right minds would advocate that, yet that is exactly what is being called for by not raising the debt ceiling.

In fact, so much of our political discourse today involves people claiming things that are demonstrably false, and what’s worse, they refuse to look at any evidence that contradicts their beliefs.

So, objective knowledge and its standards of proof are important. However, we shouldn’t completely throw the baby out with the bath water when it comes to subjective knowledge.

Two Levels of Subjective Knowledge 

Subjective “knowledge” has two levels. The lowest level is the one I just mentioned. It is the belief (not really knowledge) someone holds that has no rational or factual support. It’s a belief someone holds just because they want to. Somehow it is subjectively satisfying for them to believe this, and they refuse to give it up.

These ideas are like comfort food. They are unhealthy, but comfortable because they connect us to other people and give us the illusion of belonging to something bigger than ourselves. I say, illusion, because these ideas are grounded in quick sand. Eventually, they will sink us, both individually and collectively.

The higher level of subjective knowledge is the “mystical  or unitive experience. Here one has an experience of a higher reality or God. It is a unitive experience because we experience our inter-connectivity with everything. We feel a part of the whole thing. This experience is different than the one just mentioned above because it is based in reality and not fantasy.

The Importance of Subjective Knowledge

I call this the higher level of subjective knowledge because it is beyond the scope of reason and science. Ideas like consciousness, soul or God  are not tangible or measurable so fall outside the scope of scientific investigation. In my last article, I went over the problems of trying to prove God’s existence using reason. I used Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, himself a Christian existentialist, to debunk this notion.

Science and reason are very good at handling the known, but not so good at handling the unknown. Kierkegaard asked, how does one reason about the unknown, about nothingness? Reason needs something to reason about, but with nothingness, there is no starting point.

Science Dismisses Subjective Knowledge

This is why modern scientists and philosophers dismiss those kinds of intangible concepts outright. Instead, they could just adopt a hands off attitude toward them, leaving their reality a mystery for others to explore. But the fact they don’t shows their bias toward the “material” world, which we now know is not material at all.

 Mystical Experiences

This is where the notion of “mystical experiences” enters the picture. As I said, a mystical experiences is a direct experience with a higher order of reality or God. Often one comes away from such an experience with new truths and views of reality. People undergoing these “subjective” experiences report them as real. Anyone who has had such an experience can testify to that. They usually report that these experiences are more real than their everyday conscious experiences.

What is Subjective Proof?

Of course modern scientists and philosophers will dismiss these experiences using a variety of reasons. The biggest criticism is they are not verifiable. We can’t prove these experiences in any objective manner, but that doesn’t make them any less real.

I can’t prove to someone I have a headache, but that doesn’t make my headache less real. Most people will accept this claim because everybody has experienced headaches.

Unfortunately, most of us haven’t had a mystical experience, so it is harder for us to believe in them. However, for those who have had these experiences, it’s easier to believe in their reality.

I guess we could call that subjective proof; you have to prove it for yourself. Of course a person can lie about having such an experience, but even if they are, that doesn’t negate the experience in general. Just like someone doing bad science doesn’t negate science.

These mystical experiences connect us to the oneness of everything. It’s not a rational or physically tangible experience, but an inner one. It is the kind of experience we need to be cultivating more in our fractured world.

Everywhere we look we see factions, sub-factions, and even sub-sub-factions beyond that. The problem is most people are ego driven, and the problem with the ego is it separates us from everyone and everything. So even if we belong to a group of like-minded individuals working together for a particular cause, we will find ourselves sub-dividing into factions within that group, and maybe even into sub-sub-factions within that sub-group. That process  goes on and on.

The Need for Unitive Experiences

If more people had these “unitive” psychological experiences where they experience their interrelatedness with everything, wouldn’t that help us to set aside our ego for the good of the whole? Even if one didn’t believe in the reality of such an experience, wouldn’t they at least see that those who had these experiences were much more relaxed and less ego-driven, and therefore more likely to find common ground?

In short, why not focus on helping people acquire these states of mind. The payoff would be enormous. This is especially needed in this day and age of climate change and war. Living in our own little worlds, we have lost our connection to the Earth and each other.

We need a new army of peace makers coming at these issues from a higher consciousness and calling on people to put aside their differences for the good of the planet and humanity.

These integrating experiences also open people’s hearts to compassion and care for the other. This is in contrast to the sectarian views that see the other as the enemy. If we can access our higher nature, then we can call other people to their higher natures. It is the only way we can solve our many problems, almost all caused by our egoic or tribal-based consciousness.

IPCC Report Issues a “Final Warning”

The latest IPCC report on climate change, just out, gives us a “Final Warning”, telling us that we aren’t doing nearly enough to stave off the worst effects of climate change. The report tells us we need to wake up now to this developing catastrophe or we will witness the continuing mass extinction of life on this planet, including our own.

Is our self-hatred, our ego obsession so great that we are willing to commit mass suicide rather than face our dark side?

This is the final countdown. How bad does it have to get before we wake up from our slumber? Yes, we need more “woke” people. If we say we love our children and grandchildren, can we honestly continue to ignore these existential threats? The clock is ticking.

Introducing more and more people to these unitive experiences is the only way to raise the consciousness level soon enough to stave off disaster. So, cultivate your own subjective knowing through your own transformative experiences. We are so much more than we think we are.

To learn more about the Intelligence and Magic of the Universe: Click this link: The Magical Universe.