Science in Christian Perspective

Opposite Directions

VLADIMIR, VUKANOVIC

Department of Chemistry
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY 14623

From: PSCF 40 (June 1988): 84-90.

Two opposite general directions, towards life and towards death, can be seen in nature. Any particular  osed to different opposite forces. The general direction towards life progresses through rnany stages; at each stage, opposite forces create relative stability and the time necessary to advance to the next stage. The spiritual life of human beings is also exposed to opposites: good and evil. Human beings can achieve spiritual eternal life in love. For them, the end is not the victory Of only one direction, death, but both life and death.

Many renowned scientists, particularly physicists, have concluded that a deeper understanding of nature leads to a stronger religious conviction. "To the believer God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations," said Max Planck.¹ Nature reveals a harmonious arrangement, a coherence, which cannot come through blind chance. "The wonderful arrangement and harmony in the cosmos could only originate in the plan of an almighty and omniscient being," said I. Newton.^2,3 A. Einstein refers to "His-the profounder sort of scientific mind's-religious amazement at the harmony of natural law which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection."⁴

The coherence in nature is something which almost every great scientist sees and feels. An inductive way of thinking about natural phenomena is typical among physicists. Understanding that a great variety of phenomena are related to a small number of fundamental principles, understanding the simplicity, harmony and beauty of the ideas which rule nature, already has a religious significance.

Nature is comprehensible. "The incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible," said Einstein. With such an understanding, it is logical for many scientists to ask not only how nature is arranged, but also why; to go from physics to metaphysics. All the scientists mentioned above and many others, in different ways, have answered the question "why?" from a religious viewpoint. Some of them, a minority, like Weinberg, stuck to their probably atheistic guns: "The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless."¹⁶ But Weinberg did not deny that nature is comprehensible.

Todays direction in theoretical physics leans towards a unique picture of the universe. An attempt is being made-to combine the macro- and microcosmos, all forces, the whole universe and its every atom into one unique theory; an attempt that was previously made by Heisenberg and Einstein. In a unique picture of the universe, everything existing in space and time belongs to each other. Human beings are not only inhabitants of an insignificant piece of the universe which can be regarded separately from other pieces. They belong to the Earth and the universe, too.

The harmony and coherence in nature is not static. Everything changes. What is the direction of these changes and where do they lead?

It seems that there are two opposite general directions in nature. The second law of thermodynamics predicts a constant increase of entropy-if it is possible to apply the meaning of entropy to a system such as the universes degradation of energy, increase of disorder, and "heat death" of the universe. The probable end of all life in the universe is also predicted by today's cosmology, which forecasts either an ever-expanding universe or a turning point in its existing expansion and contraction. In either case, the conditions for any kind of life would not be possible.

However, scientific research discovers an orderly nature, not a chaotic one. Life is now blooming in many forms on Earth and the human population grows. Harmony in nature could not exist without the simultaneous pull of an opposite general direction leading to order and to life. This has been apparent since to beginning of creation, and many steps led towards conditions favourable to life on Earth. The evolution of life has manifested only one direction, towards increasing complexity.

God's creation of man has opened the door to the development of a spiritual life in love. Teilhard de Chardin (one of the reviews of Teilhard de Chardin is given in reference ¹⁷), W. Heitler,⁹ and others, have described this general direction. The concept of the changes in nature speaks of its teleological purpose.

Modern cosmology also concentrates on the question "why." Why is there coherence in nature? Why is there coherence between each remote part of physics? Many facts fit the answer: there is a principle in the universe which has combined and directed its properties and development from the very beginning towards life.^18-21 This principle is the so-called anthropic principle, if related to the life of human beings. Holmes Rolston III suggests the expression biogenic or psychogenic principle, relating generally to life of any kind in the universe.²¹ The general direction towards life in the universe is caused by an astonishing number of "coincidences." The anthropic principle indicates that these are not really coincidences at all, but that there is a sense deeper than blind chance.

Two opposite general directions, towards life and towards death, seem to have coexisted from the Big Bang until the present in the expanding universe. They advanced slowly, step by step, to their goals. Both processes, opposite in their meanings and goals, could have, at least for a period of time, the same time arrow. Similarly, the prospect for a child is a life full of creativity and love (and the possibility of eternal spiritual life in love) but, at the same time, physical death.

At any stage in the development of the universe, from the Big Bang to life and to human beings, the existence of different forces acting in opposite directions plays an important role." Any particular part of the universe-atomic nuclei, molecules, crystals, stars or the whole universe-was and is exposed to different processes acting in opposite directions. The existence of opposite processes should not only be understood in the sense of an ideal chemical equilibrium. Thermodynamics describes the equilibrium of an isolated system where only reversible processes occur, with a zero change in entropy. In reality, entropy production and a degree of irreversibility are always present. Still, the existence of processes which go in opposite directions gives some stability to any system. The change in equilibrium does not often occur too quickly.

However, there are cases when reactions practically to to completion. There are processes which develop very fast, for example, explosions. But in these cases also, an activation energy is necessary to start the process; it is necessary to have an appropriate temperature, pressure or volume. The absence of these conditions can stop the process. The process does not develop in a complete absence of forces which act in opposite directions.

A stone will disintegrate in a (long) period of time, under the influence of many stresses, into dust. The opposite process, the formation of the stone from dust, hardly ever occurs. Nevertheless, the stone was at one time somehow formed, and the forces which keep its atoms and molecules together resist the gradual increase of entropy for a long time. Entropy's victory is time-consuming; it is slowed down by the existence of forces which act in an opposite direction.

The atomic nuclei consist of positively charged protons and neutrons which are electrically neutral. (Protons and neutrons are also complex particles.) A repulsion electrical force exists between protons. The nuclei would explode without the simultaneous presence of the strong nuclear force which is an attraction force between all particles in the nuclei and which keeps particles together. The examples of forces which act in opposite directions are everywhere we look. The fullness and variety of phenomena in the universe, the temporary stability of different stages in its development and at each level of observation may be attributed to the existence of different processes which act in opposite directions. (Similar ideas are expressed by Hyers. ²²)

The root of the idea of opposite processes is in all the world's major religions and cultures; it is in Newton's law of mechanics, and in Heraclitus who wrote: "Opposition unites. From what draws apart results the most beautiful harmony. All things take place by strife."²³

General Direction towards Life: From Birth of the Universe to Creation of Mankind

Two ideas about the understanding of the development of the universe are interrelated. First, the universe is orderly and created in such a way as to bring life and human beings into existence, although predictions about the future existence of life are negative. Second, development of the universe occur through many different processes which acted in opposite directions. Here again are a few examples.

The basic features of the universe were determined by conditions existing immediately after the Big Bang. If the physical constants, the strength of the 
fundamental forces in nature, had been different by only a few percentage points, if the balance between opposite forces had been shifted a little in one direction, no form of life would probably exist. Even if we think about the possibility of life existing in      forms different from those we know, our imagination should have a limit. For example, the idea of life arising from groups of chemically inert helium atoms can hardly be imagined.

Even, if we think about the possibility Of life existing in forms different from those we know, our imagination should have a limit.

A balance existed between the expansion of the universe and gravitational attraction. Big Bang explosion adjusted this balance in such a way that the universe just escaped its own gravity. If the expansion rate had been faster, the formation of stars and galaxies, caused by gravity, could not have taken place. Matter would have been dispersed, unable to form into galaxies.¹⁹ If the expansion rate had been slower, the universe would have collapsed too quickly to allow for the development of stars such as the sun.

The beginning of the universe is described using the model of a fire-ball. In the early stage of the fire-ball, in about the first millisecond after the Big Bang, neutrons and protons came into existence. Neutrons and protons were transmitted into each other by reactions with other particles. The change of a particle from neutron to proton, and in the opposite direction, and the average ratio of protons to neutrons, could be described by the thermodynamic equilibrium." Because of the expansion and cooling of the universe, the thermodynamic equilibrium was destroyed, and at that moment the abundance ratio of protons to neutrons remained frozen. This ratio was important in the consequent formulation of helium nuclei and the establishment of the ratio between hydrogen and helium. In the fire-ball there existed 22-28% helium; the rest was almost all hydrogen. The material which existed in the fire-ball served as material for star formation. So, hydrogen was the primary fuel for nuclear fusion reactions in the stars, including the sun. if mostly helium had been used as an initial fuel, the stars would have had shorter lives. The life of the sun would probably not have been long enough to enable life on Earth to evolve.

When the stars and galaxies were formed, gravitational force was, as it is now, also balanced by centrifugal effects. Galaxies and clusters of galaxies orbiting around each other and rotating prevent a gravitational collapse.^18,19 Today's assumption is that a central black hole exists in the Milky Way, as in other galaxies. Stars, particularly those close to the black hole, must orbit very fast to escape gravitational collapse. The sun has an orbital velocity of about 900,000 km/hour in the Milky Way.²⁰

The relatively long, calm and stable period of stars results from the simultaneous action of opposite forces: gravitation and internal pressure, thermally generated, due to the nuclear reactions in the core. ^19,20,24,25 Thesun and solar system were formed about 4,500 million years ago, with atoms of previous stars existing as part of the collapsing gas. As the sun contracted, its core temperature rose, and this increase caused the ignition of nuclear fusion reactions of hydrogen in helium. This created so much energy that a balance with gravity contraction was achieved. But, after this relatively long, relatively stable period in the history of the sun, some 5,000 million years from now, all the hydrogen will be exhausted. Further contraction of the sun will further increase the core temperature, so that fusion reactions of helium nuclei will be ignited, and the energy thereby released will enlarge the sun's diameter. The sun will become a "red giant," perhaps engulfing the Earth. When all the helium has been used up as nuclear fuel, the sun will probably contract into a relatively small ball; a cold, dark "white dwarf."

The sun's system consists not only of hydrogen and helium, but also of other heavier elements, which didn't exist in the fire-ball. Where did these elements come from? These elements have been primarily formed by fusion processes in the stars. For stars heavier than the sun, a possible end is a supernova explosion. Fusion proceeds from hydrogen to helium, from helium to heavier elements, but in the end instabilities occur and an enormous inner pressure builds up, followed by an explosion.^19,20,24,25 The debris of exploded stars is then incorporated into a new star, formed by the gravitaional attraction of cosmic material. Such debris is the source of heavier elements in the new star. Without the previous explosion of stars, our solar system consisting of a variety of elements could not be formed, so life could not exist.

In the actions of different opposite forces the life of the universe has been long enough for the formation of the sun system with its heavier elements. The duration of the sun's relatively stable period has been long enough for life to evolve on Earth. The sun, for millions of years, has radiated just the right amount of energy to Earth. The evolution of life proceeded in only one direction: from the simple to the more complex; and nothing in the universe is known to be as complex as a human being.

There is an enormous difference between living and dead matter. Live beings are capable of reproduction. Life belongs to unity. By separating the parts of this unity, up to a certain limit, matter is still there, but not life. Life is not only a simple cluster of separate parts. In a broader sense, as previously mentioned, the universe itself is not only a cluster of separate parts. A plant has vegetative life. Roots and leaves have their role in the plant's life, but separated, they do not represent the plant. The plant has a direction and cycles of development. The form of the plant, the symmetry, the beauty, are coded in the DNA molecules.

The life of animals is more complex than that of plants. Senses are developed. The circle of interaction between animals and their surroundings is much wider because of their mobility. The ability to communicate with other live beings is much greater. Some species have a fascinating sense of organization. Animals feel joy and sorrow; they have some intelligence. Instinct and learning mostly determine animal behaviour still, between animals, individuality can be expressed.

Humans can make a moral choice, distinguish between 
good and evil, are capable of conscience.

Human beings differ totally from anything else known in nature. They are not "developed animals." Evolution affects physical qualities, but it is the spiritual quality which sets the man or woman apart from other live beings. Humans can make a moral choice, distinguish between good and evil, are capable of conscience. They have free will, they can speak, they have a soul. As the Persian poet wrote: "God sleeps in the mineral, dreams in the vegetable, stirs in the animal, and awakens in the man."²⁶

The time arrow described by evolution is directed to the more perfect, more developed. Evidently, this direction is opposite to the extinction of live beings. However, the extinction of species, the death of individuals, caused by natural conditions or the process of aging, occurs all the time. Evolution occurred as a result of opposites: life and death. The general direction towards life, towards the more complex, the more developed, progresses in a constant balance of the life and death of many individuals.

No proclamation about love has a sense, and no virtue 
has value, if love is absent from the heart.

The general direction towards life started from the Big Bang and progressed through many stages of non-alive and alive matter. The phenomena at each stage are different; what is common seems to be the existence of opposite processes.

The idea of opposite processes can contribute to understanding how the development towards life and to human beings occurred from the creation of the universe, but without accepting the idea of guidance in this development real understanding is missing. From the Big Bang to the evolution of humanity, we can take no credit for this general direction towards life; we can only be aware of it and thank God for it.

There is no doubt that today's scientific knowledge is imperfect. Still, its development has brought, and continues to bring, an awareness of nature as something meaningful.²⁷ The difference between a scientific and a religious description of the world often seems to be largely semantic.

It would be incorrect to say that a religious description is a supernatural one, while the scientific is a natural one. God's actions can be seen in the laws of nature. Why would God, who created natural laws, violate them except for special reasons such as love or pity? Bube used the words "the normal mode" for God's activity in natural processes and the "unusual mode" for miracles.¹⁵ Science tries to discover scientific laws. F. Dessauer said: "The discovery of natural law is a meeting with God.⁶ The relationship between matter and natural law is described by Heitler: "Natural law is something spiritual. The law permeates matter. Human beings understand the law, but did not create it."⁹

The creation of the universe, of human life, is God's creation. A scientific description of phenomena in nature could be interpreted as an attempt towards understanding God's arrangement of the world.

Human Beings

Are human beings so special that their destiny may be discussed in the framework of the whole universe? What a beautiful blue-white planet we have, said the astronauts approaching Earth. But physically, what is planet Earth in the universe? It is a part of the sun's system, and the sun is one of the billions of stars. Earth is not the center of the universe. A center of the universe does not exist.

However, the human capacity to understand the size and position of the Earth in the universe reveals a remarkable quality of the human mind. Thanks to experiments and developed theories, human beings can travel mentally through space and time. They can understand that the wonderful arrangement of the universe, the variety of phenomena and beings born in the superimposition of opposite forces, the existing general direction towards life, clearly speaks of sense in nature.

Perhaps God created, or will create, life somewhere else in the universe, not only upon the Earth. There is now, apparently, no life elsewhere in our solar system. Assuming that the known laws of chemistry and physics are valid everywhere in the universe, there are many stars and planets upon which no life could exist; either the temperature is too high, too low, or other reasons forbid it. Earth has a solid crust; most material in the universe is in the form of gas clouds or plasma balls. Earth orbits around a star which has now been stable for a long time. Still, there could be millions of planets upon which life could develop. At the very least, Earth belongs to a group of bodies upon which life exists in the universe.

Even more important than man's capacity to understand in some way the structure of the universe is his or her ability to feel love and compassion towards others. The importance of anything in the universe cannot be measured only by size and mass. Theoretically, it is possible to imagine a universe without life. This means a mindless universe unable to register its existence, a universe without compassion and love. But would the existence of such a universe have any sense? The question of purpose can be related to mind, and even more to love. The existence of a purpose of the universe can be seen in its arrangement.

True, human beings commit dreadful and terrible acts. They have many reasons to be very humble. At the same time, they have reason to be aware of their potential values. Christians have a particular reason to believe in their potential values, because of the life of Jesus Christ on Earth. An awareness of the difference between potential value and reality is one important reason for humility.

Success in one direction is not possible without the 
existence of its opposite.

The path of the general direction towards life, existing from the Big Bang to the creation of human beings, is directed now to greater spirituality, to love. By contributing to goodness in the world, men could be God's collaborators.²⁷ Love is what gives value to the lives of human beings. "God is love" (I John 4:8,16). The creation of nature and humanity, the coming of Christ to Earth, was all because of love. "Love never ends" (I Corinthians 13:8). Human beings may only approach God with love in their hearts. We should not look upon love as an abstract principle, but as a practical code of life. No proclamation about love has a sense, and no virtue has a value, if love is absent from the heart. The world in which human beings are living is not perfect, but they can make it better. They have to take responsibility for all the evil in the world (Dostoyevski). 

However, men and women may follow different directions. They may contribute to the general direction towards death; they may destroy life, or have hate in their hearts. They may be cold, egotistic, or totally indifferent to the needs of their brothers and sisters in whatever society they live. 

In the world of different and opposite directions between good and evil, human beings have the opportunity to choose love. If the negative opposite did not exist, there would be no real achievement, no individuality, no free will. Success in one direction is not possible without the existence of its opposite. Achievement requires effort. Whichever direction a human being chooses, he or she will meet some kind of resistance, as it is in all processes in nature. 

Today's scientific view indicates that life will very probably end at some point in the future; meaning life in its material form, not in its spiritual sense. If the universe were to expand forever, individual stars would complete their cycles and "die." They would explode or become cold, white dwarfs or neutron stars, with a diameter smaller than that of white dwarfs, or collapse into black holes. The orbital velocities of stars in the galaxies would slow down, and entire galaxies would collapse into black holes. The matter escaping black holes would be extremely cold and dark, and the density of matter in the universe would be very small. Eventually, the black holes would evaporate away." If the universe were to contract in the future, the density of matter would increase and perhaps a fire-ball would again be formed. No form of life, no molecules could exist. The universe, perhaps, would not repeat itself.

Even the theory of an oscillating universe, appealing to those who lean towards atheism, does not seem probable according to today's science. ¹⁶ Given this theory, the universe is going through an infinite number of cycles of expansion, contraction, Big Bang and new expansion. Theoretical considerations predict that, for such an oscillating universe, the entropy per nuclear particle (ratio of the number of photons to the number of nuclear particles) would rise in every cycle. If our universe were the consequence of infinite pre-existing cycles, the entropy per nuclear particle would be infinite; this does not correspond to the facts.

Life and death are opposites, coupled around the question of human existence. The positive answer to this question is the eternal spiritual life, love, based upon Christ's resurrection.

Every living being, including humankind, has a beginning, a period of development, and death. A similarity exists, it seems, between each individual life, each star, and perhaps the entire universe. With every birth, the possibility of development exists, along with the certainty of death. The future existence of human beings is not necessarily related to the planet Earth, but evidently to the future of the universe.

Is death the answer to all that happens in the universe? This hardly seems logical. Why then the coherence and the harmony? Why the existing general direction towards life in nature? Nature does not talk only about dying, but also about living. Life does not mean only the variety and perfection of living organisms; it also means development of spirituality. Life and death are opposites, coupled around the question of human existence. The positive answer to this question is the eternal spiritual life, love, based upon Christ's resurrection. This is also, at least partly, the answer to the question of the purpose of the universe. Whether this is the only purpose, we don't know.

Everything in nature is related to a polarity, everything is exposed to different opposite forces in each particular system, and to two opposite general directions, life and death. What will be the end result: the victory of life, or of death, or both? It could be the victory of both: material death and spiritual life in love. In this case, the ultimate end is characterized by an ultimate polarity. Another way of expressing the idea of ultimate polarity lies in the Christian belief in the eternal reward or eternal punishment of all men and women.

End Remarks

To summarize, everything in nature is exposed simultaneously to processes going in opposite directions. Opposite directions could cause a relatively slow development of any system, if compared to a system in which only one direction would strongly prevail. Opposite processes cause a greater variety of phenomena than a one-direction system would dictate. Two general directions, towards life and towards death, have existed from the creation of the universe. The general direction towards life progresses in many stages for both non-alive and alive matter. The action of opposite processes at each stage makes the development of its succeeding one possible. The general direction towards life may lead towards eternal spiritual life in love. Today's science predicts that material life in any form will eventually cease in the universe. Hence, two general directions lead to ultimate polarity, to the fulfillment of opposites: life and death. 

1 believe in the eternal, spiritual life, in love which never ends. I do not have such complete faith in today's scientific predictions, for they may be contradicted or superceded tomorrow. It is still intriguing how this idea about opposite processes permeates scientific and religious views of the world. Predictions of the end of the material world and the existence of a spiritual world are in the Bible and in the literature of other religions.

©1988

REFERENCES

¹. Max Planck, Religion and Naturwissenschaft, Johann Ambrosius Veriag, Leipzig, XIV Auflage, 1958.

². Ernst Frankenberger, Gottbekenntnisse grosser Naturforscher, Johannes Verlag, Leutesdorf am Rhein, Zweite Auflage 1969.

³. Hubert Muschalek, Gottbekentnisse Moderner Naturforscher, Morus Verlag, Berlin, Vierte Auflage 1964.

⁴. Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions, Bonanza Books, 1954.

⁵. Edgar Hunger, Von Denwkrit his Heisenberg, Friedrich Viewig and Braunschweig, 4. Auflage 1964.

⁶. Friedrich Dessauer, Religion im Lichte der Heutigen Veriag Josef Knecht, Frankfurt am Main, Vierte Auflage 1956.

⁷. Michael Pupin, From Immigrant to Inventor, Charles Scribner's SOUA. New York, 1922. 

⁸Erwin Schrodinger, "Mind and Matter," The Tarner Lectures delivered at Trinity College, Cambridge, 1956, in "what is Life? Mind and matter", Cambridge University Press, 1977.

⁹. Walter Heitler, Der Mensch und the Naturwissenschaftlkhe Erkenninis, Friedrich Vieweg and Sohn, Braunschweig 1970. Walter Heitler, Naturphilosophische Streifzilge, Friedrich Vieweg and Sohn, Braunschweig 1970. Walter Heitler, Die Natur und das Gbttliche, Verlag Kiett und Balmer, Zug 1975. Walter Heitler, "Stufen der Belegung und der Unverwesliche Leib," in Dk Befreiung corn Wissenschaftlichen Glauben, Herderbiicherei 1973.

¹⁰. Pascual Jordon, Der Naturwissewchaftlevor der Religiosen Frage, Stalling, Oldenrburg, Hamburg, 1972.

¹¹. C.F. von Weizsacker,  Tragvmite der Wissenschaft, S. Hirzel Verlag, Stuttgart, 1966. C. F. von Weizsacker, Zum Weltbild der Physik, S. Hitzel Verlag, Stuttgart. Elfte Ausgabe, 1970.

¹². Werner Heisenberg, "Physics and Beyond," Chapter 17 in Positivism, Metaphysics and Religion, Harper Torchbooks, 1972.

¹³. Henry Margenau, The Miracle of Existence, New Science Library, Shambbala, Boston and London, 1984. Henry Margenau, "Modern Physics and the Turn to Belief in God," in The Intellectuals Speak Out About God, edited by Roy Abraham Varhese, Gateway Edition, 1984.

¹⁴. R.L.F. Boyd, "The Space Science," in Horizons of Science, edited by Carl F. H. Henry, Harper and Row, 1977.

^15. Richard Bube, "The Failure of the God-of-the-Gaps," in Horizons of Science, edited by Carl F.H. Henry, Harper and Row, 1977.

¹⁶. Steven Weinberg, The First Three Minutes, Bantam Books, 6th ed., 1984.

¹⁷. R. Wayne Kraft, A Reason to Hope: A Synthesis of Teilhard de Chardin's Vision and Systerm Thinking, Intersystems, 1983.

¹⁸. W. Jim Neidhardt, "The Anthropic Principle: A Religious Response," Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, 36(4):201 (1984).

¹⁹. Paul Davies, Superforce, Simon and Schuster, 1984. Paul Davies, The Accidental Unitwse, Cambridge University Press, 1982. Paul Davies, God and the New Physics, J.M. Dent and Sons, 1983.

²⁰. John Gribbin, Genesis, Delta, Eleanor Friede, 1982.

²¹. Holmes Rolston 111, Science and Religion, Random House, 1987.

²². Conrad Hyers, The Meaning of Creation, John Knox Press, 1984.

²³. T.V. Smith, Philosophers Speak for Themseltws, The University of Chicago Press, 1942.

²⁴. Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers, Warner Books, 1978. Robert Jastrow, "The Astronomer and God," in The Intellectuals Speak Out About God, edited by Roy Abraham Varghese, Gateway Edition, 1984.

²⁵. George Gamov, One Two Three ... Infinity, Bantam Books, 1961.

²⁶. John Templeton, The Humble Approach, The Seabury Press, 1981.

^27. Enrico Cantore, Scientific Man, ISH Publications, New York, 1977. Enrico Cantore, "Science as an Experience of the Absolute: Religions and Moral Implication of Research," Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on the Unity of Science, San Francisco 1977. Reprinted from The Search for Absolute Values in a Changing World, The intemational Cultural Foundation, Inc., 1978.