Physics Catches Up With the Ancient Rishis, "Wholeness and the Implicate Order," by David Bohm

Why Read It

David Bohm’s “Wholeness and the Implicate Order” is a significant read for those interested in the Perennial Philosophy due to its integration of science and philosophy, offering a perspective that harmonizes mind and matter, or the spiritual and the physical. Bohm is widely considered one of the most influential theoretical physicists of the 20th century. He earned his Phd. under Oppenheimer at UC-Berkley, and had a long-standing intellectual relationship with Einstein. Bohm also had a 25-year public dialogue with Krishnamurti on the nature of consciousness and reality.

Like Einstein, Bohm did not completely buy in to the mid-20th century mainstream scientific view that quantum mechanics had resolved all of our questions regarding the nature of reality. Bohm held the intuitive belief there was a deeper underlying layer of reality that would ultimately explain quantum phenomena, something akin to a universal field.

Bohm’s theory proposes a more holistic view where consciousness and matter are deeply interconnected aspects of a single, undivided reality, echoing the Perennial Philosophy’s emphasis on essential unity and wholeness beyond physical appearances. By challenging conventional materialistic views and suggesting a holistic universe, Bohm’s insights provide a scientific foundation that complements and enriches the spiritual wisdom at the heart of the Perennial Philosophy, making it a valuable resource for those seeking a more profound understanding of the interconnectedness of all things.

Overview

“Wholeness and the Implicate Order” presents a revolutionary view of the universe and reality, challenging conventional notions of fragmentation and separation. Bohm introduces the concept of the implicate order, a deep, underlying reality where everything is fundamentally interconnected and enfolded into everything else. This stands in contrast to the explicate order, our perceived reality of discrete, separate objects and events.

Bohm’s theory transcends traditional physics, suggesting that the entire universe is in a state of constant flux and that particles are not individual entities but rather extensions of the same fundamental something. He extends this theory to consciousness, proposing that thought and matter are not distinct but interconnected aspects of the same reality. Bohm’s work represents a significant philosophical shift, offering a holistic framework that integrates physics, consciousness, and the nature of reality, and challenges the fragmentation in thought and society.

Key Takeaways

Implicate and Explicate Orders: Bohm introduces the concept of the implicate order, a deep, underlying reality where everything is fundamentally interconnected and enfolded. This contrasts with the explicate order, which is the reality of separate objects and events we perceive in our daily lives.
Challenge to Fragmentation: Bohm criticizes the tendency in thought and society to fragment the world into separate parts, arguing that this fragmentation is artificial and contrasts sharply with the undivided wholeness of the world as indicated by quantum theory.
Language and Thought: He also explores the role of language and thought in shaping our perception of reality, suggesting that our conventional modes of thinking and communication might limit our understanding of the implicate order.
Role of Consciousness: The book delves into the relationship between consciousness and matter, proposing that consciousness is not a mere byproduct of physical processes but is fundamentally linked to the very fabric of reality.
Philosophical Implications: Bohm discusses the philosophical implications of quantum physics, particularly how his theory might bridge the gap between science and aspects of philosophy and spirituality, suggesting a unified view of physical and mental phenomena.

"Quotes"

~ “Some might say: ‘Fragmentation of cities, religions, political systems, conflict in the form of wars, general violence, fratricide, etc. are the reality. Wholeness is only an ideal, toward which we should perhaps strive.’ But this is not what is being said here. Rather, what should be said is that wholeness is what is real, and that fragmentation is the response of this whole to man’s action, guided by illusory perception, which is shaped by fragmentary thought. In other words, it is just because reality is whole that man, with his fragmentary approach, will inevitably be answered with a correspondingly fragmentary response. So what is needed is for man to give attention to his habit of fragmentary thought, to be aware of it, and thus to bring it to an end. Man’s approach to reality may then be whole, and so the response will be whole.”

~ “The new form of insight can perhaps best be called Undivided Wholeness in Flowing Movement. This view implies that flow is, in some sense, prior to that of the ‘things’ that can be seen to form and dissolve in this flow. One can perhaps illustrate what is meant here by considering the ‘stream of consciousness.’ This flux of awareness is not precisely definable, and yet it is evidently prior to the definable forms of thoughts and ideas which can be seen to form and dissolve in the flux, like ripples, waves and vortices in a flowing stream. As happens with such patterns of movement in a stream some thoughts recur and persist in a more or less stable way, while others are evanescent.”

~ “Consciousness and reality are not separate things. They are deeply interconnected, and understanding this interconnection is crucial for understanding the universe.”

~ “The subject-verb-object structure of language, along with its world view, tends to impose itself very strongly in our speech, even in those cases in which some attention would reveal its evident inapproriateness. This is a pervasive structure, leading in the whole of life to a function of thought tending to divide things into separate entities, such entities being conceived of as essentially fixed and static in their nature. When this view is carried to its limit, one arrives at the prevailing scientific world view, in which everything is regarded as ultimately constituted out of a set of basic particles of fixed nature.”

~ “Whatever may be the nature of these inward depths of consciousness, they are the very ground, both of the explicit content and of that content which is usually called implicit. Although this ground may not appear in ordinary consciousness, it may nevertheless be present in a certain way. Just as the vast ‘sea’ of energy in space is present to our perception as a sense of emptiness or nothingness so the vast ‘unconscious’ background of explicit consciousness with all its implications is present in a similar way. That is to say, it may be sensed as an emptiness, a nothingness, within which the usual content of consciousness is only a vanishingly small set of facets.