PRINCIPLES OF CONTEMPLATIVE SCIENCE

Abstract: THE VERY IDEA of proposing a discipline called “contemplative science” may arouse suspicion among those who value the tri- umphs of science, which have been won, in part, by divorcing its mode of inquiry from all religious affiliations. Such unease has a strong historical basis, so it should be taken seriously. But there are also historical roots to the principles of contemplation and of science that suggest a possible reconciliation and even integration between the two approaches.