Worlds Apart

Long ago Owen Barfield perceived a disconnect between science and meaning - as early as the 1920's - and argued that the gulf between them was only getting wider and deeper by the 1960's. In Worlds Apart, he attempted to make explicit the presuppositions of the science of the day, discuss whether or not those presuppositions made sense, and what the implications were in either case.

Worlds Apart is a dialogue between two physicists, a biologist, a psychiatrist, a theologian, a teacher, a philosopher, and a lawyer. The conversation takes place over three days, and is set in the 1960's. The pace of the dialogue is brisk, the subject matter is fascinating, and many of the threads of thought and their conclusions are still, in 2003, refreshing and profound.

One such presupposition that gets quite a working over is this: the world is ultimately real only on the level of particles, or atoms. Anything not explainable in terms of particles is a subjective "experience" or appearance. Trees "appear" as trees because of the activity of our human minds. Other humans "appear" as humans because of the activity of our minds.

But if only particles *really* exist, and if all the appearances only arise in human minds, then why do we talk about the history of the earth, before humans were around, in terms of appearances - like trees and dinosaurs (which are only appearances)? Or, why do we talk about remote solar systems or galaxies in terms of appearances - warmth or coldness, brightness or darkness, etc.?

Even with Barfield's unmistakable English writing style, and *because* of his philosophical bent, Worlds Apart is a refreshing and disturbing read, one that is likely to take you out into very deep water, far, far from any shore you recognize.