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A fundamental principle of the Bahá'í Faith is the harmony of religion and science.
The Bahá'í Faith teaches that properly appreciated, science and religion will never conflict, as each are complementary ways of explaining truth, which on any issue must necessarily be singular; as can be seen in the following quote, taken from one of `Abdu'l-Bahá's public talks:
- "If religion were contrary to logical reason then it would cease to be a religion and be merely a tradition. Religion and science are the two wings upon which man’s intelligence can soar into the heights, with which the human soul can progress. It is not possible to fly with one wing alone! Should a man try to fly with the wing of religion alone he would quickly fall into the quagmire of superstition, whilst on the other hand, with the wing of science alone he would also make no progress, but fall into the despairing slough of materialism. All religions of the present day have fallen into superstitious practices, out of harmony alike with the true principles of the teaching they represent and with the scientific discoveries of the time."
- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks, p. 143. Full Text
Scientific and academic pursuits are encouraged in Bahá'í Scripture, and excellence is promoted. For a look into the Bahá'í view of scholarship this link is a complilation by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice on the topic.
Science in Bahá'í scriptures
The Bahá'í writings for the most part are silent on specific scientific issues, explaining that most of this is the work of future scientists. `Abdu'l-Bahá explains that science is a progressive field which will continually progress in further and further ways.
- Mathematicians, astronomers, chemical scientists continually disprove and reject the conclusions of the ancients; nothing is fixed, nothing final; everything is continually changing because human reason is progressing along new roads of investigation and arriving at new conclusions every day. In the future much that is announced and accepted as true now will be rejected and disproved. And so it will continue ad infinitum.
- `Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 21. Offsite Link to Full Text
There are a few specific references about scientific issues that are mentioned later in this article.
Without mentioning any particular school of medicine, or any particular form of science, the Bahá'í writings simply enourage its study and emphasize the important contributions that it will bring to society. A few certain guidelines and principles were laid down in the writings, such as the following:
- "At whatever time highly-skilled physicians shall have developed the healing of illnesses by means of foods, and shall make provision for simple foods, and shall prohibit humankind from living as slaves to their lustful appetites, it is certain that the incidence of chronic and diversified illnesses will abate, and the general health of all mankind will be much improved. This is destined to come about. In the same way, in the character, the conduct and the manners of men, universal modifications will be made.
- According to the explicit decree of Bahá'u'lláh one must not turn aside from the advice of a competent doctor. It is imperative to consult one even if the patient himself be a well-known and eminent physician. In short, the point is that you should maintain your health by consulting a highly-skilled physician.
- It is incumbent upon everyone to seek medical treatment and to follow the doctor's instructions, for this is in compliance with the divine ordinance, but, in reality, He Who giveth healing is God."
- `Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of `Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 156
Scientific statements by the founders
Several science-related statements by founders of the Bahá'í Faith have generated some level of controversy, such statements being seen as opposed to or out of harmony with current scientific thought. Such statments have caused some to call into question claims of infallibility and have been described as "thorny theological issues". For many Bahá'ís, however, this is not a strong issue. Many see it as irrelevant. In cases of `Abdu'l-Bahá's statements, many point to distinctions made in the Bahá'í Writings between the Most Great Infallibility possessed by Bahá'u'lláh and that of `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, which the Writings describe as related to their roles as interpreters and expounders. In short, the propositional inerrancy of `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi is not a claim made by the Bahá'í Faith. Statements by Bahá'u'lláh of a cosmological nature are also concerning to some, but given the relative absence of material cosmological assertions, and the prevelance of Sacred Writings that direct the believers to science to resolve such questions, these issues are far less controversial in the Bahá'í community than in many other faiths.
Existence of ether
To quote from the Aether main article: In the late 19th century the luminiferous aether ("light-bearing aether"), or ether, was a substance postulated to be the medium for the propagation of light. Later theories, including Einstein's Theory of Relativity, demonstrated that an aether did not have to exist, and today the concept is considered "quaint". However, definitive experiments seeking the existance of ether by using light passing through a dense gas have yet to be undertaken.
In the 1660's Pierre Gassendi proposed a theory that light travelled as a particle. In the same decade, Robert Hooke first published his theory of light as a wave. This began a controversy of wave-particle duality whose conclusion is that both light and matter behave in the same quantum mechanical way, in some limits behaving like a classical particle and in others like a classical wave.
The aether was an undefined medium for the propagation of light. Scientists noted that every travelling energy wave uses a medium for travel (ocean uses water). Knowing that electromagnetic radiation has the properties of a wave, they determined that there must be some kind of medium that it propagates through.
The Michelson-Morley experiment made a heroic effort to find the aether, but its failure to detect it led Einstein to devise his Special theory of Relativity. Further developments in modern physics, including General Relativity, Quantum Field Theory, and String Theory all incorporate the non-existance of the aether.
Continuing adherents to ether argue that Einstein's theory ignores the wave-like nature of light by assuming no medium exists, which was the basis behind the theory of ether. Many of the primary experiments to disprove ether focused on disproving "ethereal winds", which do not necessarily disprove the existence of ether, but only that the experiment is moving through it. In fact, experiments would suggest the existence of aether only when light travels through matter. Experiments using light passing through gas rather than a vacuum are being prepared.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's use of the Ether concept in one of his talks - his audience including scientists of the time - has been the source of a lot of the above-mentioned controversy. Robin Mishrahi, however, in his published paper on the issue titled "Ether, Quantum Physics and the Bahá'í Writings" argues that the usage of the word is probably due to the fact that the language of modern Quantum mechanics did not exist at the time, and the semantics used actually are explaining counterparts in contempory scientific literature. The paper also explains that Quantum mechanics can be seen as a support of the Bahá'í concept of the unity of science and religion - which is ultimately the topic which is at stake. To quote from the conclusion of his paper:
- By comparing this Bahá'í concept of ether to the models of quantum mechanics, it can be demonstrated that all these ideas appear to have counterparts in modern scientific literature and that the understanding of "the essence of existence" being "a spiritual reality because invisible forces of the spirit are the origin of matter and the foundation thereof" (Shoghi Effendi) can therefore not simply be dismissed as unscientific anymore. Quantum mechanics has in this way made a big step towards the reconciliation of science and religion, "the two wings upon which man's intelligence can soar into the heights, with which the human soul can progress" (Paris Talks 143).
- As a final observation it should be noted that because many of the scientific discoveries and theories referred to in the Bahá'í Writings were yet unknown to the contemporaries of Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, They obviously could not have used the technical terms applied for their description nowadays. Instead, They had to make use of and sometimes redefine already existing concepts and terms (e.g. the ether concept or the idea of the four elements of ancient Greek philosophy) in a way that they would accurately explain what They had in mind. On a superficial level, this might give the impression that the Central Figures of the Faith did not actually formulate any new ideas about physical reality. When we study Their Writings more closely, however, we come to realise that this only seems to be the case because Their references to such topics were purposefully made in such a way that they would neither offend Their addressees who believed in certain (erroneous) contemporary scientific concepts, nor make use of a terminology that had not yet been developed by contemporary scientists.
- Robin Mihrshahi, Australian Bahá'í Studies Journal Volume 4, p. 3-20. Offsite Link to Full Text
For more information see here for a 1982 letter from the Universal House of Justice concerning:
- The infallibility of `Abdu'l-Bahá
- Relation between `Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi
- Scientific references to Ether
Life on other planets
Bahá'u'lláh in an aside stated:
- "The learned men, that have fixed at several thousand years the life of this earth, have failed, throughout the long period of their observation, to consider either the number or the age of the other planets. Consider, moreover, the manifold divergencies that have resulted from the theories propounded by these men. Know thou that every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own creatures, whose number no man can compute."
- (Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 162-163 )
Some detailed issues arising from the statement include:
- What is a "planet"? Is the moon a planet? Is he referring only to terrestrial planets, meteors, or also gas giants?
- By "creatures", is he referring to intelligent life, microorganisms, or minerals?
- Does "every" really mean "every," or perhaps something closer to "very many"?
Taken on its face, this statement is contradicted by current understanding in planetary science. If one planet is found without life, or one star found without a planet, then the statement would be false.
However, Bahá'ís could point out that this statement could be interpreted broadly within the context of the Bahá'í writings. Creature was variously defined when the work was translated as: "Anything created" or "anything not self-existent." 'Abdu'l-Bahá stresses that even the mineral kingdom is gifted by God with existence, and hence a "creature" of God. Francis Bacon is quoted as saying that "God's first creature was light."
Further, planet as defined then was defined as: "A celestial body which revolves about the sun in an orbit of a moderate degree of eccentricity." The nebular theory of star formation would suggest that each star develops orbiting bodies as it forms.
Taken together, the idea that each star has planets, and that each of contains creatures, as these words were used at the time, is not necessarily incorrect on its face. Reading Bahá'u'lláh's statement as: the Universe is full of God's creatures, whom He loves as much as He does Humanity, reconciles with both scientific understanding and the context of the language.
Scientists have long believed in the possibility of other planets outside the solar system. According to a BBC article on Planet Hunting, "some astronomers think there may be planets around up to half the stars in our Galaxy". Scientists do not, however, extend this belief to every star.
Many scientists also believe that there may be life on other planets. However, while scientists think planets such as Mars and possibly even Venus may bear life, they do not consider every planet to be such a possibility. An issue arises within our solar system with the planet Mercury or Pluto, which are believed to be lifeless. According to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research "Without any atmosphere or water, life as we know it cannot now (nor probably ever did) exist on Mercury."
On the subject of life on other planets, Shoghi Effendi wrote:
- "Bahá'u'lláh does not specifically state whether such creatures are like or unlike us. He simply refers to the fact that there are creatures in every planet. It remains for science to discover one day the exact nature of these creatures."
- (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, February 9, 1937)
- (Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 478)
And the Universal House of Justice wrote the following:
- "As you rightly state, Bahá'u'lláh affirms that every fixed star has its planets, and every planet its own creatures. The House of Justice states however, that it has not discovered anything in the Bahá'í Writings which would indicate the degree of progress such creatures may have attained. Obviously, as creatures of earth have managed to construct space probes and send them into outer space, it can be believed that creatures on other planets may have succeeded in doing likewise."
- (From a letter dated 11 January 1982 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
- (The Universal House of Justice, 1996 Aug 06, Sabeans, UFOs, Alien Abduction and Genetic Engineering)
For more on this subject, see this article.
Evolution
The Bahá'í writings usually use "evolution" in non-scientific senses, to refer to social or spiritual development. The biological concept is not particularly controversial within Islam, which has inherited a long tradition of Aristotelian speculations, but it has become so within the West, where Darwin's theory and the big bang theory were perceived to clash with the Creation story of Genesis.
When speaking about these controversies `Abdu'l-Bahá stated, essentially, that he accepted the reality of biological evolution within species, that humans did not evolve from animals, that the days of creation represent spans of millions of years, and that the physical universe has no beginning or end. In many books he mentions the kingdoms of the mineral, vegetable, animal, and human. He states that the characteristics of humanity is essentially intellectual and coming from the existence of a soul, which animals do not possess. Therefore an animal evolving into a human would be as impossible as a flower evolving into an eagle.
According to `Abdu'l-Bahá, the human race has always been human, even if at some point it didn't look like it does today. He also uses the example of a developing fetus, which even when it exists in an undeveloped and undistinguishable form, is still human.
See also the following articles by Keven Brown, Stephen Friberg, Eberhard von Kitzing, and Bahman Nadimi.