The Scientist and His Microscope: An Analogy

by Fr. E.S.Q.S.

The Scientist and His Microscope: An Analogy

Introduction

What follows is a short, useful modern analogy for grasping - at least the very rudiments - of the intricate relationships there are between the observer, the tool of observation, the object of observation, and the field of observation. Though oriental philosophers and psychologists have made much of these intricate relationships, the occidental philosophers and psychologists have hardly touched upon them, as of yet. Of course, this should come as no surprise given that occidental philosophers and psychologists, with their physicalist leanings, have tried desperately to ignore the elephant in the room: the problem of consciousness. It is my sincere hope that this useful modern analogy will help some people to better understand the meaning of the oriental philosophers and psychologists; also, esoteric facts on the matter.

The Scientist and His Microscope

For some occidental philosophers and psychologists, it may be difficult to grasp the intricate relationships there are between the observer, the tool of observation, the object of observation, and the field of observation. Part of the problem is, perhaps, that most of the explanations hitherto have not been suited to occidental minds. That said, there is a short, useful modern analogy – one which the occidental mind will readily understand, seeing as it is a scientific analogy. The analogy is as follows:

Picture, if you will, a scientist and his microscope. The scientist is the observer, the microscope is the tool of observation, the microbe is the object of observation, and the microbiological environment is the field of observation. As it is with the scientist and his microscope, so, too, is it with man. Man is, in truth, the observer who uses the tools of observation at his disposal to observe some object in a particular environment. The observer, then, is the monad in the triad and in the triad causal envelope; the tools of observation are the triad envelopes, the envelopes of incarnation – the mental, emotional, and physical-etheric envelopes; the object(s) of observation is an object(s) in some one world(s); and the field of observation is the world(s) in which the observation is taking place. Thus, we can clearly distinguish between four separate but intimately related concepts: the observer, the tool of observation, the object of observation, and the field of observation in direct relation to esoteric facts on the matter. We can also clearly distinguish between the Self and the not-Self in this: the Self is the observer, the monad in the triad and in the triad causal envelope, and everything else is the not-Self. A scientist uses his microscope to apprehend and manipulate elements within the microbiological environment in much the same way that the observer uses the tool of observation to apprehend and express itself in a particular world – or put more succinctly, a monad uses the envelopes to apprehend and express itself in a particular world.

Thanks for your time,

Sincerely,

Fr. E.S.Q.S.