There are newly evolving assumptions in science which challenge the assumptions of classical science. Below is a comparison of the classsical and evolving scientific worldviews as proposed by Willis Harman. The table is a summary of Figure 15.6 in The Conscious Universe by Dean Radin.
| Orthodox “Separateness” Science | Proposed “Wholeness” Science |
| Basic Assumption: | Basic Assumption: |
| The universe is made up of fundamental particles and quanta that are separate from one another except for certain connections made through fields. | The universe is a single whole within which every part is intimately connected to every other part. |
| The universe is scientifically understood to be ultimately deterministic. | A deterministic universe stems from the assumption of “separateness”; there is no reason to expect it to be borne out in experience. |
| … Consciousness is a byproduct of material evolution and is an epiphenomenon with no intrinsic meaning or purpose. | …consciousness may be an important investigative tool, a “window” to other dimensions of reality. |
| There is no evidence for “drives” or “purposes” in evolution. … There is no scientific evidence for anything in the universe resembling “purpose” or “design.” … | … The universe may be genuinely, and not just apparently, purposeful and goal-oriented. |
| A scientific explanation of a phenomenon consists in relating the phenomenon to increasingly general, fundamental, and invariant scientific laws. … | There is no reason to assume that scientific laws are invariant; it seems more plausible that they too evolve. … Evidence points to consciousness either evolving along with, or being prior to, the material world. |
| The truest information about objective reality is obtained through the observer being as detached as possible. A clear separation can be maintained between subjective and objective knowledge. | There is an ultimate limit to objectivity, in that some “observer effect” is inevitable in any observation. Understanding comes not from detachment, objectivity, and analysis but from identifying with the observed, becoming one with it. |
| All scientific knowledge is ultimately based on data obtained through the physical senses. Such information is ultimately quantifiable. | Reality is contacted through physical sense data and through inner, deep, intuitive knowing. Our encounter with reality is not limited to being aware of messages from our physical senses … |
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