The Rationality Illusion

Science, in contrast to common perception, does not provide a solid, pure picture of our world. There are many open questions, and some even deepened in recent years. We do not know why all basic constants of nature have precisely the exact value to enable life, why despite infinite unlikelihood our universe sprang into existence, why we sleep, what the laws behind radioactive decay are, what constitutes human consciousness. We approach limits. Some questions - ethics, the sense of life - are even beyond scientific grasp. A widely distributed yet variably mature form of intuition, which may be called 'religious musicality', might narrow this comprehension gap. This form of intuition spans from belief, often characterized by almost complete lack of intuition and preference for religious doctrines, to strong intuitive convictions in rare master performers usually called mystics. These convictions exceed in strength any learned or sensed rational insight and transcend any clerical background. Interestingly, the core of mystical teaching is identical over millenia, acquired independently again and again. Mystics provide some answers where sciences fail; their teachings, not necessarily involving any deity, may have profound implications for everyday life.