Buddhism & Science

The book first discusses the meaning and necessity of a world-theory, arguing that human beings require a comprehensive understanding of existence in order to ground morality, religion, and conduct. It then contrasts faith and science as two major approaches to explaining the world, showing the limitations of faith when it appeals to transcendence and the limitations of science when it seeks a world-conception without adequately accounting for the experiencing subject. The work then introduces the thought-world of Buddha Gotama and explains the central doctrine of the Buddha as a practical and cognitive path rather than a speculative metaphysical system. Subsequent chapters develop Buddhism as a working hypothesis and place it in relation to the problems of physics, physiology, biology, cosmology, and thought. Across these discussions, Dahlke treats Buddhism as a disciplined framework for understanding reality as process, causality, and conditioned becoming, while also addressing the ethical and existential problem of how one should live. The concluding movement of the book reinforces the claim that Buddhism offers a more adequate answer than either faith or science alone because it links cognition, conduct, and liberation within one coherent vision.