Western science and Eastern Zen to seek the origin of truth: Philosophical background of scale modeling

Authors

Kozo Saito, University of KentuckyFollow

Abstract

This article was written to introduce philosophical background of scale modeling, where Zen philosophy was applied to overcome the limitation of logical thinking and hypotheses-driven deductive science. Three specific reasons are as follows. The first is related to the law approach in scale modeling; it uses the kufu principle, originated in Zen Buddhism, together with the other three scientific methods: experimental, theoretical, and computational. The second reason is because scale modeling seeks relativistic understanding by attempting to realize similarity; the concept is closer to Eastern philosophy rather than absolute understanding cultivated by deductive science. The third is in the educational aspect of scale modeling. It promotes our imagination to feel for the full-scale phenomenon, which is often unknown. This process is like increasing our awareness of our true self in Zen meditation. Discussion is given to relationships between deductive science and inductive Zen, how they complement each other to help us deepen our awareness toward the objective truth that nature may hold. This article concludes by pointing out humans’ quest for finding the origin that seems to govern our perceived world.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.13023/psmij.2024.05-01-01

Recommended Citation

Saito, Kozo (2024) "Western science and Eastern Zen to seek the origin of truth: Philosophical background of scale modeling," Progress in Scale Modeling, an International Journal: Vol. 5: Iss. 1, Article 1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13023/psmij.2024.05-01-01
Available at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/psmij/vol5/iss1/1