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Scope of Natural Law
Modern science has discovered that the universe is structured in layers of existence, from microscopic to macroscopic — from the subatomic world of elementary particles to the large scale structure of the universe.
Science has also learned that these various levels are distinguished not only by vastly different time and distance scales, but that every level of the physical universe has its own set of laws. For example, early attempts to understand the atom relied on planetary models, with the massive sun corresponding to the heavy nucleus and the planets in their orbits analogous to electrons. At that time, it seemed natural and intuitive that the same basic laws of nature would apply — even at vastly different scales. This assumption proved false. The planetary model failed utterly to account for even the most basic properties of the atom — its structure and stability.
Instead, a whole new conceptual framework, known as quantum mechanics, was required to describe physics at the atomic scale. An entirely new language had to be introduced, involving new mathematics based on infinite dimensional complex vector spaces. All of this led scientists to conclude, reluctantly, that the microscopic world is entirely different from the macroscopic world of everyday events. The universe began to be understood as comprised of worlds within worlds, where each world has its own set of laws, its own qualitative flavor, its own quantitative characteristics — and each world self-consistent within itself.
This early 20th-century discovery of the quantum world has been followed in recent years by the rapid unfoldment of scientific knowledge of even deeper layers of nature’s functioning. These subatomic (nuclear and subnuclear) levels reveal deeply hidden symmetries of nature which unite the fundamental forces and particles — forces and particles that appear distinctly different at more superficial levels.
In 1979, the Nobel prize was awarded to Profs. Weinberg, Salam and Glashow for their theory uniting the weak and electromagnetic forces (two of the four fundamental forces) at a distance scale 100 times smaller than the atomic nucleus. The remarkable success of this unified “electro-weak” theory gave profound support to this scientific process of inner exploration of deeper levels of nature, and led to the rapid unfoldment of still more unified theories of the fundamental forces.
These deeper layers of nature’s functioning are characterized by unparalleled levels of energy and dynamism. For the same reason that nuclear transformations liberate million-fold more energy than chemical transformations, the quantum “uncertainty principle” similarly guarantees that still more fundamental levels of natural law are vastly more energetic. Indeed, at the deepest level of nature’s dynamics, the characteristic energy is so enormous that the energy density in a single cubic centimeter of empty space exceeds, by orders of magnitude, the entire mass energy of the visible universe.
Moreover, in addition to being more energetic, deeper levels of natural law are increasingly comprehensive and holistic. The more superficial levels of nature can be seen as fragmented expressions of the more unified laws governing deeper levels. Macroscopic behaviors are merely superficial manifestations of more fundamental underlying processes. For example, the behavior of classical objects can be derived on the basis of their atoms (just as thermodynamics can be derived from statistical mechanics), whereas the converse is not the case. In other words, deeper levels are more fundamental. “The outer is based upon the inner.”
We can see, then, that the whole, seemingly inert, manifest universe is a superficial, partial, and fragmented reflection of the concentrated, comprehensive intelligence and dazzling symmetries that exist at fundamental scales — the tip of the iceberg of natural law.
The culmination of this inward march of modern science has been the recent discovery of completely unified field theories. These theories, based on the “superstring,” identify a single, universal field of nature’s intelligence at the basis of all forms and phenomena in the universe — the fountainhead of all known laws of nature. At this superunified scale (the Planck scale, or 10-33 cm), these theories describe a total transformation of natural law, involving higher dimensions of spacetime, infinite towers of massive particles, and a spectacular, nonlinear dynamics that is so intricate and subtle that it transcends current mathematical description.
Nature’s Government — Supreme Administration
In order to bring this abstract discussion of laws of nature into the familiar realm of human experience, it is helpful to recognize that the governance of nature through natural laws is not different in principle from the governance of society through national laws. A national government administers society through the formulation and enforcement of specific laws governing various forms of human behavior and human interaction — financial, social, environmental, etc. Similarly, we have seen that “Nature’s Government” administers all natural events and processes through specific natural laws. Interestingly, both national law and natural law have a hierarchical structure, with deeper, more foundational laws underlying more specific laws. National law has its ultimate foundation in the constitution, on the basis of which the “constitutionality” or legitimacy of the more specific and temporal laws and regulations are derived. In the same way, as we will see, the hierarchical structure of Nature’s Government has a foundational level — a “Constitution of the Universe” — the laws governing the dynamics of the unified field itself which underlie and give rise to the diversified laws of nature governing every level of the physical universe.
What are the properties of Nature’s Government? And how does it administer the immensely vast and unfathomably complex universe?
First and foremost, Nature’s Government is rich with profound order: From the symmetrical structure of a snowflake to the profound symmetries displayed in the elementary particles; from the orderly structure of the atom to the precise elliptical orbits of the planets; from the regular structure of crystals to the highly ordered states of open thermodynamic systems.
Secondly, Nature’s Government is maximally efficient. The most pervasive law governing the whole of macroscopic behavior is the Principle of Least Action. This principle states that whatever nature accomplishes, nature accomplishes with maximum efficiency and economy: That all physical events unfold along the most economical path — the path where the “action” — a mathematically defined measure of energy and complexity — is minimized. This principle explains, for example, why a ray of light refracts in its propagation from air to water. The resulting bent path is actually the path where the propagation time — the time required to go from source to goal — is minimized. All classical behavior can be derived on the basis of this simple principle of maximum economy of nature.
Another example of nature’s absolute efficiency is in the principle of conservation of energy. In all physical processes, nothing is wasted — energy is neither created nor destroyed. And somewhat surprisingly, at the deepest level, nature is even energy-creating. In modern “inflationary” models of cosmology, the universe undergoes a period of vast, exponential growth during which, due to a delicate balance of gravitational and material energy, the universe expands by many orders of magnitude while maintaining a constant energy density. The result is that the entire universe, with it unimaginable mass and energy, emerges, essentially, from nothing.
Finally, natural law is inherently s, life-supporting. It has given birth to — and sustains the existence of — over eight million species on earth. Recent evidence suggests that this evolutionary quality is not, in any sense, peculiar to earth. Wherever marginally hospitable environments exist, living organisms are likely to be found. Even deep within the earth, or in fissures deep within the ocean with temperatures above boiling, remarkable and varied life forms emerge.
Indeed, evolution is the very nature of life. Wherever we see life, we see growth, evolution: growth of size, complexity, capability, power, knowledge. Even the most cursory examination of life reveals that the nature of life is to grow.
There is, of course, also a prevailing impression that nature is full of violence and cruelty: “red in tooth and claw.” Certainly, violence is found in nature. When you consider the entire lifespan of an organism, that organism inevitably dies. But this death is an isolated incident that occurs but once in a lifetime spent growing in size, experience, capability, power, and reproducing itself. In other words, death is a part of life, but a small part, an isolated event in the course of a lifetime, and ultimately plays a natural role in the larger evolutionary process of sustaining and nourishing millions of organisms in a complex ecosystem.
Thus, the more accurate and global perspective is that nature is inherently life supporting. It is, after all, the laws of nature that have given birth to eight million species, and sustain the complex ecosystems in which these myriad species mutually nourish and support one another. The natural world is teeming with life. Every square inch of healthy topsoil contains thousands of microorganisms.
From this, we conclude that Nature’s Government is orderly, maximally efficient, evolutionary, and life supporting. Moreover, science reveals that these qualities are fundamental — they have their origin in the deepest levels of natural law.
For example, we have previously seen that the orderliness displayed at macroscopic levels is just a partial refection of deeply hidden symmetries of nature present at more fundamental scales. Even the symmetry of a snowflake is a macroscopic reflection of the angular symmetry of the water molecule. Nature’s absolute efficiency, embodied in the principle of least action governing all classical phenomena, actually derives from a deeper, quantum mechanical principle of “democracy of paths.” (The path of least action is just the macroscopic outcome of the simultaneous superposition of multiple coexisting paths at the microscopic level.) Similarly, conservation of energy, the evolutionary quality, and other fundamental properties of nature have their origins at deeper levels. Ultimately, all of nature’s fundamental qualities are rooted in the “Constitution of the Universe” — the laws governing the behavior of the unified field itself.
One can only marvel at the perfection of Nature’s Government, which administers the immensely complex universe without problems. Given a choice, any head of state would like his or her government to enjoy the same success, orderliness, efficiency, and life-supporting quality as Nature’s Government. As we will see, the scientific knowledge and practical methodologies to achieve this are available now.
Application of Natural Law
How can society draw upon the immense organizational intelligence displayed throughout the physical universe? There is a long tradition of society making use of natural laws, both through technologies and through other means. Technology is the practical application of the laws of nature discovered by science. The electric light, which has profoundly revolutionized our lifestyle, is a simple application of the laws of electrodynamics. Medicines are applications of the laws of chemistry and human physiology. In a similar way, other advanced applications of chemical, electronic, and nuclear technologies are transforming the face of human civilization.
While technology is the advanced application of specific laws discovered by science, the use of natural law is far more pervasive and intimate to life. From the time of birth, children learn to take advantage of the natural laws governing their environment. The simple act of walking is an immensely complex process, which stimulates and utilizes myriad laws governing electrochemical, neuromuscular and mechanical processes — even without the intellectual understanding of those laws.
The efficient application of natural law is indispensable to every aspect of life. Some proficiency in the applications of natural law is gained through the natural process of maturation and life experience, as exemplified in the process of walking. In a developed society, such proficiency is also gained through education, and through the scientific discovery of new laws of nature and their application through technology. With such scientific development, one can take advantage of natural laws that may be otherwise hidden or inaccessible. For example, one can learn to generate heat and warmth in the winter through the application of electrical and chemical energy.
In summary, we conclude that everything we accomplish, from the simple act of digestion to putting a man on the moon, we accomplish through the skillful application of natural law. Conversely, as we will see below, everything we fail to accomplish is due to the failure to apply natural law effectively.
Violation of Natural Law: The Source of All Problems
As we have just seen, it is possible to enlist the support of natural law to accomplish a specific purpose, or to fulfill a particular desire. This successful application of laws of nature may be either instinctive, learned, or through the sophisticated application of natural laws through technology.
Without sufficient knowledge of natural law, it is also possible that laws of nature may be used ineffectively — or even destructively. Ineffective use of natural law means not taking maximal advantage of laws of nature to accomplish one’s ends most effectively. For example, in the absence of the knowledge of the lever, a simple task, like the displacement of a boulder, becomes arduous and complex.
Moreover, the misapplication of natural law, whether accidental or intentional, can have severe negative repercussions. A young child, unaware of the implications of the laws of gravity, can crawl off a bed and cause injury to himself. Doctors, unaware of the laws governing radiation and its carcinogenic effect on the body, prescribed radiation to remove facial hair in the 1950s, resulting in widespread incidence of skin cancer. Scientists, unaware of the deeper laws governing the delicate balance of ecosystems, advocated worldwide usage of DDT, resulting in extinction of numerous species, soil toxicity, and serious health repercussions for humans.
The misapplication of natural law, with all its negative repercussions, is what we will term a “violation of natural law.” We will see in subsequent chapters that all problems of the individual and society can be traced to the violation of natural law by the whole population.
What Does It Mean to Violate Natural Law?
In scientific usage, a law of nature is, by definition, inviolable. The term “law of nature” is reserved for those scientific principles that apply under all circumstances and for all times. For example, Einstein’s discovery, in the context of his special theory of relativity, that the speed of light is the limiting velocity for the propagation of matter and information, is upheld without exception throughout the universe.
Therefore, when we refer to “violations of natural law,” we are simply referring to actions that not only fail to take maximum advantage of the laws of nature, but where the functioning of natural law results in negative consequences for the individual. For example, smoking cigarettes introduces known carcinogenic compounds which cause DNA mutation, and cancers to form in the bronchii and lungs. Smoking is thus an example of an action that “violates natural law,” an action that stimulates certain laws of nature to produce undesirable consequences.
There is a profound parallel between natural law and national law. Both sets of laws define rules of behavior that are designed to be in the best interest of the individual and society. Both result in negative consequences of acting outside these boundaries of prescribed behavior. One obvious difference is that one can sometimes escape the consequences of violating national law, if one does not get caught. In contrast, one is always in the grip of natural law and its consequences.
All Problems Are Caused by the Violation of Natural Law
We have previously described the all-pervasive character of natural law — that everything that occurs is the direct result of the functioning of natural law. It is therefore not surprising that all significant achievements result from the skillful application of laws of nature, and that the failure to achieve one’s natural aspirations — health, wealth, or success in life — results from the failure to apply natural law successfully.
Indeed, a careful examination of the problems that confront individual and national life is sufficient to confirm that all significant problems result from the violation of natural law. Such violations are directly responsible for the economic, health, social, and environmental problems facing governments today. These problems can be solved by bringing national life into accord with natural law.
Now we will review some of the specific mechanisms through which violation of natural law leads to society’s most pervasive health and social problems.
How the Violation of Natural Law Causes Problems
We have seen how the misapplication of natural law, even unintentionally, can cause unforeseen negative consequences. Certainly, the failure to achieve one’s desired purpose through the misapplication of natural law is itself a problem. However, there are other ways in which violation of the natural law causes problems.
- Individual growth depends upon fulfillment of desires. Fulfillment of a desire brings happiness, and also raises the scope and the standard of future desires. Without such growth, which is essential to life, frustration is inevitable. Over time, this frustration causes stress in the physiology, which research shows impairs creativity and further restricts the ability to fulfill future desires — and can also lead to problems of health.
- Certain violations of natural law cause physiological stress directly, if such violation takes the form of an action that is unhealthy or harmful to the body (e.g., smoking).
- Stress resulting from either mechanism promotes further violations of natural law. Stress causes a complex psychophysiological chain reaction in the human body. Chronic, acute stress leads to an out-of-balance biochemistry that is linked with anxiety, aggression, hostility, impulsive violent behavior, and substance abuse. In other words, accumulated stress compels an individual towards activities that are unhealthy, behavior that violates natural law.
We can conclude from this that the violation of natural law leads to stress, and stress leads to further violations of natural law.
This vicious cycle has taken an enormous toll on society. Due, in part, to the widespread violation of natural law by the whole population, society is experiencing an epidemic of stress. Statistics reveal an alarming rise in stress-related illness, such as stroke, hypertension, and heart disease. Indeed, 80% of disease today is caused or complicated by stress. This amounts to a trillion dollar drain on our national economy. An additional $300 billion is lost to U.S. industry annually due to job-related stress. High levels of stress among our youth have eroded academic outcomes, increased drug usage, and raised juvenile crime and violence, particularly in the inner cities, to record levels. Our prison population has grown to 2 million — the highest percentage of any country in the world.
There is a societal component to stress as well. Society is, ultimately, a collection of individuals. The quality of society is determined by the quality of its citizens. When individual citizens of society are stressed, one can say that the “collective consciousness” is characterized by stress. Just as individual stress has been scientifically linked to a wide range of diseases, similarly, epidemic levels of societal stress have been linked to the widespread rise of social disorders: crime, drug abuse, family disintegration, domestic violence, and the decline of moral and social values. This breakdown in our social order and institutions has only exacerbated stress levels in society. This rising stress, in turn, contributes to further violations of natural law by the individual and society.
While elected leaders universally decry this decline of moral and social order, there has been little understanding of its underlying cause in the widespread violation of natural law and resulting stress — and no practical knowledge of how to break this vicious cycle and reverse this slide in collective consciousness.
Fortunately, such practical knowledge is now available, together with scientifically proven procedures to bring individual and national life into accord with natural law, thereby eliminating problems at their basis.
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