18.3 Multiple spaces and discrete degrees

We still have to determine the relation between the spaces of the three realms. They could all be regions of one large space, or they could be three distinct spaces. By distinct spaces, I mean spaces which are logically disjoint and have no places in common. It would be a more monistic view to have all the realms existing in different parts of the same space, but theism requires that they be in different spaces. The distinction between the spaces is therefore similar to the distinction between God and all of creation as a whole. We take this as one of the core postulates of theism:

Postulate 16 conveys a dualism between the physical and mental and another dualism between the mental and spiritual. Both are similar to (or reduced images of) the dualism between God and creation. Such dualisms have long been argued in philosophy and theology. They have been denied by monists, who want to see all things as essentially composed of one kind of substance. Scientists have been suspicious of dualism because they cannot see the reasons for the distinction existing nor the reasons for the dynamical connections between the multiple realms. We saw in Chapter 5 that there are many distinctions already known in physics and psychology. I will later show that these are of the same essential nature as the dualisms alluded to in Postulate 16. Using our scientific theism, we can begin to learn of the general principles that link the dynamical processes in the several realms. These are essentially just the operations discussed in the previous Section 18.1.