I admit it, I’m a geek, and I’m always looking for ways to explain the world around me better using my brain and whatever tools are around me. When I stumbled onto the Tree of Life (or Sefirot)from the Kabalah, a spark went off in my head - we can simulate the human spiritual experience using computers.

You see, the Tree of Life bears very close relation (in structure) to neural networks, the stuff that helps computer scientists create software capable of solving unforseen problems and even creating new solutions. Because of its similarity, we can pretty much turn the Tree of Life into a neural network.

Why is this important? First we need to understand what the Sefirot really is:

The Tree of Life can be used as a guide to understanding human ethics. Its structure is supposed to represent the human experience. We take in our immediate reality through our “crown”, and process it using our own spiritual and moral structure. Then we put back into reality what we have processed. The other people present in our immediate reality do the same. Thus we all are continually experiencing and creating reality. By adjusting our spiritual system (or reality filtering system) we can change our immediate reality for the better or worse, depending or whether our system is in line with the fundamental structure of the universe.

But how can we prove that there is a fundamental moral structure of the universe? By proving (mathematically, with computers) the infallability of certain moral decisions (and spiritual posturing) to create a better reality.

Consider the idea of pacifism. Every major religion advocates pacifism in its writings, but followers from each have resorted to war. Using the concept of the Sefirot, we can see to what extent we should advocate pacifism. Can a refusal to participate in violence and negative interactions champion over violence and the need to inflict harm on others for personal gain? That’s the million dollar question.

Because it is only through the process of education, of understanding, that the laws of reality become apparent. To the unitiated, it seems possible to get ahead by deceit and violence. But to those who understand the structure of reality, the only way to get ahead is to get ahead together. We have to live in the reality we create. So can rightousness and “offering the other cheek” work in practice? There is only one way to find out. Start testing.

Meanwhile, I’m off to try to prove this with neural nets…

Share This