A reply to Mike

Posted on January 16, 2008
Filed Under Deep Thought |

I thought that a response to Mike comment on the last post deserved a post of its own, so here it is.

You’ve raised some points about what I said about religion which made me realise that I possibly wasn’t as clear as I could have been in my article.

I agree with you on your first point, solipsism is a very lonely road to walk and we must accept that there will inevitably be quite a lot of commonality in our perceptions of the wider universe, however would we get anything done otherwise? The point which I possibly didn’t make clear is that the universe we experience is only an approximation of the real one, and everyone’s personal approximation will be different. We can never know the objective truth of the universe, only the approximation. The fact that this facsimile may correlate quite closely with what’s actually out there is pure chance coupled with the fact that our sensory systems have evolved to ensure our survival. We wouldn’t have survived very long if didn’t see things as being quite close to how they really are.

Another thing that I noticed on rereading my statement is that I have used the word god in a misleading way. I concur with your assessment that the traditional anthropomorphic representation of God (or whatever you may wish to call it) is a construction of man’s. I meant to use god in the sense of there being something beyond us which we have no hope of experiencing or understanding. Something over which we have no influence but which has complete influence over us. As you say we are intrinsically a part of the universe and will never be able to separate ourselves from it. My point is this, we do not need to create a ‘being’ that is beyond our understanding and experience, an ultimate creator who made everything and watches over our every move. There is one already, the only difference between it and our manufactured gods, is that is is indifferent and only intervenes in our lives because of the fact that we are a part of it. The Universe exists, and any malice, or compassion that we feel that it shows us is completely born out of our desire for there to be some explanation, reason or purpose behind it. The universe is indifferent, we will get no love from it apart from that which we give each other, conversely none of the hardships or trials (earthquakes, meteor strikes etc) are any form of punishment. We cannot sin against the Universe, only against each other. Even then the perception of the sin depends on your point of view and the views of those around you.

As to purposes, I have many. At a basic biological level I exist only to continue the species, everything else is mine to choose. The Universe’s purpose? I won’t even presume to guess. It exists and through it so do I, that’s enough for me.

You will be happy to know that I will hold neither your age or socialism against you, one you cannot choose and the other… well its not too late to change your mind