When I was younger I used to listen to certain science popularisers going on and on about the size of the Universe in deep portentious tones.
And I would think "OK, I get it. It's big. So what? Why wouldn't it be big?"
And sometimes they would suggest that it puts all of our problems in perspective, and then I think "No, my problems are still the same as they were".
After all I didn't previously think "My problems are big because the Universe is so small".
The bigness of problems and the bigness of the Universe is using "big" in two different senses, so it is just an equivocation to suggest that one thing gives perspective on the other.
Of course there are lots of wonderful feelings that come from, for example, lying on your back in the desert and seeing all those stars that are invisible in the city.
But I often think that maybe I am lacking in something that others feel when seeing such things, lacking in a sense of awe and wonder at things like the size of the Universe.
I was thinking of this in relation to an essay I was reading from a philosopher suggesting that awe and wonder were grounds for believing in God (but not necessarily a personal God).
And maybe my "awe and wonder" capacity isn't powerful enough to find this plausible.
On the other hand maybe it is just an equivocation like the "bigness" of problems and the "bigness" of the Universe.
If I find the night sky in the desert then it is proof that something is majestic (at least to me), the night sky in the desert.
If I wonder about something then it is proof that there is something that I don't know about, but I have no idea why I should overload the stuff that I don't know about with the name "God".
Again when I say "I am filled with wonder" and when I say "I wonder what is in this box?" then surely I am also using "wonder" in different senses.
Anyway, I would welcome comments.
https://theelectricagora.com/2020/09...elief-part-ii/
And I would think "OK, I get it. It's big. So what? Why wouldn't it be big?"
And sometimes they would suggest that it puts all of our problems in perspective, and then I think "No, my problems are still the same as they were".
After all I didn't previously think "My problems are big because the Universe is so small".
The bigness of problems and the bigness of the Universe is using "big" in two different senses, so it is just an equivocation to suggest that one thing gives perspective on the other.
Of course there are lots of wonderful feelings that come from, for example, lying on your back in the desert and seeing all those stars that are invisible in the city.
But I often think that maybe I am lacking in something that others feel when seeing such things, lacking in a sense of awe and wonder at things like the size of the Universe.
I was thinking of this in relation to an essay I was reading from a philosopher suggesting that awe and wonder were grounds for believing in God (but not necessarily a personal God).
Quote:
|
God, throughout western history, has been considered that thing in the unknown which instills wonder in us. It is the thing that is beautiful, epistemically beyond us, and awesome. If we agree that the experience of a passion alone can provide overriding confidence in a belief, then when one feels wonder, when he looks into the unknown, I see no reason why this couldn’t be such a case. Why isn’t that passion alone sufficient to ground overriding confidence in the existence of something majestic in the mysteries of the cosmos? |
On the other hand maybe it is just an equivocation like the "bigness" of problems and the "bigness" of the Universe.
If I find the night sky in the desert then it is proof that something is majestic (at least to me), the night sky in the desert.
If I wonder about something then it is proof that there is something that I don't know about, but I have no idea why I should overload the stuff that I don't know about with the name "God".
Again when I say "I am filled with wonder" and when I say "I wonder what is in this box?" then surely I am also using "wonder" in different senses.
Anyway, I would welcome comments.
https://theelectricagora.com/2020/09...elief-part-ii/
via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/3bYvi4Z
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