I’m going to be away from the blog for a few days, so I’ll leave you a few big things to chew over this weekend.
First, from Edge.org, this article from complexity guru Stuart Kauffman, suggests a way to mend the rift between science and religion by giving up our reliance on reductionism and grasping the creativity of the emergent properties of the universe. I need to chew it over a bit more myself before I know what I think about everything he says, but some of it really rings true for me, and is beautifully expressed to boot, for example:
“Is it, then, more amazing to think that an Abrahamic transcendent, omnipotent, omniscient God created everything around us, all that we participate in, in six days, or that it all arose with no transcendent Creator God, all on its own? I believe the latter is so stunning, so overwhelming, so worthy of awe, gratitude, and respect, that it is God enough for many of us. God, a fully natural God, is the very creativity in the universe. It is this view that I hope can be shared across all our religious traditions, embracing those like myself, who do not believe in a Creator God, as well as those who do. This view of God can be a shared religious and spiritual space for us all.”
I really like that he uses the word “gratitude”. I have felt the gratitude that he’s speaking of, but I’ve had people tell me that it makes no sense to call that feeling gratitude, because for gratitude to make sense, there needs to be a personal recipient at the other end. I’ve had a hard time coming up with counter-arguments, but it still feels like gratitude to me, even without a personal entity that I feel grateful to.
OK, the other brain fodder for the weekend is this piece from NPR about the book Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), by Elliot Aronson and Carol Tavris. The book covers the ways that we rationalize the choices we’ve made or actions we’ve taken even if they don’t turn out all that great, in an effort to avoid the cognitive dissonance that arises when our view of our own beliefs, competency, and abilities is thrown into doubt. In other words, it’s about the ways our brains put a positive spin on our actions. You can read an excerpt from the book online, or listen to a half-hour interview with Aronson from the show Talk of the Nation. Thanks to Jay for passing this one along.
“We need a place for our spirituality, and a Creator God is one such place. I hold that it is we who have invented God, to serve as our most powerful symbol. It is our choice how wisely to use our own symbol to orient our lives and our civilizations. I believe we can reinvent the sacred. We can invent a global ethic, in a shared space, safe to all of us, with one view of God as the natural creativity in the universe.”
And how!
I know just what you mean. I feel incredible gratitude for reality, but believe in no god. I thank nothing, but it’s thanks all the same. Besides, the people who thank god are also thanking nothing, so it’s the same thing, except they ignore the majesty of reality. I’ll take our way every time.
Or maybe “they” simply cling to an outmoded philosophy for understanding the majesty of reality, whereas “we” cling pedantically to our semantically superior understanding.