A collaborative search for wisdom, at Middle Tennessee State University and beyond...
"The pluralistic form takes for me a stronger hold on reality than any other philosophy I know of, being essentially a social philosophy, a philosophy of 'co'"-William James
Fascinating that you were so close to such important and pivotal history as the Scopes trial. I was raised in a religious family and fought all of the dogma that comes with that. Deconstructing my faith was a long and arduous process for me and in my disillusionment I have come to view religion/spirituality as parasitic. Viewing spirituality through an evolutionary lens is an interesting twist for me. As we humans evolved conscious thinking brains we tried to make sense of the world around us and within us. As a product of evolution, spirituality actually makes sense to me whereas it never really did before. Did your life or death experience, I’m referring to your car accident story, change your perspective? #11
Posts:
April 8 -“There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees” -We are struggling to get it under control. -Every success has a name -Bentham and Kant
April 15 -quiz 14 -quiz 14 -Bernie exits -American Philosophy: A Love Story
April 17 -quiz April 21 -quiz April 23 -Thoreau -current post
I know, I still can't quite wrap my head around the thought that my life overlaps so memorably with that of someone born in 1875... let alone someone so eminently involved in a part of history I'm so fascinated by.
I think I've always viewed spirituality through an evolutionary lens, and vice versa. It's a privilege to be an evolved and evolving creature. I'm grateful.
My car accident in February 2018, when for several long seconds my Corolla spun 360 degrees in the middle of I24 after colliding with a FedEx tractor trailer and I had time to tell myself this was probably the end, didn't fundamentally change my perspective... but it did bring home to me in an emotional and immediate way what I'd previously only known intellectually, that we're always potentially a hairs-breadth away from our terminal breath. In practical terms it made me a lot more attentive to traffic patterns and a lot less distracted while driving. (I don't agree with my wife that it gave me PTSD.) It was a highly instructive experience.
I think that science and spirituality are not as opposed to each other as people might think. I am under the impression that a perfect science (i.e. a perfect understanding of the universe) is also a perfect spirituality. For example, many people view angles and demons and spiritual occurrences as existing on a "spirit plane" or "spirit realm"... why?? Modern physicists have already modeled the universe with as many as 10 dimensions, six more than the four we perceive (the three spatial dimensions and time)!
I wish I knew what it was like to not be encumbered by religious doctrine... I would say the issue with convincing people that science has a lot to add to this conversation is going to be difficult. When an idea is viewed as being supernatural it doesn’t adhere to the laws of nature. When one thinks their ideas transcend science(fact) there is not much hope for using science in that argument. I’m really not sure what common ground there is so we can actually have a conversation. This is why I avoid the conversation. #11
Fascinating that you were so close to such important and pivotal history as the Scopes trial. I was raised in a religious family and fought all of the dogma that comes with that. Deconstructing my faith was a long and arduous process for me and in my disillusionment I have come to view religion/spirituality as parasitic. Viewing spirituality through an evolutionary lens is an interesting twist for me. As we humans evolved conscious thinking brains we tried to make sense of the world around us and within us. As a product of evolution, spirituality actually makes sense to me whereas it never really did before. Did your life or death experience, I’m referring to your car accident story, change your perspective?
ReplyDelete#11
Posts:
April 8
-“There is no conversation more boring than the one where everybody agrees”
-We are struggling to get it under control.
-Every success has a name
-Bentham and Kant
April 15
-quiz 14
-quiz 14
-Bernie exits
-American Philosophy: A Love Story
April 17
-quiz April 21
-quiz April 23
-Thoreau
-current post
I know, I still can't quite wrap my head around the thought that my life overlaps so memorably with that of someone born in 1875... let alone someone so eminently involved in a part of history I'm so fascinated by.
ReplyDeleteI think I've always viewed spirituality through an evolutionary lens, and vice versa. It's a privilege to be an evolved and evolving creature. I'm grateful.
My car accident in February 2018, when for several long seconds my Corolla spun 360 degrees in the middle of I24 after colliding with a FedEx tractor trailer and I had time to tell myself this was probably the end, didn't fundamentally change my perspective... but it did bring home to me in an emotional and immediate way what I'd previously only known intellectually, that we're always potentially a hairs-breadth away from our terminal breath. In practical terms it made me a lot more attentive to traffic patterns and a lot less distracted while driving. (I don't agree with my wife that it gave me PTSD.) It was a highly instructive experience.
I think that science and spirituality are not as opposed to each other as people might think. I am under the impression that a perfect science (i.e. a perfect understanding of the universe) is also a perfect spirituality. For example, many people view angles and demons and spiritual occurrences as existing on a "spirit plane" or "spirit realm"... why?? Modern physicists have already modeled the universe with as many as 10 dimensions, six more than the four we perceive (the three spatial dimensions and time)!
ReplyDeleteI wish I knew what it was like to not be encumbered by religious doctrine... I would say the issue with convincing people that science has a lot to add to this conversation is going to be difficult. When an idea is viewed as being supernatural it doesn’t adhere to the laws of nature. When one thinks their ideas transcend science(fact) there is not much hope for using science in that argument. I’m really not sure what common ground there is so we can actually have a conversation. This is why I avoid the conversation. #11
ReplyDelete