I think whether or not there is a god (or gods) doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter anything, and we should not care.Why so?
Here is the reasoning:
1. If there is a god who created (and/or manages the world) that god (or those gods) allow for a lot of suffering, pain, and meaningless horror (pedophilia, torture, sadists, abuse in family, depression, wars, bombs, and so on). As humans we have clear interests: safety, relative wellbeing for ourselves and our families, freedom from too much stress. That's pretty much it. Gods that create the kind of world we live in are not concerned with out needs, hence, we shouldn't care whether or not they exist. Their concerns are different from ours. They are perfectly alien to our world, having no deep concern with anything that makes our lives worth living. Such gods do not merit any attention. We should keep working on better societies, better charities, better and less corrupt social institutions including politics, and on getting along better.
2. If there is a god who created the world that is of no concern to our creating better societies, better charities, better and less corrupt social institutions including politics, and on getting along better. There is no sign at all that any god has any concern with our endeavours to create better societies. People live excellent lives in atheist societies, mixed religion societies, non-religious societies, and also, people live horrible lives in both religious and non-religious societies. At the same time, people live much better lives in societies with strong and stable political institutions, with social justice, with effective charities and social services, with solidarity and good psychological services. People without these things live consistently worse lives.
3. Our abilities to build better societies don't depend on any gods. They depend on human capacities and abilities to feel, think, and talk. We can cooperate, plan, agree on things, and act together. That's all that is basically required to start any social cooperation. Gods are hence irrelevant. The values we create don't depend on gods, they depend on our abilities and activities, and our efforts. The values that matter to humans are values that stem from our human nature and build, and our ways of living.
4. Gods could seem to be relevant to the sciences. But it seems that whatever role any creating god or interfering god might have played at any time, the world does run consistently along the rules natural science, and our spheres of human interest are shaped by the activities and dynamics of the cultural conceptual spheres that humans shape. Hence gods are irrelevant to them. We need to understand the kind of social world we build, and the kind of natural world around us better, as well as their interconnections. We are parts of nature, so our capacities to invent cultural norms, habits, to sustain practices and invoke values, and so on, are all natural. They don't need to be reduced, or explained away, nor do they need to be explained by invoking the interference of gods. They are simply complex and interesting parts of our world.
Showing posts with label explanation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label explanation. Show all posts
Saturday, 26 November 2016
Friday, 7 October 2016
On explanation far and close, interesting and uninteresting
When scientists say that explaining the formation of chunks of matter (for example planets, energy, atoms) or the distribution of information is an explanation of everything that is important for us these days, that's exactly as much of an explanation as saying that 'and then people started growing crops, settled down, and that's why we have culture and science today!' Meaning: it is not an interesting explanation. It is an explanation, like it is an explanation of why I eat a pizza now that I am a human and hunger is a powerful motivation that moves me to act. Sure, but this does not explain why I'm eating pizza, why I did go along with this motivation right now, not twenty minutes ago or half an hour later, why I did not rather occupy myself with something else to push the hunger back - as any normal adult human being can do. These further questions are not answered by a hazy allusion to general, species-level motivations.
Of course there would be scientific explanations of why I'm eating a pizza now, or why there science and culture today. But these will be immensely complex, interdisciplinary explanations, where each details will matter a great deal. The world is complex, and hence there are no simple explanations of it. If someone is not willing to get down with the details, then they should not profess that they have explained everything. Such self-serving, ego-boasting phrases don't help anyone.
Of course there would be scientific explanations of why I'm eating a pizza now, or why there science and culture today. But these will be immensely complex, interdisciplinary explanations, where each details will matter a great deal. The world is complex, and hence there are no simple explanations of it. If someone is not willing to get down with the details, then they should not profess that they have explained everything. Such self-serving, ego-boasting phrases don't help anyone.
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