Hi Jonathan and All:
I feel at a distinct disadvantage in discussing a subject you have
devoted many hours to. Not only that, but I’m neither schooled in
any discipline as you are, nor have any credentials other than an
abiding interest in matters metaphysical. Thus I offer the thoughts
of others who do have some credentials, not with the idea of
winning an argument, but providing you with opposing viewpoints
that you may not be aware of so you can make your own view
more persuasive. In other words, knowing what your opponents
say may help you strengthen your case.
With that in mind, here is the position of Ken Wilber, author and
psychologist, from the Introduction his book “Sex, Ecology,
Spirituality—The Spirit of Evolution”:
“It is flat-out strange that something—that anything—is happening
at all. There was nothing, then a Big Bang, then here we all are.
This is extremely weird.
“To Schelling’s burning question, ‘Why is there something rather
than nothing?,’ there have always been two general answers. The
first might be called the philosophy of ‘oops.’ The universe just
occurs, there is nothing behind it, it’s all ultimately accidental or
random, it just is, it just happens—oops! The philosophy of oops,
no matter how sophisticated and adult it may on occasion
appear—its modern names and numbers are legion, from
positivism to scientific materialism, from linguistic analysis to
historical materialism, from naturalism to empiricism—always
comes down to the same basic answer, ‘Don’t ask.’
“The question itself (Why is anything at all happening? Why am I
here?)--the question itself is said to be confused, pathological,
nonsensical, or infantile. To stop asking such silly or confused
questions, they all maintain, the mark of maturity, the sign of
growing up in this cosmos.
“I don’t think so. I think the ‘answer’ these ‘modern and mature’
disciplines give—namely, ‘oops’ (and therefore, ‘Don’t ask!’)–-is
about as infantile a response as the human condition could
possible offer.
“The other broad answer that has been tendered is that
something else is going on: behind the happenstance drama is a
deeper or higher or wider pattern, or order, or intelligence. There
are, of course, many varieties of this ‘Deeper Order’: the Tao, God
Geist, Maat, Archetypal Forms, Reason, Li, Mahamay, Brahman,
Rigpa. And although these different varieties of the Deeper Order
certainly disagree with each other at many points, they all agree
on this: the universe is not what it appears. Something else is
going on, something quite other than oops . . .”
Again, Jonathan, I offer this not so much to boost “my side” of the
argument as for you to respond to as you see fit in your
forthcoming book which I hope you’ll share (at least parts of) with
all of us. Obviously I agree with Wilber, but, like you, I’m ready for a
time out from further disputation.
Platt
P.S. As I reread this before sending, it occurs to me that perhaps
I’ve misunderstood you and that you indeed believe “something
else is going on,” a “wider pattern, or order, or intelligence” as
Wilber suggests. After all, you were attracted to the MOQ. Have I
gone astray? (Having just agreed to a time out, it’s unfair to toss in
this question at the last minute. If it opens up a can of worms
you’re not interested in getting involved in right now, please ignore
it.)
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