2 posts tagged “philosophy.”

"Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to continually be part of unanimity.":

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) German Dramatist

You may have noticed my love of quotes. I love them because there is just so much distilled wisdom to be had in them. That quote doesn’t just pop out of someone’s head. It’s the end result of years of enquiry, thinking, and resolve to impart that wisdom to others. You really have to admire those people. They point the way to those who follow.

 

Yet, there comes a time when we can no longer look to others for guidance. Sure, we can distil their accumulated wisdom and be grateful for it, but we eventually arrive at a point where that accumulated wisdom can take us no further. The wise men have reached their own brick wall. All that they can do is show us the many paths that lay before us, and let us choose which path to follow.

 

Which brings me to cosmic consciousness. No-one knows if there is such a thing. No-one can say that there is not such a thing. It is up to us whether we choose to go down that path, or not.

 

I have chosen to go down that path. I look to those whom I admire, and am guided by their thoughts. Last week I posted Neil de Grasse Tyson’s wonderful essay on the Cosmic Perspective. In particular, I asked readers to note this comment:

 

The cosmic perspective not only embraces our genetic kinship with all life on Earth but also values our chemical kinship with any yet-to-be discovered life in the universe, as well as our atomic kinship with the universe itself.

 

I think we too often think of ourselves as distinct from the universe. We’re not. We’re part of that universe. And we’re alive. Could it just be that the universe itself is the yet-to-be-discovered life of which Neil de Grasse Tyson speaks?

Einstein has this to say about our relationship to the universe:

 

A human being is a part of the whole, called by us, "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.

 

“a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness”. I see no reason why we must assume that we don’t share that consciousness with the universe.

 

I read somewhere that Abraham Maslow had contact with Richard Bucke who was the first to write about cosmic consciousness. To my way of thinking, Bucke’s cosmic consciousness is a continuation of Maslow’s self actualisation. It is for me, anyway. I don’t know where the cosmic consciousness path will take me. It may not take me anywhere at all.

 

But that’s this fascinating thing we call "life", isn’t it.

Last week

"...one of the strongest motives that lead men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one's own ever-shifting desires. A finely tempered nature longs to escape from the personal life into the world of objective perception and thought."

Albert Einstein.

So, here we are. We’ve moved on from our human perspective of this life to the cosmic perspective. So, what‘s the implications of this step? 

"Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion."

Albert Einstein

Much of what gives meaning to life from our human perspective has no meaning from a cosmic perspective. The first casualty is our human concern for what happens after death. From a cosmic perspective, we are bundles of energy that do not cease to exist, but change from one form to another. The fear of death is therefore no longer of concern. There isn’t any death. We’ve always been here in some form. We always will be. Sin has no place in our cosmic perspective. There is no good or evil. There just is. So, the priests and religious charlatans lose their power to promise eternal life in return for material compensation. We already have eternal life in one form or another. We are part of the universe. The wonder of that never ceases to uplift me, as it has right from the moment when I first  read Max Erhmann’s “You are a child of the universe, you have a right to be here, no less than the trees and the stars.”

"The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge."

Albert Einstein

Religion serves many who see life from a human perspective, but we are now looking at life from our cosmic perspective where “God is dead”.  We are now existentialists. We need to give life our own meaning. And this must be fashioned from our knowledge of science and philosophy. And who has accumulated all the knowledge that is to be had in order to create a fully informed philosophy of life? The truth is, of course, that no-one can come even close in one lifetime to achieving this. So, the best that we can do is to gather together the scraps we have learnt from others, combine them with our own observations, and somehow cobble together that elusive philosophy of life that we know will always be a work in progress. We must be aware that, as we travel life’s journey, our philosophy will be modified from time to time as we acquire a little more knowledge, and as we do a little more thinking. But as we search for the meaning of life, we become aware that the search itself gives meaning to life, and that the wonder of it all is a recurring nourishment of one’s soul on this exhilarating journey that we take.

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

Albert Einstein

I’ve tried to read philosophy, and am painfully aware of how little I understand of it. I’ve managed to grasp snippets such as Plato’s cave allegory, but for the most part I read the words but nothing penetrates. Still, like a moth attracted to the flame of a burning candle I return again and again, only to be burnt one more time. Maybe we are all moths in our search for understanding. But if I wait until I come to a full understanding of philosophy, then it is obvious that I will never develop my own philosophy at all, so press on I must. Similarly my understanding of science is very basic. I can claim some knowledge of the physics and chemistry underlying the principles of electricity, as my occupation was in the electricity supply industry, but even this is very basic.  Still, we have to use the tools we have in our quest for a philosophy of life. So, I press on, albeit very much aware of my own limitations. 

“Everything is determined by forces over which we have no control. It is determined for the insect as well as for the star. Human beings, vegetables, or cosmic dust - we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible piper.”

Albert Einstein

As Will Durant says, history is the men and women on the banks, quietly living useful lives while the politicians in the mainstream of civilisation fight their wars. One such worthwhile pursuit on the banks is the search for the Theory of Everything. You can watch a short video about that here: 

So, did you get all that? The possibility of multiple universes makes me realise just how little we know of this life. I can’t help speculating though that those multiple universes may play a part when we cease to exist in our present form on this Earth. I can recommend the video of the Elegant Universe below. For those who haven’t seen it before, be prepared to have all your human perceptions turned upside down.  And just when you were starting to feel comfortable with your cosmic perspective,  be prepared for the revelation that we may need to develop a further perspective, the Quantum perspective. Yes, I know it’s all very confusing, but trust me, so very rewarding. No, really…

OK, I think I’ll leave it there to give you time to digest this elegant universe of ours. We’re actually delving into what we’re made of, along with the rest of the universe. It gives me peace of mind like nothing seen from our human perspective ever can. I hope it does the same for you. Max Ehrmann had it so right, don’t you think?

You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore, be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham,
drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Edited version The Elegant Universe.

Full version of Elegant Universe.

 “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.”

Albert Einstein.

‘Til next week.