Sunday, November 3, 2019
No Brute Facts -- the Principle of Sufficient Reason
You are hiking in a remote wilderness, miles from the nearest building or even cell phone tower. You come upon a clearing and see a crystal sphere hovering over you and emitting colorful light pulses in some seeming order: red, blue, green and the pattern repeats. Should there be an explanation for this odd phenomenon or is it acceptable to shrug our shoulders and mutter "Stuff happens"? Can we extrapolate from this case to a general principle of the universe? If so, can we prove that God (or a reasonable facsimile) exists?
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To come across a crystal sphere hovering over an isolated piece of land and emitting a sequence of light and colors would almost certainly cause some level of distress in whoever were to discover it. Along with that distress would inevitably come some curiosity or desire to understand what the object is, why it is there, what it is doing, and for what purpose. It is human nature to want to get to the bottom of mysteries and figure out why things are the way they are, but that does not necessarily mean everything must have an explanation. We can do everything in our power to find answers to unknown questions but sometimes we have to be ready to accept that we cannot possibly know everything there is to know about our universe, whether it be because we do not have the technology or the physical capability to understand. For instance, there are countless phenomena that we simply cannot explain, like capturing supposed paranormal activity on camera, that the scientific community shrugs off as there is no definitive proof of the existence of ghosts. While it may seem lazy, shrugging our shoulders and saying “stuff happens” can be a valid response to certain situations. In the case of proving God’s existence, there may come a time when we have to accept that we may never know if he is real or not. This probably will not happen though, as billions of people rely on the idea of there being something bigger and more important than ourselves. As it stands, there is no definitive way to prove God’s existence as we do not have the technology to do so nor has any effort been put forth by Him to show us He is real. And at the end of the day, words cannot prove anything by themselves. The greatest philosophers can have the most soundproof arguments for God’s existence but logic cannot prove the physical existence of an otherworldly being without hard facts to back it up.
ReplyDeleteThroughout time, humans have always sought an explanation for the happenings in the world. We started by creating gods to explain flash floods, lightning, and other works of nature, and we have evolved to ponder the meaning for the existence of the universe. I believe that it is our greatest fear that we are here completely by accident. Our inability to conceive of a world existing without reason is not based in the fact that this is impossible, but in our own fear of it being possible. We want to believe that we have a purpose, that there is a higher power, that nothing can go unexplained. However, the truth is that it is very possible that there isn’t a reason for everything. Because of this, I do not think it is safe to believe in the principal “everything needs an explanation,” and to use it to explain anything from a hovering crystal sphere to the existence of God.
ReplyDeleteThe principle of sufficient reason says that there is an explanation for the way everything is. The situation is brought up where you are in the middle of nowhere and you see something weird, a crystal sphere hovering over you that is showing different lights in a repeating order. The principle of sufficient reason would say that there needs to be an explanation for this and I agree. Humans in general may come up with their own reason for something out of the ordinary, such as saying that the reason for this are aliens. I believe that there needs to be a reason for that thing, but people may misunderstand the meaning or try to conjure one just for their own satisfaction. This principle of sufficient reason has been applied to the universe and people say that it must have a cause, also known as God. I think that the universe needs a reason or cause for its beginning, but it is not necessarily the common Abrahamic God who is omnibenevolent, omniscient, or even omnipotent. It could even be the all-powerful evil deceiver. If we applied the principle of sufficient reasoning to God, the supposed cause of the universe, it is thought that we should not get anything, but the principle says how everything has a cause or reason, so what is God's? When you bring in God or the cause of the universe, you start a big paradox having the cause of that cause. Even if the principle of sufficient reason is true, people will always misunderstand some things. For example, a kid may see an old movie in black and white and think that the whole world used to be in black and white not realizing that the cause of these movies being in black and white were the cameras at the time. People have to realize that even if there are causes for somethings, such as the universe or black and white movies, you may not understand the cause, so it is okay to say that, "Stuff happens", since you do not know what it means. The argument for God is not necessarily true, since humans misunderstand the causes for things all the time.
ReplyDeleteIf I were in the middle of nowhere and I saw this floating ball I would not just let it go. At first, I would be frightened but my first idea would be that there is a higher power who created this ball. Although, I would have no proof, evidence, or reasoning on why I would assume it is a higher power. This brings me to my next point that God is used as a safety net. When something on explainable happens the other being to turn to is God. If something so horrible happens that is out of one's control, God is something/someone to turn to. The issue with this is that there is no evidence on the existence of God but humans need someone to turn to for relief and comfort. I am not religious at all but once in a while, I find my self praying to god because there is nowhere else to turn to.
ReplyDeleteBased off of the principle of sufficient reasoning, there must be an explanation for this floating sphere emitting colors of red, blue, and green. It is unacceptable to shrug our shoulders apathetically and dismiss this unexplained phenomenon. Humans naturally search for knowledge to explain the universe. It is also unreasonable to attribute this sphere to God or some higher being without proof for God Himself. You don't have an explanation for the sphere, so you cannot use God, because we cannot explain the existence of God either. Humans yearn to find ways to explain the meaning for our existence and do not want to accept the possibility of a void. God is one of the easiest and widely accepted conclusions. It is comforting to believe that there is something much bigger and more powerful than us. It lets us rest easy without existential dread keeping us awake at night. It is an easy way out and provides people with hope through dark times. There is no problem with this intrinsically, but it becomes an issue when it is forced upon others or taken as facts.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that the appropriate response to a seemingly extraterrestrial floating orb admitting red, blue, and green light is to shrug it off as just something that happens. By the principle of sufficient reasoning, there must be some reason behind this seemingly extraterrestrial phenomenon. It is in human nature to seek out the reasoning behind the things that we cannot explain, and when we truly find no scientific or practical reasoning is when the idea of religion comes in to play.It is wrong to believe in a world that has no reason behind it, one in which "stuff happens" at random. From this we can believe that there must be some sort of higher power that has a plan. We may never know exactly how involved this higher power truly is, but most things, especially the ones that we cannot explain must have some reasoning behind them.
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