Month: August 2019

PHOEBE: Go ahead and scoff. You know, there’re a lot of things that I don’t believe in, but that doesn’t mean they’re not true.
JOEY: Such as?
PHOEBE: Like crop circles, or the Bermuda triangle, or evolution?
ROSS: Whoa, whoa, whoa. What, you don’t, uh, you don’t believe in evolution?
PHOEBE: I don’t know, it’s just, you know…monkeys, Darwin, you know, it’s a, it’s a nice story, I just think it’s a little too easy.
ROSS: Too easy? The process of every living thing on this planet evolving over millions of years from single-celled organisms, too easy?
PHOEBE: Yeah, I just don’t buy it.
ROSS: Uh, excuse me. Evolution is not for you to buy, Phoebe. Evolution is scientific fact like the air we breathe, like gravity.
PHOEBE: Ok, don’t get me started on gravity. (Friends)

So, we ended off our discussion last time with our introduction of cosmology.

cosmology = "the science of the origin and development of the universe." (Bing)

We have been asserting that there is a relationship between what you think is true, what you think is real, and where you think everything came from.

For example, let’s say that you believe–like the character Ross in the TV sitcom Friends–that Science is the source of “ultimate truth,” then you would probably be a materialist, or, at least, a naturalist. For you, you would have to try to explain where everything came from from within that context. The answer, then, for you would have to include evolution, natural selection, and “survival-of-the-fittest.” In other words–we are all just products of chance (over time).

But what if, like, Phoebe in the scenario above, there is something about that line of thought that you’re uncomfortable with?

Some people believe in “intelligent design.” That theory is that things are just too complex to have just come about by chance–you know, the galaxies, the solar system, the human body, the eye, even life itself. These folks think that someone or something created the universe and its contents, and mankind.

Where do you come down?

Take a look at our Cosmology grid printable document download.

“They were born in stable orbits. Within the black holes, creatures formed from the primary elements. Air, Water, Fire, Earth. The science division had a technical name. We just called them Elementals.”
―Mysterio

In our last blogpost, we postulated that one’s epistemological position would lead to a related ontological position. (What is true –>What is real.)

postulate = "suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief."

Another way of saying this is to say that what is true is a factor of what is real.

factor = "a circumstance, fact, or influence that contributes to a result or outcome."

A interesting illustration of this is in the movie, Spiderman: Far from Home.

In it, there is a conversation between Peter Parker, Nick Fury, and a new super hero named Quentin Beck, or Mysterio.

Which brings us to our third question in this thought journey. Once you’ve decided what is real, you might wonder where it all came from.

So what is real?

Some of us adhere to a form of monism.

monism = "a very broad term, applicable to any doctrine which maintains either that there is ultimately only one thing, or only one kind of thing..." (Routledge)

That can apply both to the materialists, as well as to the Eastern mystics (e.g., The Matrix or Dr. Strange), who consider matter to be only an illusion (remember the quote, “There is no spoon”?).

And others of us ascribe to pluralism or dualism.

pluralism = "a condition or system in which two or more states, groups, principles, sources of authority, etc., coexist." (Bing)

dualism = "the quality or condition of being dual; duality." (Bing)

People who accept the spiritual (i.e., demons, witches, angels, miracles, God) as an unseen reality, in addition to the physical universe, are considered to be dualists.

And you might consider those who believe in the existence of a multiverse (think here of Spiderman’s Earth-833), or the quantum realm (think here of Ant-Man) to be pluralists.

So, where do you come down on all of this? What do you believe to be true? Why? And what do you think is real? What is your reasoning? Can you explain? Eventually, you’re going to have to answer the question, Where did it all come from? When you watch Far from Home, pay attention as Quentin Beck talks about the Elementals. Think about epistemology, ontology, and cosmology.

cosmology = "an account or theory of the origin of the universe." (Bing)