Category: Education

Cosm…er, what?

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.

If it’s real, where did it come from?

“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.

www.denofgeek.com

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.

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

Truth now Seems to be Stranger than Fiction

“Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent. We would not (formerly) dare to conceive the things which are (now) really mere commonplaces of existence… it would make all fiction with its conventionalities and foreseen conclusions most stale and unprofitable.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle, The Complete Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

In our recent first podcast, we detailed a number of options regarding the source of ultimate truth, and we said that- where one ends up is really a function of your starting or “jump-off” point.

For example (we said) if you believe that Science is the source of ultimate truth, than your view of Reality must be a form of materialism (everything that is “real” is composed of matter and energy) or naturalism (Nature is all that is real).

By the way–now that we’re mentioning it– let’s nail down some of those terms.

epistemology = What is True?
ontology = What is Real?

Your epistemological position will necessarily determine your ontological one.

Let’s say that you think that human reason is a good place to start (kind of like Spock on Star Trek). Then everything you choose to accept as real must be reasonable.

Did you know that Thomas Jefferson (the author of The Declaration of Independence) believed that way about the Bible? He took a razor blade and cut out anything that had to do with the miraculous (Moses parting the Red Sea; Jesus’ virgin birth, etc.) He could not fit miracles into his worldview. His ontological viewpoint did not include them as part of what he saw as real.

Another worldview that some people have had is called Empiricism. That means basing your worldview solely upon your own experience. There was a movie some time back, with Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix, called Signs. In it, one of the characters talks about his and his brother’s experiences, using that as a frame of reference for his belief in God–something like “God was there for me before, and I therefore have no problem expecting His help now.” His brother’s experience, however, had led him to believe the opposite.

What is your epistemological viewpoint? What is your ontological one? Are you a materialist? A naturalist? A rationalist (like Spock)? An empiricist? Or are you something else? The point is that you have to go from point A to point B to point C, like the Long Island railroad. Not all of the lines lead to Shirley. To get there, you can’t take the line to Stonybrook or Yaphank. You’ve got to take the line to Montauk.

What do you think is the source of what is ultimately true? What do you think is real? The two things are connected, and they are connected to our third question as well: How did everything get here? Where did it come from? How did it start?

Big Questions…

We’ve been talking (in our previous blog posts) about knowing–to be more precise, we’ve been talking about epistemology.

episteme = "knowledge" (Greek)
ology = "the study of" (such as biology, psychology, sociology, etc.)

Take a look at our Mind Inputs sheet (https://thinkingaccuratelyeducation.comindex.php/product/mind-inputs/). Where do you go for knowledge? People often say, “you are what you eat.” We could say that looking at how you fill out the sheet will also tell us your epistemological position or worldview.

worldview: a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world.

Everyone has a worldview from which they view the world–and the universe, for that matter!–around them (a perspective).

https://images.app.goo.gl/W6u4ru2Cf8iDcoUb6

What do you think yours is? And where do you go for ultimate truth?

I suggest that this is the single biggest question you will ever have to answer—and you do! Everyone has to answer it for themselves.

https://www.celebritypresspublishing.com/our-publications/the-big-question/

Want to know another question you’re going to have to answer?

What is real? Ponder it until our next blog, OK? Now that you’ve decided where to go for ultimate truth, this one should be a “no-brainer”–right?

Let’s talk about knowing…

In our last blog post, we began to talk about knowing–specifically, knowing if something is true. I would like to further point out that this is particularly important in direct relation to the consequences involved.

For example, I have often been involved in the ketchup/mustard controversy that surrounds the eating of hot dogs.. You see, most of our kids are in the ketchup camp, while my wife and I have always come down on the side of mustard (especially with onions or sauerkraut!) But really, what does it matter? What is the big deal? As my stepfather used to say:

It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other.

But think of other, more serious issues, like voting, or family or religious matters. The stakes are higher, as are people’s passions. And the consequences of our ideas, and our decisions are more serious.

consequences: " a result or effect of an action or condition," " importance or relevance." (Bing)

How do we know if we’re right?

I suggest that it is–ultimately–a matter of authority, and since each of us is responsible for our own decisions, we each get to decide who to give authority to. And we all do, everyday, about all kinds of issues:

authority:"the power or right to give orders, make decisions, and enforce obedience," "the power to influence others, especially because of one's commanding manner or one's recognized knowledge about something," "official permission; sanction." (Bing)

Here are examples of examples of things or people to whom we tend to grant authority:

  • experts
  • books/authors
  • magazines/newspapers
  • movies/TV
  • news
  • science/scientists
  • doctors
  • experience
  • tradition
  • parents
  • pastors
  • priests
  • presidents
  • rabbis
  • teachers
  • society
  • consensus
  • intuition
  • revelation

The question that comes to mind is Why? And how do we know that our authorities are right?

Isn’t all knowing really a matter of believing and trust?

belief: "an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists,""something one accepts as true or real; a firmly held opinion or conviction,""trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something." 
trust:"firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something," "believe in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of."

Do yourself a favor. Give this some consideration. Be willing to wonder if–perhaps-you might be granting a bit too much authority to someone who might–possibly–be a tiny bit less reliable that you first thought they were. Just think about it, will you?

Let’s Think Together…

People seem to disagree about so many things. And, often, people seem to have such strong opinions on subjects we may not have thought about, or have not even heard about! How can we know what to think, or how to think (accurately)?

For example, I think of myself as being a certain height, a certain weight, and a certain age. Why? What is the basis of my ideas?

basis: "the underlying support or foundation for an idea, argument, or process" (Bing)

I have always thought of myself as having been born on a certain date–the date my family always celebrated as my “birthday,” even before I was really old enough to think about it much. We always had a cake, and there usually were gifts. And my parents or older siblings were often there, laughing at amusing stories about other birthdays, years ago. Everyone acknowledged that date as my birthday–there seemed be a solid consensus.

consensus: "a general agreement," "agreement, harmony, concord, like-mindedness" (Bing)

A few years ago, our family started looking into our family tree, and we discovered that my wife’s grandfather’s birth date is somewhat open to question. We’ve got all kinds of records–government-issued documents, but many of them disagree with each other. We’re not 100% sure when he was born! And to make matters worse, it appears that he actually changed his name somewhere along the way. All of this made me stop and think.

What do you believe to be true? Why? What do you base your beliefs on? How reliable is the basis for your ideas? In this blog, I invite you to embark on a journey with me as we think about these kinds of things together.