@Arkturos saidThere is an excellent question in here somewhere.
Or do we just like to believe that they do because of our pattern-recognition talents and drive to make sense of the world?
Do we just like to believe that they do - some (most) people maybe (probably yes, at least in western society). However lots of people including me do not "like to" believe this. Or believe it at all.
Because of our pattern-recognition talents and drive to make sense of the world - for some people yes, this may be why they like to believe it.
There are plenty of other reasons. The biggest one may be fear.
For many people, religion and faith (or other belief systems) help them deal with daily life (and its inherent tragedies). Life would be much sadder and harder both mentally and emotionally without God or "things really happen for a reason."
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@Bish saidThank you. I can only string words together in a linear way here, and maybe it's a circular question or better posed as a 3D cat's cradle in a fog?
There is an excellent question in here somewhere.
Do we just like to believe that they do - some (most) people maybe (probably yes, at least in western society). However lots of people including me do not "like to" believe this. Or believe it at all.
Because of our pattern-recognition talents and drive to make sense of the world - for some people yes, this may be why ...[text shortened]... sadder and harder both mentally and emotionally without God or "things really happen for a reason."
I don't know the answer.
@Arkturos saidDisagree that you can only string words together in a linear way here. History has outed you as a very deep thinker (if you will pardon the expression).
Thank you. I can only string words together in a linear way here, and maybe it's a circular question or better posed as a 3D cat's cradle in a fog?
I don't know the answer.
I think there are puzzles and mysteries.
The key to puzzles is working through to the answer or finding someone who has already worked through to the answer.
The key to mysteries is recognizing that it is a mystery.
@Bish saidOr it's just someone with a half-baked idea and a denigrating view of the world around him.
Disagree that you can only string words together in a linear way here. History has outed you as a very deep thinker (if you will pardon the expression).
I think there are puzzles and mysteries.
The key to puzzles is working through to the answer or finding someone who has already worked through to the answer.
The key to mysteries is recognizing that it is a mystery.
@Suzianne saidPlenty of major thinkers had significant, documented other struggles.
Or it's just someone with a half-baked idea and a denigrating view of the world around him.
Friedrich Nietzsche, Georg Cantor, Isaac Newton.
Intelligent and stable aren’t the same axis.
@Arkturos saidIt takes a huge amount of intellection to recognize that the Earth goes round the sun, whereas the moon goes round the Earth--though the two cases look the same to us.
Or do we just like to believe that they do because of our pattern-recognition talents and drive to make sense of the world?
This principle applies across the board: patterns which are really there in nature, such as the diurnal cycle and the changing seasons, and patterns which we project onto nature--'the harmony of the spheres,' 'God's plan for mankind' etc.etc.--also look the same to us.
If astronomers are right, we are living in an explosion: space is mostly empty, and, expanding at near-light-speed, getting more so. The patterns we think we see are limited by our sensory apparatus (both our biological sense organs and our measuring instruments), and are mostly temporary and localized anyway. Even the most powerful space-based telescopes and the large hadron collider at CERN, must deliver data in some form we can see, hear, touch, taste or smell. Yet there is no reason to think that existence is limited to just these five modes which constitute sensory perception for us.
In other words, we are damned to live in our own delusions. We are stuck in Plato's cave, transfixed by shadows on the wall.
Food for reflection...
@moonbus saidI've never been a good student of philosophy.
It takes a huge amount of intellection to recognize that the Earth goes round the sun, whereas the moon goes round the Earth--though the two cases look the same to us.
This principle applies across the board: patterns which are really there in nature, such as the diurnal cycle and the changing seasons, and patterns which we project onto nature--'the harmony of the spheres, ...[text shortened]... elusions. We are stuck in Plato's cave, transfixed by shadows on the wall.
Food for reflection...
I prefer the scientific method.
@Suzianne saidThe thing is, science discovers only material causes, never reasons. Science discovers 'how'--'why' is the realm of philosophy and theology, and therein lies the rub: there's no evidence for 'why', only speculation.
I've never been a good student of philosophy.
I prefer the scientific method.
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@moonbus saidI've been saying the same thing for years in the Spirituality forum.
The thing is, science discovers only material causes, never reasons. Science discovers 'how'--'why' is the realm of philosophy and theology, and therein lies the rub: there's no evidence for 'why', only speculation.
I agree with your basic premise.
Proof is the realm of science.
