Tony Jones’ recent post has got me thinking about some stuff that I haven’t in awhile…
The universe seems neither benign nor hostile, merely indifferent.
- Carl Sagan
Jack Caputo convinced me that the abyss is dark, unknown (following Nietzsche and many others). That there is no Ultimate Meaning. No Ultimate Truth. And so on.
Then I came across people like Michael Dowd who are trying to make the case the universe is actually benevolent. In the name of science, evidence, truth.
But, is this actually the case? Will the pursuit of all of the evidence always point us in the direction of knowing that the universe is for us?
Here’s where I’m at with this: Dowd might believe this to be the case. But, he doesn’t know it. He can’t prove it. I also don’t think he can reasonably show that this is probably the case.
Some people believe the universe is inherently hostile. That existence is more of a curse than a blessing. That maybe one day it would be better to not wake up. Or to never have been born.
Who’s right?
I don’t think anyone is Right. None of us know. We are all in a state of Ultimate Ignorance as to the True Nature of the universe.
But, we all have the right and the responsibility to believe one way or another. We can look at each moment, each day as a blessing. Or, we can decide for ourselves that it’s a curse. We can be grateful to the great unknown that we are here. Or, we can shout at the heavens.
Maybe each of us goes through phases of each. Maybe it depends on the weather, or what we ate. Or if our friends and loved ones woke up on the right side of the bed.
This is our predicament. We cannot avoid it.
My personal commitment is to try to always see the positive. To become more aware of what is good.
But, let’s all take a breath and quit claiming that we know.
