Adding reason to faith
Home
Main Page  »  The West
Saturday, November 17
View Article  What does ecological niche reinforce about the significance of existence, life? Part II of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Sat 17 Nov 2007 12:00 AM EST

What does ecological niche reinforce about the significance of existence, life?

 

Part II of II

There is far more to the human organism than described by the physical niche it fills.

 

There is the spiritual side of humanity, the idealistic side, the aspect of humanity wrapped in dreams, hopes, and sense of connection to something beyond the boundaries of the universe.

 

The physical aspect of the universe creates ecological niches that living organisms with ‘local’ awareness fill.

 

But humanity seems to have more than local awareness.

 

Humanity seems to have a sense of, a possible connection to, a form of universal awareness that goes far beyond the physical universe within which we function.

 

•

 

We acknowledge the existence of our universe as an absolute in terms of perceiving its existence.

 

In addition, we acknowledge the existence of life existing within the niches created by the physical aspect of the universe.

 

Both define each other.

 

If there is more to existence than the physical universe and life, and if life and the universe exist within ‘something’ that lies beyond the boundaries of the universe, then both the universe and life would seem to have a function within and to this ‘thing’ within which they lie.

 

Studying the two, life and the physical aspect of the universe, should help us understand what lies beyond the universe.

 

But we need more information than what we observe about life and the universe.

 

We need to also study the strong sense of purpose of humanity.

 

End

Leave Comment  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos
Friday, November 16
View Article  What does ecological niche reinforce about the significance of existence, life? Part I of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Fri 16 Nov 2007 12:00 AM EST

What does ecological niche reinforce about the significance of existence, life?

 

 

Part I of II

 

Niches reinforce the concept of belonging.

 

Organisms are members of the universe. Organisms fill a place created within the universe.

 

•

 

Does humanity belong and, if it does, to what does it belong?

 

Organisms fill ecological niches within a universe and, when studied, the niche they fill can be understood both generally and in great detail.

 

The same concept applies to life.

 

Even if a life form were removed to an environment totally alien to them, biologists could gain great insight into the nature of the surrounding within which that life existed just by studying the life form.

 

The same applies to humans.

 

When studying the human biological organism, both body and brain, one could learn much about the individual’s and the species’ environment.

 

But one would have little insight into the motivation, drives, conscious needs, and desires on an intellectual level unless one also examined the accomplishments, hope, dreams, and knowledge the human organism had established

 

To be continued: Part II of II: There is far more...
Leave Comment  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos
Monday, October 22
View Article  How does early Christian philosophy help us understand what life is? Part II of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Mon 22 Oct 2007 12:00 AM EDT

How does early Christian philosophy help us understand what life is?

 

Part II of II

... In short, if nothing exists beyond the boundaries of our universe, immortality becomes illogical since time permeates our universe.

 

With the elimination of the rationality of immortality, religions would lose their significance.

 

Early Christian philosophy was not about to entertain any suggestions leading to this possibility.

 

So it was that early Christian philosophy expanded upon the size of the Causative

Force over what western/Middle Eastern pre-Judaic faiths believed.

 

Early Christian philosophy established the size of the Causative Force to be greater than physical reality, our universe.

 

With the increase in size of the Causative Force came an elevation of the significance of the individual followed by an elevation of behavior.

 

•

 

Early Christian philosophy offered us an understanding of something greater existing than life.

 

Something greater than the universe existed and we had the opportunity to be a part of it if….

 

With philosophy questioning the qualifier, ‘If …,’ philosophy found itself in direct confrontation with religion, which refused to give up its control over the keys to the gates of ‘heaven.’

 

Religions, unwilling to be questioned, created a split between faith and reason.

 

Religion moved on with its own existence ignoring scientific or philosophical perceptions contradicting religion.

 

End

Leave Comment  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos
Sunday, October 21
View Article  How does early Christian philosophy help us understand what life is? Part I of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Sun 21 Oct 2007 12:00 AM EDT

How does early Christian philosophy help us understand what life is?

 

 

Part I of II

 

There are two statements we can make regarding our universe – our reality: our universe either exists within something or it does not.

 

In either case, our definition of what life is becomes quite different.

 

•

 

If life exists, then the definition of life would most probably have to be derived from and account for either one of these two perceptions.

 

If life exists within the Causative Force (panentheism), then hope rises up and engulfs all individuals equally.

 

Significance becomes absolute and rational rather than a possibility beyond our understanding.

 

On the other hand, if life does not exist within the Causative Force because there is no outside to the universe, then hope begins to die out and eventually loses the warmth and comfort it had to offer us.

 

Without an existence outside the universe, time becomes a major factor of our existence, for it permeates our universe.

 

With no outside beyond our reality, time, being a function of matter and energy, becomes a characteristic of all living things and, thus, immortality becomes an irrational concept.

 

To be continued: Part II of II: In short, if nothing exists beyond the boundaries of our universe, immortality...
Leave Comment  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos
Saturday, October 20
View Article  What does early Christian philosophy imply about our relationship to the Causative Force? Part II of II
by Daniel J. Shepard on Sat 20 Oct 2007 12:00 AM EDT

What does early Christian philosophy imply about our relationship to the Causative Force?

 

Part II of II

... Thus, religion was able to separate ‘evil’ from its picture of a ‘perfectly good’ being. Purpose for life emerged.

 

Life existed for the purpose of singing praises and bolstering the ego of the Causative Force, an omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent being.

 

One of many more paradoxes arose, that of an all present, all knowing, all powerful being needing the reassurance that it was just that.

 

Philosophy, reason, began its search for eternity, the Causative Force, and an understanding of our relationship to this abstract Force.

 

Within a thousand years, philosophy began evolving toward the concept of an omnipresent Causative Force, panentheism. And with it came a purpose, aiding the Causative Force to grow.

 

•

 

Science, observation, began its search for eternity, what lay beyond the universe, the abstract Force which initiated our universe, our reality.

 

Within a short 500 years, science began evolving towards the concept of entropy – all physical realities must, at some point, come to an end.

 

This implied there must be a beginning; we were created.

 

Action and reaction, cause and effect, beginning and end, a Causative Force and Her creation interacting. Science was also coming to the same conclusion.

 

End

Leave Comment  |  Permanent Link  |  Cosmos