So… Hi again! Sorry it’s been a while. I would make up some excuses about being busy (which I have been), being stressed (which I have been), but in truth the reason I haven’t written anything in a while is because I am lazy. But now I am writing something again it is completely off topic, but oh well. It’s something.
So recently I have started studying AS Level Philosophy and Ethics and it’s going great. I understand pretty much most of it and the teacher’s are awesome, but something has been bugging me in Philosophy which I need to get off my chest. This all started when we were learning about infinite regression. This is the idea that the universe does not actually have a cause and no matter how far back we go it (the universe) has always existed. This is put down by pretty much every philosopher as it is deemed to be illogical. And this is where I start my rant.
Logic is “reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity” and everyone believes it to be true. Human’s are incredibly limited beings who do not use all of their mental capacity. We are all dictated by society and constantly try to conform to it in every way. What says that our logic doesn’t try to conform to that too? 2+2=4 but why can’t it equal 5? And numbers are just a way for us to measure things anyways so they truly don’t hold much of a meaning when the entirety of the universe and how it is created comes into consideration.
Sometimes I think of the possibility that animals know all the answers to all of these big questions and that is why they did not evolve and develop to the standards that we have. When you know everything what can you do but survive? Humans constantly strive for knowledge and question everything, but animals appear not to. Imagine life when you do not question everything, question your existence, question what happens after death, question how the universe was created. You can’t. But animals just continue the same cycle of living with no major developments and the need to research every aspect of life.
This is why I question the truth and validity of human logic. It seems so small to me and unable to comprehend most things. Anselm said that “God is the greatest possible being which can be conceived”, and yet we cannot truly conceive God. The idea of a necessary being (one that does not rely on anything for its existence) is strange to us as we haven’t come across it before. Ideas which are entirely new and unheard of we tend to either fear, question, or research. But when there is nothing to research all we can do is fear, question, and apply the logic we have to it as best we can. This is what has sparked so many debates between philosophers.
I went off on a tangent then, but I’m back now. Anyways, we are trying to fit all the big questions and statements such as ‘what created the universe?’ and ‘infinite regression is impossible’ into the small confines of human logic when it (logic) may not be correct. These concepts are probably too vast for us to conceive, so people stating definitely that something is right or something is wrong seems utterly stupid as I doubt we will ever truly know. So why can’t infinite regression be real? Why can’t there be a necessary being? Why can’t God not be the cause of the universe? Just because they don’t seem logical to us doesn’t mean they can be true.
P.S. I have only studied Philosophy for a couple of months and I know very little. These are just random thoughts that have come to my head which are probably wrong. And I know this is nothing to do with books or writing but at least I have written something. If you have any opinions on this let me know. I’m open to them as the more you comment with your opinions the more I learn.
Caffeine and Books 