Philosophical musings on Quanta & Qualia;  Materialism & Spiritualism; Science & Religion; Pragmatism & Idealism, etc.

The Cause of Causation  

   Post 64. January 09, 2019

  The G*D of Science

   Eternal External Causal Agent

 The Big Bang (BB) theory is accepted by most accredited scientists today, even though it implies an ex nihilo creation event. However, in order to dispell any notions of an ante-bang anthro-morphic magician speaking the world into existence, many materialists speculate on the possibility of an eternal regression of Miniverses within an infinite Multiverse1. As a materialistic hypothesis, such a scenario makes sense, but it is not amenable to empirical proof. So the plural parallel universe postulate remains in the limbo of Ontological2 conjecture along with all other explanations for why-there-is-Something-instead-of-Nothing. That ironic philosophical equivalence of traditional gods and modern Multiverses led me to look for a way to reconcile ancient intuitions with 21st century interpretations of whatever evidence we have regarding the conditional existence and mysterious provenance of our constantly creating Cosmos.

For the philosophical purposes of my attempt to develop a science/religion consilience3, I have coined the ambiguous term "G*D". It refers to the necessary but unknown First Cause of our reality, without implying any specific knowledge of its characteristics, beyond what is obvious or logical. Since the BB theory implies a beginning and end to our space-time capsule, the requirement for an external Cause is undeniable. Only the specific nature of that agency is debatable. For example, the Multiverse hypothesis assumes that space & time & energy & matter are fundamental, and only the details of our local bubble are unique, due to its random initial conditions & constants. On the other hand, the G*D conjecture4 takes as an axiom that the creative agent is timeless and exists outside of space-time. In that case, all concrete things in reality, are merely instances of abstract general Forms5 (universals). And since even Energy & Matter are now known to be merely types of Information6, the world-forming Agent must be something like an eternal Mind imagining our temporal world.

If it weren't for the dominance of Quantum Theory in modern science, my explanation for the untimely birth of the Cosmos would have to be completely materialistic. But today, it's hard to deny that the foundation of material reality is numbers, i.e. immaterial Information7. So it seems that mind-stuff is ontologically prior to matter-stuff. Which is why my G*D is envisioned as a dis-embodied Mind rather than an endless succession of physical bodies. Either of these pre-bang hypotheses could be true or false. But M'verse emphasizes the measurable parts of reality that are important to physicists : matter & energy. While G*D focuses on the qualities of our world that are most meaningful to ordinary humans : ideas, feelings, experiences, thoughts, knowledge, and morals.

Unlike Religion and Science, the separate magisteria (domains) of Theory and Practice are complementary. More-over, the G*D model is based on empirical data, not super-natural revelations. Besides, the philosophical deity (Deism) is a cosmological concept, applying to the universe as a whole, leaving the internal parts to be studied by Science. So the physical and meta-physical hypotheses are consilient in that, together, they cover both the Material and Mental aspects of the world.  And they contribute different kinds of knowledge, pragmatic and perceptive, to the pool of human wisdom. 

End of Post 64

1. Multiverse :
Unbounded space-time within which our world is a tiny bubble.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse

2. Ontological :
Philosophical specialty of metaphysics dealing with the study of being; existence; reality.

3. Consilience :
Convergence or concordance of evidence resulting in unity of theory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consilience

4. The G*D conjecture :
A hypothesis as yet un-confirmed, but serving as a model for understanding transcendent reality. It is a simpler solution, in that space, time, matter, energy are traced back to their origin in pure Information.
http://blog-glossary.enformationism.info/page8.html

5. Forms :
Platonic theory that true reality consists of pure ideas instead of corruptible matter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_forms

6. Information :
As Shannon data it takes on physical forms, but as human knowledge and quantum fields, it is abstract & metaphysical. In both cases, it boils down to mathematical ratios and geometric or statistical or logical relationships. Brains are material, but the informed contents of minds are intangible meanings.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_information

7. Quantum Information :
Virtual particles are merely mathmatical definitions with no material instances.
http://blog-glossary.enformationism.info/

The G*D of Science :
Not a fearsome lord to be worshiped with sacrifices and suffering; but the artful Author of the cosmic drama in which we are bit players, acting our roles and staying in character as best we can. To feel afraid when fear is appropriate and to suffer when pathos is in the script.

First Principles :
The First Cause is a Prime Principle that can’t be known objectively, but deduced or inferred from what “trans-cends the data”.
“We know the truth not only through our reason, but also through our heart. It is through the latter that we know first principles . . . principles are felt.”
__Blaise Pascal, 17th century
scientist, mathematician, and philosopher

“Intuition is exercised for the sake of a qualitative or evaluative understanding . . . Intuition is judgment”.
__Tim Weldon, Philosophy Now magazine p6, 01/2019

What Does G*D do?
There is only one thing we know for sure that the First Cause does : create worlds. Beyond that, we can only speculate on other godly activities, such as miracles, moral laws, divine punish-ments, and afterlife rewards. The only evidence for those interventions within the world are the testimonies of ancient seers, prophets & holy men. But their stories tend to clash and conflict between scriptures and cultures. So my policy is to believe the only sure word of G*D : the creation itself.
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