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

  Post 116.  October 4, 2021 . . . . . continued

   The Anthropic Cosmological Principle

   Contingent Cosmos or Necessary Existence

Having found intimations of non-random (intentional?)21 Natural processes in the worldviews of enlightenment scientists and philosophers, the authors turn to other cultures for their insights. Even there we find a distinction between the cerebral theories of nobility, and the heart-felt myths & practices of ordinary people, For example, in Sumerian origin myths, “humans were created to serve the gods primarily by offering sacrifices and homage”. This notion of humans as the “cattle of god”, was apparently inherited by the early Hebrews. Such views were probably based on the experience of expendable pawns & vassels with harsh treatment by absolute warlord rulers. So, they performed elaborate rituals of subservience to placate their temperamental deities. Yet, more privileged “noble” priests & scribes began to portray the creator as a benevolent king, who maintains order in the universe, and as a loving Father in Heaven, dispensing favors to his children.

Ironically, those blessings were typically disguised as ordinary benefits of Nature²¹. Even the early Chinese, who had no notion of a Supreme Deity, “assumed this Natural spontaneous order was not the result of conscious design”. But the sage, “Chu Hsi’s spontaneous ordering principle seems strikingly similar to Leibnitz’ pre-established order”. And “the Tao Te Ching . . . considers the Tao to be simply a spontaneous ordering principle”, rather than an intervening deity. So, throughout history we find both worldviews, one fawning & fatalistic, and the other entitled & optimistic. Even in Christianity, both strains of religious perspective are found in the elaborate rituals of high-church Catholics, and the plain piety of some protestants.

Modern philosophers & scientists also differ, along the same lines, in their worldviews. Some see the world as a series of contingencies that have no particular value, except in their effects on Me. If a star explodes, or a sparrow falls, no one cares. Others see intrinsic positive/negative values in every event of life on Earth. Every change is for the better or worse, and every occurrence has meaning to someone²². The existence of stars & sparrows is all a part of some cosmic plan. So, most creation stories make the existence of humans essential to the ultimate story of Being. Moreover, Wheeler’s Participatory Anthropic Principle asserts that, “the state of the universe at any given time must be determined not only by the state of the universe an instant before, which is the usual physical assumption. But rather it must be a function of all the preceding states and all the future states”. Hence, it’s all a part of some pre-ordained cosmic program. But, is the finale pre-destined?

In order for the universe to have meaning though, it must possess a storyline that is relevant to the observer. And the necessity for an author of that story is assumed by those who see signs of design in Nature. In an endnote, the authors of the ACP book argue that, “if the universe is defined as the totality of everything that exists, then every believer in God . . . is a pantheist by definition. The traditional distinctions between theism, deism, pantheism, etc. can only be made if it is possible to distinguish between God and the physical universe”.

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TAO

21. Natural Blessings :
“That ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.”
Matthew 5 : 45

22. To be, or Not To Be :
“The unrest that keeps the never stopping clock of metaphysics going is the thought that the the non-existence of the world is just as possible as its existence.”
___William James

The Anthropic

Cosmological

Principle

John D. Barrow

& Frank Tipler

1996

“. . . A series of mysterious coincidences between the numerical values of the the fundamental constants of Nature. The possibility of our own existence seems to hinge precariously upon these coincidences..”

Is there a necessary eternal Being?

ENFORMATIONISM

Nobility is a social class normally ranked immediately below royalty and found in some societies that have a formal aristocracy. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm that possessed more acknowledged privilege and higher social status than most other classes in society. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles