Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to maybe religion should learn from Spock and 'go beyond logic'

Existential astonishment
ER — (archived)

A great phrase, and a feeling which is the foundation of true spirituality; it is at the heart of all philosophy, art and science. That the universe should exist at all is the most astonishing thing of all, closely followed by, as you point out, the existence of some form of consciousness and self-awareness, a property which appears to be shared by everything with a nervous system.

My hostility to traditional religion is not a result of my rejection of this astonishment, indeed, I feel it dominates my thinking and I truly pity the vast bulk of humanity that seems to lack it altogether. My conflict with the traditional religious approach is that it subverts this profound sense of wonder into a set of arbitrary rules and rituals primarily designed to give us rewards for being good and to punish brutally all those we perceive as being bad. If there is a god, I don't think he will let us into heaven just because we kiss his ass.

There are spiritual traditions that preserve this sense of wonder, some forms of Buddhism come to mind, as do some of the animist religions of the North American native tribes. No doubt there are others, but I am not a religious scholar. I may not accept their cosmologies, but I can value their insight and their sheer joy and delight at being alive. Their spirituality derives from the beauty of nature and the miracle of mind, it isn't a transaction based on sycophancy and debasement before an authoritarian deity.

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