I continue to read Philosophy in the Flesh. I agree with the premise that we can only know our world and life through our senses (information paths between us and the world) whether it be sight, hearing, touch, reaction to the skin, etc. In addition, I concur with the premise that we understand our world via metaphor and the means by which we experience the world. Hence most why most of our metaphors as expressed by the authors seem related to how we interact with the world. For example our metaphors related to sequences of events, going on journeys, etc. I express this poorly. The point being that our thoughts, constructs of the world, our thinking, our expression of our ideas, etc, are attached to ourselves or in other words embodied and the concept of the disembodied idea is perhaps a false concept. However, regardless of whether or not there is a thing called true beyond our bodily understand is as far as I can see an hypothesis that can not be tested. Not unlike the concept in quantum mechanics in which the observer influences the result. It help to see that we need to be cognitively aware of how people see the world and those around them and how they choose their words to express their interaction. As it is in the way we describe and explain things and life that are insights and treasures into understanding the other and how we interrelate with each other. As it may relate to our understanding of God. Why now that is an interesting thought? One implication is that we all have idols as our God as we can not truly separate our understanding from ourselves. As such if God is truly beyond our understanding any concept we have will be incomplete and a projection of the way we understand the world and interact with it. Be that as it may, Tillich would continue to encourage us to not be afraid of what our science may bring. To a certain extent our science is nothing more than our current understanding of the what things are or at least as we understand them. As such it is an incomplete picture and will always be an incomplete picture. Fortunately in the belief system I currently have, God and his mercy transcends my understanding and ability to know all. It is God who saves regardless of my current understanding of anything.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 03:34:15 +0000
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