evaluating philosophy

This is a 4 point basic framework that you could find helpful if your mind likes to think philosophically sometimes. I have adapted it quite a bit out of a book called “On Human Nature” (Wall, 2005)

For any philosophy (about any aspect of reality) to have credibility it must consist of:

1. Reasoned Judgments

In a philosophical world there are not too many facts, and thus speculation is necessary. There is a danger, however, in the absence of clear facts, to see people’s point of view on reality (philosophy I dare say) as being a personal taste issue. Philosophy cannot be seen to be a mere collection of opinion as they provide evidence to support their various claims, evidence that is factual, certain inferences that are based on these facts, and interpretations that must be reasonable. It is possible to have an unreasonable collection of opinion, but not a philosophy.

2. Universality

If a theory is going to hold then it needs to account for all the facts involved. In other words, one theory is better than another if it better explains MORE of the facts. So quantity of the coverage is the key element here. If one theory is able to explain ALL the facts then philosophers will call this theory ‘universal’. The is no recourse from a universal theory. There can be no rebuttal, only another angle (if the other angle is able to equally cover all the same facts as the former theory).

3. Consistency

Consistency implies that the content of the theory contains no contradictions or internal flaws. It also implies that the theory, as a whole, should be consistent with the known facts of the universe and with generally accepted theories. Quite simply, one theory can be said to be better than another if it is more consistent. This is where I find the conflict of interest between spirituality and science most prevalent. Quite simply, Christians (I will write about them because I am one), look to God as the source, and thus a theory is consistent if it logically explains the nature and role of God at work in the world, and in a way that Christians would find both internally and externally consistent. However, science, as a faculty, does not accept the use of spiritual explanations to explain the unknown. It is not measurable, it is not testable, it is not experiment-able. It is not consistent to science. Which makes me wonder the question: “How can you find something that you are looking for if you refuse to look in all the places that it could be?” But that is a deep question... Let’s move on...

4. Simplicity

This is often used as the last benchmark to decide on preference of theories: If two theories are equally Universal and equally Reasonable, and equally Consistent, then preference is usually given to the simpler of the two. Science has a beautiful word for this. It is called “Elegance”. (here’s a cool article on it if you are interested... ) Makes you think of modeling doesn’t it? No? Just me? OK... This point is not complex. It is simply that if one theory can explain the same phenomenon making use of fewer explanations then it is to be held as the better one. I like this point on a personal level... I like it because of what I believe in: The Gospel of Christ is simple. Man needed redemption and God made a plan.

So, I really didn’t mean this blog to be a gospel presentation (if I did, it would have been a poor show anyway), but I wanted to provide some sort of qualitative framework which any person could use to evaluate and extrapolate life theories. Hope you find it useful...

God and Music

i got thinking tonight about just how much the concept of MUSIC features within the Word of God, and in the culture of the Israelites. I can hardly get very far in my reading of the Old Testament before I encounter some reference to music, or the use of music within the religious activities of the time. And i guess I figured out for the first time tonight that God must really LOVE music. And I’m not really even meaning worship, (i don’t want to get into that). I’m simply talking about the making of sounds that sound nice together.

I don’t have any scriptures to back that up, it’s just my thought direction...

Perhaps me getting this understanding was so slow due to the fact that there is very little mention of Jesus being anything of a musical type and so because most of my concept of God is derived from New Testament passages, I guess I have just never realised God’s passion for music. There is the one time that Jesus sang... in Mark 14 vs 26. I wonder what he sounded like... man, i would have loved to have listened to God singing. But in general, we don’t see Jesus and a musical type at all... and there is a good chance that he was not- otherwise it might have some up more in scripture.

Anyway, that tangent aside- I truly believe that God enjoys music. That he enjoys it. That he enjoys me when I am enjoying another aspect of his creation- namely music.

less is more

heaven’s dawn
i find it at the days close
open the skies
be nought to my eyes
but to my soul be all

a permanent stick

A few days ago, a friend of mine had a cross tattooed onto his right shoulder. I have always been aware of the fact that many Christians believe that tattoos are forbidden and thus the irony of a cross tattoo has got me thinking. I have never been pro or anti tattoos. In fact, i believe that external factors, in general, are very poor spiritual yardsticks. As for saying they are wrong... well I can only see one type of Biblical character using a spiritual platform to rebuke the markings on another’s skin. And Jesus’ tanded to rebuke that crowd quite a bit...

Then I got thinking about why I don’t like tattoos if my reason is not spiritual. Well, that’s what I have just very proudly figured out about 5 minutes ago. About a week ago I purchased the Fin24 magazine and inside this edition was a whole bunch of stickers that were pretty funky, so i decided to stick the most funky one on the back of one of my most enjoyed possessions- my moleskine diary. As i was sitting at my desk today, I saw the sticker and decided that I didn’t like it there anymore. So I pulled it off. And you know what happens when you pull a sticker off: half of it stayed on and the part that came off was only half off. The sticky residue was still stuck there. Freak. And that got me thinking all the way back to when I was 4 and knew what a sticker was. I have NEVER stuck a sticker anywhere and liked it for more than one week. In fact, I don’t like stickers. The fun of a sticker is in the peeling and sticking, not in the visual appeal after that.

And that’s why I don’t like tattoos. That’s why I would never got one. It’s a permanent stick.

As for religion? Well I guess we will always have the white-washed tombs with us and they will forever be quoting Leviticus 19:28 and brandishing permanent sticks of their own...

coffee in the morning

the best morning is when you have lots to do but nothing scheduled and you wake up at a time that not too late and it’s not too early. the time is just right for you to make coffee and to come and sit at your desk and write about what time it is without actually telling anyone what the time really is. and then you sit here and although the ‘to-do’ list is long and although you should be being productive, you aren’t. and you not feeling guilty about it either.

yes, these are the best mornings and mornings like these make me happy to be a penniless student, sipping on my cup of cup of alta-rica. deciding whether i should study, read a book, play the guitar or make another cup of alters. nothing is imperative and so indecision is mandatory, even welcomed.

and so i start today, cognizant of the fact that nearly the whole population is jealous of me right now as they scoot off to work and start the last day of the week. i don’t mind if people are jealous- it validates my smugness.

insights into my father's heart

so this morning i was reading that parable in Matthew 21 entitled ‘Story of the Two Sons’. although i am familiar with the story I think the story meant something more to me in light of what I have been going through with God recently.

in about november last year i started reading the book i have just recently reviewed- ‘disappointment with God’ by yancey- and the book really gave me new and fresh insight into God as a father, and how often his ‘angry speeches’ through his prophets are showing us his stark disappointment mixed with his intense desire for us to get stuff right. kinda like when a dad gets frustrated with his kid who just keeps getting stuff wrong even though the dad is giving him all the opportunities for the son to get it right. sure, the dad gets upset, but he’s not even close to giving up on the kid.

so that was one part of it. the next part of it was yesterday. i was having coffee with a friend at mugg and bean. and we got chatting about the hard stuff about our faith, and how we are battling to get certain stuff right after years of sincere effort. and my friend leaned back in his chair and said a little pearl of wisdom that i will take with me throughout my life: ‘you know, carl, i think God enjoys our humanness.’ that was a fresh thought to me... i thought the only part of me God enjoyed was the part that got stuff right. i know i have to be careful with this thought and even as i write this i am not sure quite how far to take it, but i do reckon that an earthly dad doesn’t mind mistakes. after-all, it’s his child and children make mistakes.

(i’m not by any means saying that our striving for purity should decrease- but rather that our perception of how God sees us after we stuff up might need adjusting- isn’t it a broken spirit that pleases God?) but i don’t want to get too far off the point here.

and then the last part of the story had to do with reading that parable this morning. it’s about 2 sons who asks them to go work in the field. the first says ‘no’ to his dad but later went to work, and the second said ‘yes’ to his father but then never went. the question is asked: ‘which son was obeying their father?’... although there are many things to discuss in this story, the only one that i saw this morning is the heart of a father. he wants obedience. it pleases him. and the greatest tragedy of the second son seems to not to be his lack of integrity but rather the fact that he didn’t please his dad.

I think that is why the bible draws so many lessons from the fact that God is our spiritual father... it’s so that when i’m not sure how to handle myself spiritually and when i’m keen to run, the only place God wants me to run to is toward him.

criticism

hey, if i was reading this post and someone else had written it, i would think it was terrible. but because it’s me writing it and this is my idea, i quite like how short it is. also it’s hidden message- i like that too. you probably don’t, but then again, that is the point of it...