We left off pursuing the question: What lies behind the curtain?

So, let’s briefly review and summarize what we’re talking about because this has been kind of technical and, possibly, in areas that aren’t particularly familiar to some who are reading this. (I don’t mean to be at all dismissive! I’m just guessing that most people don’t spend much energy diving into physics, chemistry, biology, philosophy and theology.) 🙂

We’re asking the question because we’re curious about why we think and believe certain things. We’re curious about who we are and why we’re here. We’re curious about our value as individuals, the value of other individuals and about society in general. We’re curious about why we consider some things moral and other things immoral or why we consider some things just and other things unjust. Or, maybe we haven’t been particularly curious about some of these things but it piques our interest to think about what makes me, “me.”

And, remember, to risk being simplistic for the purpose of making a point without resorting to some thick academic text: (1) Our thoughts and behaviors are framed through the application of certain (2) Guiding Principles, which are like programs or outlines that translate our (3) Fundamental Values into action. Therefor (logically), we look to our fundamental values where we can accept them as either having a source or not.

If we want to go further or, I should say, deeper, we are faced with two possible ultimate sources for our fundamental values. (1) They are socially constructed. That is to mean, there is no outside “objective” source. Instead, our fundamental values are purely the product of societal norms and dependent upon the ebb and flow of what is important to human society in the place and time we’re examining. More on that in a bit. Or (2) They are the product of some kind of supernatural (non human) vision which contains both previously determined purpose and desired outcomes. In other words, our fundamental values which seek to answer who we are and why we think and behave in certain ways, are either subjective or objective.

I’ll repeat that, the fundamental values that ultimately determine what and how we think and behave and give meaning to who and what we are, are either subjective or objective. Another way of saying “subjective” is relative, meaning dependent upon circumstances, feelings, and experiences without any underlying or external truth.

These are the only two categories.

One common response (whether knowingly or not) when coming to this Y in the road is to throw up one’s metaphorical hands and say, “We just don’t know. And, this is very frustrating and I don’t have the time or inclination to think about it!” Which of course is completely understandable.

Having said that, it’s a fact that, by default, we fall into one of the two categories or worldviews, whether we want to or not. 🙂 And, the implications are fascinating.

Worldview #1: Scientific Materialism. Our reality is a function of random (ultimately non-rational) sources and our values are relative in that they are socially constructed around certain purposes that we, as humans, create to serve our own needs.

Worldview #2: Intelligent Design. Our reality is a function of a rational external source wherein fundamental values are ultimately objective and not dependent upon time, circumstance, or what we think is best to serve our individual or collective needs.

With this in mind, our fourth category (joining thoughts/behaviors, guiding principles, and fundamental values) and the one that lies behind/underneath our fundamental values is Truth. This is the thing we are all longing for. That which is ultimately true. It’s what gives form and substance to everything else. This is the diamond in the rough. This is what exists when all else is peeled away.

What will I find behind the curtain: Subjective Truth or Objective Truth?

Any heads spinning right now? Join the club. Mine spins all of the time!

To get right down to the brass tacks …

Whether you are an atheist, agnostic, pantheist, polytheist, monotheist, naturist or spiritualist, it all comes down to which of these two worldviews you subscribe to.

And the upshot is not to lose heart! We can approach an investigation into this quite simply, although the results will be profound!

All we have to do is ask why we value something.

Ok, it’s actually a little bit tougher than that because it’s really no good to answer something to the effect of “Well, that’s just what I believe.” (That’s called begging the question which is just a kinder way of saying avoiding the question.)

“Why am I concerned about civil rights for ethnic minorities?” “Well, because I believe in justice.” Ok, then, why do you believe in justice? (Pause). “Well, I believe in justice because it’s important that we treat people fairly and equally.”

Ok, then, why should we treat people fairly and equally? “Well, because society functions better when everyone is treated fairly and equally.”

Ok, then, what if there are societies that don’t believe in fairness and equality?

(Two possible answers …)

One, “Well, that’s up to them but I believe fairness and equality are best for us.”

Two, “Well, they’re wrong, fairness and equality aren’t dependent upon what people think is good for them. They’re just right, regardless.”

In other words, justice is either a good thing because I think it is or it’s a good thing because it’s the product of external design. Justice is either subjective (relative) or objective and non dependent upon human constructs.

So, what is the source of justice?

Is the practice of human sacrifice by throwing babies into flames objectively wrong (where does that objectivity come from?) or can it be right for some societies while wrong for others?

Is an incident of a person walking into a house, not his own, and randomly skewering a person he’s never seen, just because it pleases him, objectively wrong or are there explanations that could make that perfectly acceptable?

At the very foundation of our sense of reality, of our own meaning, of our moral code, of the makeup of the material world, is there purpose and design or is it without ultimate meaning?

Do we have value in and of itself or, as humans, is our only value dependent upon the perspectives and inclinations of others or, better yet, merely as a means of consuming fuel, replicating the species and transforming our bodies into fuel for other life forms?

The answer to these questions, the questions to which we are led by our search for what’s what, are really just variations of one central question. Is there supernatural reality or not?

Which makes more sense to us, Scientific Materialism or Intelligent Design?

How do we answer that question? And once we feel we’re tending towards one rather than the other, what are the implications?

Well, the implications are that the journey is just beginning.