THINKING AND ACTING STRAIGHT .....

Some things that govern our lives, are clearly very obscure, for instance I don't know whether there is a God, nor does anyone else know, I don't know what will happen after death, shall I survive death and move forward or not, nor does anyone else, I do not have a good answer as to my having a soul, if it sticks to me or leaves me or transforms itself into something else after my body decays, and no one else knows either.

Many religious adherents have unshakable convictions, or what they proudly call faith, in such matters they are sure they know, but convictions emanating from blind faith are not real knowledge. Somehow it seems incredible that Sapiens do not know what they are, or the nature of their being. These questions were as old as humanity, the Greek pre-Socratic Xenophanes said; "The Gods did not reveal from the beginning all things to us, but in the course of time, thorough seeking, may lead to learning and knowing things." Until today, there is a strong consensus among most philosophers, including religious ones, that the existence of a soul, life after death and absolute divine power cannot be proven.

We basically had no saying about coming into existence, we just woke up and found ourselves in this world. So what gives us the pretense of knowledge and certitude of a next one. The self as it is seems to be and remains forever unknowable. We feel ourselves, here on earth, but do we know our inner selves? and what happens to it when we die!! Yes it's easier to convince ourselves of the pretension of knowing what will happen, but we all know deep down that it could be not so after death.

It's difficult to live with such incertitude and being lost with such questions, but as Socrates said;"The unexamined life is not worth living" And being lost in daylight is very different than being lost in total darkness. Some people believe there is a God, the creator, the designer of our will, the basis of morality, and there are others who believe there's no God, and our morality is not of a godly source.

Historically, we know that human morality has advanced and developed toward the better, and we talk about it openly. many of us (but not all) are more compassionate and caring than most of our ancestors were 4k and 3k even 2000 years ago. But God cannot be gradual, and not from low to upward, so if it is a godly affair, it should have been the reverse, starting with the perfect and better morality, and slowly deteriorating or fading, if at all.... and not the contrary.

The fact that we can never be sure that something is right, though we can be sure that something is wrong confirms Socrates saying; that he had an inner voice which occasionally told him not to do things, but it never told him what to do. I personally have never found myself able to believe in the existence of a God, or a divine will and power, though I admit that I can not prove his non-existence, the challenge in these matters is to live with it, die with it, without really understanding it. This is our fate in life, and our situation. The existence of God cannot be explained by simply asserting the existence of God.

For centuries people were congratulated on the strength of their faith, and the more blind it was the better, but these beliefs have very little or no evidence, and there's nothing really to congratulate in it. Most people are only stubborn about the entire affair, because they were totally and perfectly brain-washed, ordered and indoctrinated since early childhood. And leaders of all sects, political and religious want and strive for such followers.

Obviously arguing with these people is absolutely futile, as they are not committed to the pursuit of truth. But no one should expect all sides to agree with baseless faith, whether positive or negative. Locke puts it nicely;" Where is the man that has incontestable evidence of the truth of all that he holds, or of the falsehood of all he condemns." We have no choice but to live and act based on the best of our knowledge and understanding, but far from believing these to be true, we need always to keep in mind the fact and possibility that they might not be.

 The entire blog here, was inspired and influenced by an excellent work by B. Magee, entitled Ultimate Questions , I'm grateful for his insight and wisdom. My as always, many thanks to all, stay safe.