Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Have been reading on Skeptical Philosophy by Richard H. Popkin and Avrum Stroll. It is generally agreed that there is something called "the world" or "the universe." However, where did it come from?
According to present physical theory, the universe evolved from an 'original atom' which exploded, sending pieces outward. These pieces have become galaxies, stars, planets and other sorts of celestial objects. But the question that the philosopher poses is, Where did the original object come from? If it is assumed that the 'original atom' (or what is referred to as the "big bang") theory of what happened is correct, then where did the primal atom originated?
Was it caused by something else: say, a supreme being, God? If so, where did God come from? It seems plausible to hold that if anything exists, it must have been caused by something else. But then there could be no absolute first cause. But if there was no first cause, then there is no second, third and so on cause. Hence, if no first cause, then no last cause, and therefore no present universe.
Since there IS a present universe, however, there must have been a first cause that was uncaused. This is like a difficult puzzle. It seems true to say that universe must have a first cause, which is uncaused, but it also seems true to say that there could not be any uncaused cause, since everything must have a cause.
And we're back to square one: So where did the universe come from?
This is a dilemma that many of the greatest philosophers, such as Saint Thomas Aquinas and Benedict de Spinoza have addressed and to which they have offered answers. I shall explore their views haha. They are so mind boggling. Indeed skeptical, doubting every single thing.
I still remember the famous qoutes of Rene Descartes: "I think, therefore I am" (or cogito ergo sum). Bits and pieces that I remember his writing, in his Discourse on Methods, about doubting every faculty. But sadly, I can't finish the whole book because it was so profound, beyond my level of intellect. Try again...
Tired. Why am I tired? Because I ran 6km. Why did I run? Because I was forced to run. In this case, the first cause was "Singapore." Lol.
Labels: Skeptical philosophy
|Melvin Ng| 8:00 pm|
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