Author Archives: deideismusings

A Reasoning Mind

by in art, humor, life, painting, philosophy, psychology, religion and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ve been reading and thinking about the idea of a reasoned existence. Most all of us, more or less, reason our way through our problems weighing possible solutions and making determinations about which options have the greatest potential for success. We do this in a thoughtful way using our powers of reasoning; the decisions made on the basis of factual evidence.

At the same time most of us harbor beliefs for which there is no factual evidence. Our fertile imaginations allow our intuitions to take us into the realm of the imaginary. Which is not to imply the only knowable truths are dependent on hard facts. Richness of existence depends on our entertaining the ephemeral, ineffable. Caution, though, must be taken to carefully sift through the counter-factual in order we assure ourselves good choices are made.

The Zen of Pickleball

by in art, humor, painting, philosophy, psychology and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Having taken up the sport of pickleball fairly recently I now find myself deeply engaged, contemplating daily the intricacies of the game: the interplay between its physical demands and cerebral requirements. I’m increasingly seeing the game as metaphor, mirroring the travails highs and lows of daily existence. The elation of a well-played point paralleling an enjoyable evening with friends or the sinking feeling of being beaten down the line the equivalent of an upcoming dental appointment.

In the interests of coming away from an outing on a high rather than a low I find myself thinking about, preparing, anticipating what to expect in order to execute proper fundamentals, increasing my chances of success. Even so, mental preparation doesn’t always produce desired results. Sometimes I lose focus, or my timing is off, or the matchups are unfavorable, and I leave the courts in low spirits.

I wonder if the real issue here is that I don’t have anything truly important to think about.

Fear of the Unknown

by in art, drawing, humor, philosophy, psychology, religion and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ve been viewing maps recently that were produced during the Middle Ages. It has become clear to me that the early cartographers needed to rely on a certain amount of imagination to create a geographic depiction of the world. The church at the time took pains to build a Biblically favorable geography that had little to do with reality.

I’m wondering how a medieval intellect, a contemplative sort, sitting on the beach looking westward out across the Atlantic Ocean might have imagined what lay beyond. Many sailors of the time feared sailing too far west lest they fall off the edge of the world. Nightmares of an awaiting Hell so nearby must have terrified the medieval mind.

These days the contemplative sort might be looking upwards, outwards, imagining the earth being sucked into a black hole or being overwhelmed by dark matter and being no less terrified than his medieval forbearer. Fear of the unknown is the constant I guess for all of humankind.

Plato, Aristotle and Medieval Christianity

by in art, humor, painting, philosophy, politics, psychology, religion and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ve been reading about the influence Plato and Aristotle had on the medieval Christian church. The thoughts of these two Greek philosophers were responsible for doctrinal controversy within the church hierarchy.

Plato, whose concept of ‘Ideal Forms’, on which the flawed material world was derivative provided some in the early church insight to see Plato as foretelling the existence of the Christian God, a God beyond rational understanding, a God unknowable before the Christ, to be accepted and revered through faithful observance. Thomas Aquinas, empiricist, thoughtful inquirer, found Aristotle’s sensate investigations proof of an ordered, natural world made that way by an omnipotent God. The contradictory thinking produced on the one hand the necessity of ‘blind faith’, the faithful encouraged to accept the mystery that is God, and, on the other an enquiring laity whose faith and rational understanding was based on knowledge.

The philosophical controversy still exists to this day but at the time paled in comparison to the power struggles and corruption within the medieval church.

A Dark Age

by in art, drawing, humor, philosophy, politics, psychology, religion and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ve been reading about the intellectual world in Western Europe as it existed in the early centuries of the second millennium.

With the fall of Roman Civilization 600 years earlier, scholarship had declined, knowledge of the past had been reduced to monastic reproductions of Latin texts providing the church the opportunity to re-imagine the historical narrative to its own advantage, limiting it to a closed Christian perspective and its reliance on the ‘Word of God’ to explain the complexities of the natural world.

This constrictive culture led the few scholars of the time, whose concern for self-preservation amid accusations of heresy, to temper any announcements of research findings setting back intellectual development for centuries.

The eventual breaking free of such a restrictive situation can only be attributed to the indomitable human spirit, even though it did take a long time.

Patron Saint of the Internet

by in art, drawing, humor, philosophy, psychology, religion and tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

I’ve been reading that in the year 2000 Pope John Paul II proposed that St. Isidore be declared patron saint of the internet. In the 7th century Isidore wrote a book that was widely reproduced and read. At the time the book, Etymologies, was nearly as popular as the Bible. In Etymologies Isidore determined derivations of words from Greek to the vernacular but what made up the bulk of the twenty volumes was his compilation of what he considered to be the entirety of human knowledge.

Much of the contents of Isadore’s tome has been determined to be imaginative conjecture and has been dismissed by scholars as the perpetuation of myth and the conveyance of misinformation. Reason enough, I suppose, that he should be associated with the internet.

Keystone Species

by in art, drawing, humor, philosophy, psychology, science and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ve been reading that biologists have determined that certain predators are key to preserving diversity in various eco systems: starfish, for example, serve the function by consuming mussels that would otherwise destroy the diversity in tide pools and fresh water largemouth bass are a keystone species in freshwater streams controlling the populations of minnows that would otherwise over-graze plant life. In the waters off western Alaska sea otters control the populations of sea urchins that can devastate kelp forests.

The lesson to be learned, I guess, is that keystone species are necessary to control populations of system threatening species in order to maintain healthy diverse eco-systems. I wonder whether a keystone species might exist somewhere that could control the species most responsible for threatening the health of the earth.

Miracles

by in art, drawing, philosophy, psychology, religion, skepticism, spirituality and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ve been reading that Christian conviction, the truth of the doctrine, lies in the fore-told Christ and the miracles he performed, miracles being occasions of instantaneous healing or bringing to life the deceased, things that defy nature or rational expectation.

Our apologist warns us, though, that miracles ‘are not of such a nature that it can be said that they are absolutely convincing’, that miraculous events may or may not be miracles. If miracles are the foundation of doctrinal truth that separates Christian belief from heresies it would appear maintaining faith is no simple matter. Finding the truth will require relinquishing self-love and malice of heart.

If religious faith is more than the social support of the congregation it appears maintaining it will require some work.

An Uneasy Exchange

by in art, life, painting, philosophy, psychology, religion, spirituality and tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I visited with a childhood friend recently. We have known each other since elementary school and over the years have shared numerous interests, developed common sensibilities. Things change with time and experience, of course, and my friend and I have found ourselves philosophically polarized.

He has been, for quite some time now, a committed Evangelical harboring the benevolent belief Christian faith will bring serenity and peace not to mention a heavenly afterlife. I on the other hand, remain philosophically open-ended believing a pluralistic world view will produce the greatest likelihood mankind will be able to come together, to unite in a common empathy, reduce sectarian conflicts and direct us toward a peaceful future existence.

I though, unlike my friend, harbor the anxieties of real time, am unable to adapt to the closed system of religious faith, even though the vision of a sunny after-life is pretty attractive.

Brain Fog

by in art, drawing, humor, philosophy, psychology, science and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ve been reading, lately, that an increasing number of people are having a serious problem thinking. The complaint, made primarily by young adults, is of an inability to mentally focus and make decisions. In explanation, researchers point to the prevalence of ‘long covid’ as being a primary culprit causing what suffers refer to as ‘brain fog’: a condition affecting their ability to function at work.

I find myself wondering as I observe these Gen-Zers and Millennials, ubiquitous smart phones in hand while in airpod oblivion, what the true cause of their ‘brain fog’ might be.