I do not possess a "scientific" mind. I never took physics, I struggled in chemistry and biology, and mathematics is not my strong suit. Engineering, medicine, or related fields were never going to be an option for me. But I love it when experts in their field can make complex ideas understandable for me. I am also thankful that there are incredibly intelligent people who can design and build stuff and help me get better when I'm sick.
Though I'm grateful for the work scientists, doctors, engineers, and architects do, I am more intriqued by fields of study such as philosophy. Like theology, what a person even means by "philosophy" can be quite fluid and diverse. For me, philosophy is simply a way of describing how humanity, individually and collectively, has historically and presently tried to understand reality and make our way in the world. Just as there is a "history" of everything (though we have yet to fully uncover, unpack, and understand that history), there might be a philosophy for everything. In other words, every facet of human existence lends itself to "navel gazing". We seek to understand why things are the way they are, and we also seek to, if possible, improve things in the future, either individually or socially.
I recently listened to a philosopher speak on a podcast and what struck me was the way this particular thinker tried to break everything down into its material - and even its atomic structure. So, according to this philosopher, humans are nothing more than a conglomeration of atoms and chemical reactions. According to him, what we "see" as reality, is nothing more than an illusion. I think I have a vague idea of where he's coming from, but it's a very strange way of looking at the world. It also raises the question - if everything is an illusion, then who is this illusion fooling?
Certainly, within each of us there are millions, if not billions or trillions of microscopic cells, organisms, and processes constantly working to keep us sound and whole. How it all fits together and works, for the most part, in harmony, blows my mind! But where does my "mind" even come from? What is consciousness, and how does it even "arise" from the material substances that make up our bodies? This is a question that science and philosophy has yet to answer. But what should be plain to each and every one of us is that we are more - far more - than the sum of our parts. I am someone - a person - a being with a past, present, and future. I am not simply two feet, two legs, two arms, a torso, and a head. Yes, those parts help to form and make me who I am - but they are not me. How much more am I not simply a collection of atoms and chemical processes.
I recently gave a ride to a philosopher who teaches at one of the many local universities in the area. We briefly chatted about both philosophy and religion over the 20-minute drive, and he expressed his dismay at the overly "scientific" way of doing philosophy that many modern philosophers have adopted. Yes, a table might at its most basic level be a collection of atoms, but it also functions as so much more. It might be a place to write, draw, paint, or otherwise create. It can function as the centerpiece of community as people gather around the table and share a meal and conversation. When all of us talk about tables - we don't - or at least, should not simply talk about its atomic structure. Equally, I would argue that there's far more to humanity than the building blocks that help to make us who and what we are. Those building blocks are necessary, but they are simply a means to a far greater end. And what is that greater end? Well, that to me is what philosophy, theology, history, and religion are all about. I'm still trying to figure it out. What about you? - Shay
