Friday, January 29, 2010
No Philosophy is an Island
In 1624, while explaining the interconnectedness of individuals, John Donne made this now-famous statement: “No man is an Island.” Agreed. The same could be said for philosophies. No philosophy is an island. This is true of both individual and group philosophies.
For example, if our society were to decide that stealing was no longer wrong, the implications would be endless. The very definition of property would have to change. People would have to re-think the way they did everything, since it would not be wrong for someone to take your car while you were in the store shopping, or your child while they were at school. Many criminals would need to be released. Companies could no longer charge for their goods. Our economy would collapse. In other words, there would be no way to change a major philosophy like that without catastrophic ramifications.
Unfortunately, many in our world have adopted a major philosophy, and, not surprisingly, the shift in thinking has altered our world in many unpleasant ways. Some people may be shocked to discover the far-reaching consequences due to the adoption of what seemed to be just an academic or scientific theory. Many people, in their rush to be open-minded, may have failed to see the dog that was attached to the tail. I am referring to the theory of evolution, which has been directly connected to the religion of humanism and to other issues such as abortion, euthanasia, racism, white supremacy, and even reincarnation.
Evolution is a philosophy that was made popular by people like Charles Darwin. The idea was not original to him, rather, he set out to find proof for a philosophy that had been in his family for years. Some of his writings indicate that his passion was intensified by personal tragedies which caused him to seek reasons to believe in something other than a Creator. The problem is that you can’t dispense with the concept of a Creator without enormous fallout. If there is no Creator, then life is not sacred. If the fittest survive, then why not try to be the fittest? People like Hitler took up this concept and set out to create a master race by destroying others. Others launched organizations that have been responsible for more “legal” deaths than any of history’s most bloody dictators – their victims have been the unborn.
In my opinion, and in the opinion of many politically-weak scientists, we have all recently observed what happens when politicians take selective facts and fashion a theory according to their desires. We may soon see the practical ramifications of that behavior. According to many scientists, this will be the second major hijacking of science in history – first evolution and now global warming. Both are politically-charged and both are about controlling the masses and their money.
I would love to see a return to non-political science. There is something encouraging and solid about good science; the kind of science that explores the world and accepts its beauty and complexity for what it is; the kind of science that declares only what can be proven empirically. Because theories built on selective data can devastate economies and cultures – no philosophy is an island.
For example, if our society were to decide that stealing was no longer wrong, the implications would be endless. The very definition of property would have to change. People would have to re-think the way they did everything, since it would not be wrong for someone to take your car while you were in the store shopping, or your child while they were at school. Many criminals would need to be released. Companies could no longer charge for their goods. Our economy would collapse. In other words, there would be no way to change a major philosophy like that without catastrophic ramifications.
Unfortunately, many in our world have adopted a major philosophy, and, not surprisingly, the shift in thinking has altered our world in many unpleasant ways. Some people may be shocked to discover the far-reaching consequences due to the adoption of what seemed to be just an academic or scientific theory. Many people, in their rush to be open-minded, may have failed to see the dog that was attached to the tail. I am referring to the theory of evolution, which has been directly connected to the religion of humanism and to other issues such as abortion, euthanasia, racism, white supremacy, and even reincarnation.
Evolution is a philosophy that was made popular by people like Charles Darwin. The idea was not original to him, rather, he set out to find proof for a philosophy that had been in his family for years. Some of his writings indicate that his passion was intensified by personal tragedies which caused him to seek reasons to believe in something other than a Creator. The problem is that you can’t dispense with the concept of a Creator without enormous fallout. If there is no Creator, then life is not sacred. If the fittest survive, then why not try to be the fittest? People like Hitler took up this concept and set out to create a master race by destroying others. Others launched organizations that have been responsible for more “legal” deaths than any of history’s most bloody dictators – their victims have been the unborn.
In my opinion, and in the opinion of many politically-weak scientists, we have all recently observed what happens when politicians take selective facts and fashion a theory according to their desires. We may soon see the practical ramifications of that behavior. According to many scientists, this will be the second major hijacking of science in history – first evolution and now global warming. Both are politically-charged and both are about controlling the masses and their money.
I would love to see a return to non-political science. There is something encouraging and solid about good science; the kind of science that explores the world and accepts its beauty and complexity for what it is; the kind of science that declares only what can be proven empirically. Because theories built on selective data can devastate economies and cultures – no philosophy is an island.
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