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Thoughts on Pantheism

Started by Jimmy, April 24, 2012, 04:20:56 AM

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Jimmy

Thanks everyone for the feedback I've gotten so far: You truly are an AWESOME Bunch!!!
For if there be no Prospect beyond the Grave, the inference is certainly right, Let us eat and drink, les us enjoy what we delight in, for to morrow we shall die.   ~John Locke~

rickrocks

Quote from: Jimmy on April 24, 2012, 04:20:56 AM
Over the years I've been fine tuning both my outlook on the world around me AND the best description of that outlook. I find myself identifying philosophically to naturalism(not the naked kind ;) ) and I do not believe in gods and/or the supernatural, but I still have "spiritual" moments, in which I feel either connected to nature and/or the universe at large and have a complex set of emotions that are associated with those emotions; sometimes to the point that I draw tears(happy ones). 

Don't worry. These fevers will pass. It's only your inferior human mind trying to make sense of a random, chaotic universe that is many times more huge and complex for you to understand. Try again in about 10,000 years. (obligatory lol)

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: Jimmy on April 25, 2012, 04:45:25 PM
Thanks everyone for the feedback I've gotten so far: You truly are an AWESOME Bunch!!!

We know. ;D

;)
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


rickrocks

I understand "pantheism" to mean the accommodation of other gods as well as the ones you normally worship. Non-exclusivity of belief.

Some random thoughts: It's easy to feel wonder when looking at the sky at night. Why is it so hard to just let it be, instead of foisting your microscopic human definitions on the whole thing? Is the thought of your own insignificance humbling? It should be. You are far more insignificant that you can start to imagine. What evidence do you have, to make such clumsy, sentimental, ignorant assessments as "there is a controlling force" or "there must be a spiritual side to life"? Your humanistic arrogance is at the core of your species' limitations. After a few more apocalyptic asteroids and another, say, billion years, maybe the sentient cockroaches who survive will begin to understand, and become viable in a new and ever-changing universe.

Recusant

Quote from: rickrocks on April 27, 2012, 12:45:18 AM
I understand "pantheism" to mean the accommodation of other gods as well as the ones you normally worship. Non-exclusivity of belief.

That would be (take your pick) henotheism, myriotheism, or (possibly) polytheism. Pantheism, on the other hand, is ". . . the view that 'God is everything and everything is God ... the world is either identical with God or in some way a self-expression of his nature'".
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


rickrocks

Thanks for the correction, Recusant.

Jimmy

Quote from: Anne D. on April 25, 2012, 03:48:32 AM
Jimmy--just a warning/heads-up if you do plan to watch the movie: have something fun/uplifting lined up afterward. To say it's a "downer" is a total understatement. It left me feeling yicky for days.

Anne, just watched AntiChrist and holy crap!!!!  :o

Now I'm watching South Park in hopes of restoring humor back into my life.

WOW
For if there be no Prospect beyond the Grave, the inference is certainly right, Let us eat and drink, les us enjoy what we delight in, for to morrow we shall die.   ~John Locke~

Anne D.

Jimmy, hope the South Parks did the trick  :)

Hector Valdez

I am interested by the insistence upon monist physicalism that appears in this worldview. I myself espouse a type of pluralist physicalism distinct from dualism. It stands upon the notion that different physical states manifest equally different psychological states. These plural states interact in much more complex ways than a monist would emphasize, and gives rise to the possibility of intellectual processes within intellectual processes at any and/or even compounded scale(s).

rickrocks

Quote from: RenegeReversi on April 29, 2012, 10:19:41 PM
I am interested by the insistence upon monist physicalism that appears in this worldview. I myself espouse a type of pluralist physicalism distinct from dualism. It stands upon the notion that different physical states manifest equally different psychological states. These plural states interact in much more complex ways than a monist would emphasize, and gives rise to the possibility of intellectual processes within intellectual processes at any and/or even compounded scale(s).

Howdy. Rickrocks here.

It occurs to me that (and tell me if this is what you're saying in the first place) humans, being one variable in whatever equation this is about, stand a good chance of nuts-ing the whole thing up. I mean human behavior is a bit like stumbling punch drunk through a mine field. I wonder if you can really predict what's going to happen, or even what's supposed to happen...have I stumbled upon any mines?

kitty

having spent years as a deeply spiritual christian, i find myself feeling the same sense of awe when i see a cracking landscape, a gorgeous flower, watching my veg grow, or looking at the stars.
i thought the world when awesome when i thought it had been created by a god, now its just FRICKIN AWESOME, if you know what i mean.
i'm starting to think that these feelings come from a similar place in the brain or something.

something a pagan (dont get me started) once told me; where there's good, there's bad.
the 'ugliness' of nature is still amazing, even if its how effective a twister destroys land, how snake venom works, or how a flesh eating virus, um, eats flesh. of course, i wouldnt wish these things on anyone, but i think they are a part of nature just the same as a pretty daisy.

i'm not very good at explaining what i mean, and i am by no means an academic.

Quote from: Amicale on April 25, 2012, 03:42:52 AM
I understand where you're coming from, for sure. I LOVE being out in nature, seeing the living, growing things, watching the sky and the water. I love the feeling of looking up and night, and contemplating the stars, and space. I feel an emotional connection to it all. If someone wants to call it 'naturalistic pantheism', to me that's kind of the same thing as saying "a healthy sense of awe and wonder". :) That's prettymuch what it boils down to, for me.

Anyway, I  feel like I do have an emotional/intellectual connection to the world and universe around me. I love wondering "are we the only ones out there?" and asking all the different fun questions.

I'd just stop short of calling it pantheism, secular or otherwise. :)


Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too? (Douglas Adams)

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: kitty on May 14, 2012, 01:17:44 PM
having spent years as a deeply spiritual christian, i find myself feeling the same sense of awe when i see a cracking landscape, a gorgeous flower, watching my veg grow, or looking at the stars.
i thought the world when awesome when i thought it had been created by a god, now its just FRICKIN AWESOME, if you know what i mean.
i'm starting to think that these feelings come from a similar place in the brain or something.

something a pagan (dont get me started) once told me; where there's good, there's bad.
the 'ugliness' of nature is still amazing, even if its how effective a twister destroys land, how snake venom works, or how a flesh eating virus, um, eats flesh. of course, i wouldnt wish these things on anyone, but i think they are a part of nature just the same as a pretty daisy.

i'm not very good at explaining what i mean, and i am by no means an academic.

I think you explained very well :)

The other side to it all is that things such as snake venom for instance - people use that to make medicine (a question of isolating the chemicals you want and checking the concentration). I...don't have a good one for flesh eating viruses though.
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


kitty

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on May 14, 2012, 11:32:57 PM
Quote from: kitty on May 14, 2012, 01:17:44 PM
having spent years as a deeply spiritual christian, i find myself feeling the same sense of awe when i see a cracking landscape, a gorgeous flower, watching my veg grow, or looking at the stars.
i thought the world when awesome when i thought it had been created by a god, now its just FRICKIN AWESOME, if you know what i mean.
i'm starting to think that these feelings come from a similar place in the brain or something.

something a pagan (dont get me started) once told me; where there's good, there's bad.
the 'ugliness' of nature is still amazing, even if its how effective a twister destroys land, how snake venom works, or how a flesh eating virus, um, eats flesh. of course, i wouldnt wish these things on anyone, but i think they are a part of nature just the same as a pretty daisy.

i'm not very good at explaining what i mean, and i am by no means an academic.

I think you explained very well :)

The other side to it all is that things such as snake venom for instance - people use that to make medicine (a question of isolating the chemicals you want and checking the concentration). I...don't have a good one for flesh eating viruses though.

thanks  :D yr very kind.
good point about the medicine, i think there's usually a silver lining in most clouds lol. and as for the flesh eating virus...at least the virus is doing well...
Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too? (Douglas Adams)