The Parable of the Robot: More Musings on Meaning
There was were two robots, in two separate worlds. Both could feel, love, experience pain, heartache, joy. Both sensed honor and justice, good and evil. One was created by chance, by a machine. The other had been created by a human being, for the purpose of enjoying his fellowship.
The first robot made the best of what he had, and enjoyed the pleasures of life, seeking those circumstances which brought the most pleasurable feelings. He enjoyed his time with the other robots in his world, also made by chance and machine. Love and justice brought him a sense of fulfillment and pleasure, dishonor and hatred brought pain. Yet he knew that it was all just chance and machine. Thus he lived.
I am a robot, and my love and pain are the workings of a machine. My life is the operation of a mindless machine. Relationships between persons are the workings of a machine. The machine is fundamental.
The second robot lived much the same way, seeking to enjoy life, but he did so in the context of a relationship with his maker. Love and pain and justice and honor were not the chance productions of a machine, but the creations of his benefactor and friend. Thus he lived.
I am created by a person. I know this person. As I live and love, I have fellowship with him, and he with me. I am a person like him. My life is fundamentally a relationship between persons. Personality is fundamental.
Muad’dib and terrible purpose
Paul Atreides of Herbert’s Dune trilogy felt hemmed in, moved by some terrible purpose. He wondered if his prescience foretold the future, or made the future…
“At some faraway instant in a past which he had shared with others, this future had reached down to him. It had chivvied him and herded him into a chasm whose walls were growing narrower and narrower. He could feel them closing in on him. This was the way the vision went.”
Is this how it is with all of us? It is, if Camus is right. If we should live in such a way so as to maximize our own sense of fulfillment and minimize our own negative feelings, then we are constrained, confined by our past and its influence on our personality. Our decisions today will be determined by the events of our past and the imprint they have left on us. If I was brought up in a Judeo-Christian system, then I must make my decisions accordingly, or else face my own dissatisfaction and feelings of guilt or dishonor. If I act according to my conscience, then I feel fulfilled. Of course, this is an oversimplification. There are also basic natural impulses that come into play, but all of these fit together to fix the course that my life “should” take, if I live for for no higher purpose.
In fact, my life emerges from nothing, like a termite mound, its shape reflecting the balance of forces in my psyche and environment, and those forces emerging from the same process. And all is without true purpose. It is self-organizing, self-created. Alone. Pointless. But growing, advancing, like fate. It is fate, I suppose.
Meursault’s Meaning, Camus’ Conundrum
I just finished listening to The Stranger by Camus. It has moved me a bit closer, I think, to clarity on this whole issue of meaning. The main character, Meursault, is clearly reduced to an animal by his philosophy. He lives only for the sensual, the immediate. How is this different from the animal, the beast?
This much is clear from the book. This does not match the analysis which followed. In interview with an “existentialism scholar” followed the book. He tried (in vain) to explain Camus ethic and his “positive” outlook on life, how Camus believed that the search for meaning was the problem, and that “life” is found in coming to grips with the absurdity of life. I still can’t grasp this. Sure, I can imagine living for today, for the feelings, but I cannot see how this is better than the alternative.
Strange, what Solomon wrote…
I said to myself concerning the sons of men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but beasts (Eccl 3:18, NAS).
Thanks be To Science
I was thinking recently about all of the things I have to be grateful for, all of the things that the Lord Science has provided. Please join with me as we give thanks. After each prompt, respond by saying, “Thanks be to Science.”
For world peace, as promised…
Thanks be to Science.
For freedom from disease…
Thanks be to Science.
For freedom from crime, provided through scientific understanding of psychology and physiology,
Thanks be to Science.
For freedom from famine and hunger…
Thanks be to Science.
For freedom from all types of suffering…
Thanks be to Science.
For safety and security…
Thanks be to Science.
For the eradication of hatred and fear…
Thanks be to Science.
For freedom from poverty and want…
Thanks be to Science.
For the weapons of mass destruction…
Thanks be to Science.
For mechanization, which makes our lives easier so that we have more idle time…
Thanks be to Science.
For mechanization, which puts millions out of work…
Thanks be to Science.
For cell phones, which make us always on call…
Thanks be to Science.
For computers, which make our work so much easier…
Thanks be to Science.
For the internet, which brings so many wonderful things within our reach, things without which we would be lost…
Thanks be to Science.
For the internet, which has eliminated the need to interact with real people…
Thanks be to Science.
For YouTube…
Thanks be to Science.
For modern agriculture which, together with medicine, has enabled world population to grow into obscene crowding…
Thanks be to Science.
For modern medicine, which forces us to grow so old that we become a burden to our families and ourselves…
Thanks be to Science.
For technology, which has so increased the quality of our lives that we look back with horror on the “old days”…
Thanks be to Science.
For technology, which has made our lives so much simpler than they were back then…
Thanks be to Science.
For technology, which has freed us from real labor, sweat, working side by side with our family members and neighbors, and a good nights rest…
Thanks be to Science.
For technology, which has freed us from living close to the earth, in synchrony with the seasons…
Thanks be to Science.
For technology, which has freed us to spend our time in such pursuits as video games and other entertainment…
Thanks be to Science.
For technology, which has given us more time with our families…
Thanks be to Science.
For technology, which has enabled us to enjoy those parts of life that are most important…
Thanks be to Science.
For solving all of our interpersonal problems, saving our marriages, and strengthening our families…
Thanks be to Science.
For enhancing and enriching our friendships and all of our personal relationships…
Thanks be to Science.
For giving our lives meaning, purpose, and significance…
Thanks be to Science.
More Thoughts About Evidence and Faith
It seems that I have fallen prey to a certain way of thinking about evidence for Christianity. This way of thinking says that if there is any evidence against some purported fact of Christianty, then that negative evidence cancels out the positive evidence. Let’s suppose, for example, that there is evidence for the existence of a certain city as described by the Bible. Will the presence of contrary evidence negate the positive evidence? Of course not.
To take another example, there is evidence for the resurrection of Christ, primarily the manuscript record. Now, if some scholars question the reliablity of the manuscripts or accounts, does this negate the positive evidence. Of course not. Rather, there is always this tension between positive and negative evidence. The same is true in science. Over time, one side may grow and overwhelm the other, and so certainty grows either for or against the proposition.
I can draw two potentially helpful conclusions from these observations. First, I tend to become immediately discouraged when I read any evidence against the Bible or Christianity. I see now that this is unnecessary. In fact it is to be expected, especially noting the everpresent possibility of alternative explanations. Secondly, it becomes clearer to me that faith cannot be based solely on external evidence. Instead, it must be based on an inner, subjective inclination or experience(s).
So we come ot the point. If I am outside looking in, if I am outside of faith looking in at the Christian world, how do I get there from here? Must I just wait for the subjective change? Or is there anything I can do. Words come to mind: seek, find, knock, open.
It’s cold and dark outside looking in at the bright warmth inside.
How do I knock?
An Obituary of the Human Race
The Human Race, age 20 (billion years), passed away early Saturday Morning, after a long fight with gradual extinction. No one was with Human during her last days, and she left no living relatives. She spent most of her tragically short life as a resident of the planet Earth. In her youth, she enjoyed pleasure seeking and competition with her neighbors for survival, but as she aged, she became interested in preserving the health and quality of the her own life and that of the Earth. She managed to beautify and preserve her home for hundreds of millions of years. Of course, she was not able to do this without drastically decreasing her numbers, and moving many of her number to Mars and Titan. Unfortunately, despite her valiant and commendable efforts, she was unable to stop the destruction of her homes by the expanding Sun. Fortunately, and to her credit, she foresaw this tradgedy and was able to move a small portion of her population to a nearby solar system, where she was able to live for a few billion years, though her population steadily declined due to the less than optimal conditons on that harsh planet. She did manage to beautify that world as well, as muchas she could, and she commended herself for her ability in preserving and protecting her environment and prolonging her own life. In the end, however, she dwindled to a few hundred individuals, and the last human passed away peacefully and alone by the light of a dim sun. I wish we could say we will remeber her and her noble efforts, but alas, there is no one here to remember.
The Ten Commandments of Science
1. You shall Have no other gods before me. I, the Lord Science, have spoken.
2. But you can make for yourself idols of every living thing: trees and insects, owls and whales.
3. You shall not worship and serve any supernatural gods; for I, the Lord Science, am a jealous god.
4. You shall not take my name in vain: you shall not engage in pseudoscience. You shall not question me. I, the Lord Science, have spoken.
5. Remember the brithday of Darwin, and keep it holy.
6. Honor your apelike ancestors.
7. You shall not murder. I know, you can’t help it because you have been evolutionarily conditioned to selfishness, but you have also been evolutionarily conditioned to care for your fellow humans. Obey the second impulse, and not the first. Why? Because it is best for society.
8. You shall not commit adultery. I know, you can’t help it because you have been evolutionarliy conditioned to want to procreate and ensure the survival of your genes, but really, it is better for society if you don’t take anothers wife. What do you care about society? How dare you ask such a question. I, Lord Science, have spoken.
9. You shall not lie. Again, I know that you may feel the need to lie in order to preserve your genes, but it is better for society as a whole if you don’t. Sacrifice yourself for society.
10. You shall not covet your neighbors wife, house, car, etc. Again, I know you can’t help it, but try not to do it because it is not what is best for society. You want what’s best for society, don’t you?
A Rude Awakening to a Cruel World
Listening to Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities today, I was struck by this line from the scene of Lucy and her father on the night before her wedding:
In the sad moonlight, she clasped him by the neck, and laid her face upon his breast, in the moonlight, which is always sad, as the light of the sun itself is, as the light of human life is at its coming and its going.
It reminded me of something I said on the event of the birth of my son, my first child.
My wife’s labor was long and difficult, and with only a narcotic to dull the pain. I did not deal well with my helplessness in the situation, my inability to help her. When my son emerged into the doctors arms, he placed him immediately on my wife’s chest. The crying baby, just after the cries of my laboring sweetheart, made a profound impression upon me, and I said “A rude awakening into a cruel world.”
The respected doctor quickly retorted, “A wonderful awakening into a wonderful world.”
I was a bit ashamed of myself after this correction, but I suppose that the mouth speaks what is in the heart. I think this illustrates two strongly contrasting worldviews: one sees the world as full of pain and trouble, the other, as rosy and wonderful. I suppose that I have always been of the former persuasion, and perhaps I am in good company.
Dickens may be taking my pesssimistic platitude even a bit further by pointing out that human life is “bookended” by pain. What more should we expect, he may be implying, from the middle parts?
“Man is born to trouble,” said Eliphaz to Job, “as surely as sparks fly upward.”
Of course, there is joy in life, and wonder, at times filling life and crowding out the pain. But it is certain that pain is woven pervasively and intimately into the fabric of life.
But there is also joy in the midst of pain.
And why did Solomon say, “Sorrow is better than laughter…”?
The Martians Are Coming!
The headlines are abuzz with news of recently formed gullies on Mars. This seems to indicate recent liquid water! The naturalists (those who don’t believe in the supernatural) are thrilled! You can almost hear them: “Life!” they cry, “There’s life on Mars!” Of course, water is just one of the many requierments for life, and they are excited about the mere possibilty.
Why are they so excited? So what if there is life on Mars? What difference does it make if there are bacteria living on mars? According to most atheists, the only amazing thing is that we haven’t found extraterrestrial life before now.
I can see how they might be happy that we may have a water source for future settlements. I think it was Ray Bradbury who remarked that he was glad there was water because we will need it.
The naturalists may be pleased that creating a permanent station on Mars may be facilitated by the presence of water, but I think their excitement goes beyond these practical considerations.
They are excited because they need a source for life on earth. The evidence is against an earth-based evolutionary origin for life. There simply wasn’t enough time nor the right conditions. So, life must have formed somewhere else and then been transported here, maybe from Mars!
Or maybe they are excited because it encourages their belief that there may also be intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. But does it? Intelligent life is a far cry from microorganisms. And why would the atheists be excited about extraterrestrials? There may be many reasons, but I think one reason is this. They think that if there are other intelligent beings, and the Bible doesn’t talk about them, then that casts doubt on the Bible. They reason that since the Bible makes humanity a central theme of the universe, and there are other intelligent beings, then that casts doubt on the Bible.
Why should it? Some Christians seem to be afraid of this also. It is true, that Christ’s redemptive work does seem to extend only to humans on earth, and it may seem hard to imagine that there could be other human-like creatures elswhere. But C. S. Lewis did a nice job of imagining such a scenario from within the Biblical framework in his Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength), and we must realize that the Bible is not anthropocentric, it is theocentric.
Did Christ die in other worlds? I don’t think so, but my faith would not be shaken by the discovery of human-like beings elsewhere. So let the naturalists and atheists find water, and let them find life. Let the solar system run with rivers of water, and let the planets teem with humanoids. Watever is out there, it is a creation of God for His glory. We need not fear it. Let them find the Martians, and let them throw a party. We can be excited too, but don’t get too excited. I don’t think we will find any intelligent life. I think the conditions that life, especially intelligent life require are much too restrictive.
