In Just 60 Years, Neoliberal Capitalism Has Nearly Broken Planet Earth

[GliderGuider]

42. Fortunately the world has room enough for both scientists and philosophers.

The ongoing polarization of Western culture towards the endpoints of science and religion has largely depopulated the middle ground where I am most comfortable. My position has a lot in common with those in the 19th century who were called "natural philosophers".

Mortimer Adler describes natural philosophy this way:

"Major branches of natural philosophy include astronomy and cosmology, the study of nature on the grand scale; etiology, the study of (intrinsic and sometimes extrinsic) causes; the study of chance, probability and randomness; the study of elements; the study of the infinite and the unlimited (virtual or actual); the study of matter; mechanics, the study of translation of motion and change; the study of nature or the various sources of actions; the study of natural qualities; the study of physical quantities; the study of relations between physical entities; and the philosophy of space and time."

That is a succinct description of the "scientific" subset of my range of interests, to which I have added the human-centered soft sciences of psychology, sociology and anthropology, as well as an interest in the nature of consciousness and the non-dualism of Zen and Advaita.

Because of this breadth, enabled by the fact that I'm not concerned with success or status, I have lived my life as an enthusiastic dilettante. When it comes to knowledge, breadth is far more important to me than mastery. I'm a huge proponent of consilience.

I'm not attached to science or any other field of human exploration as a primary source of meaning. I was actually relieved when my root cause analysis of the human condition ended in a position of total nihilism, where the concept of intrinsic meaning was swept away.

Hinduism has given us the archetype of Shiva: a god who is simultaneously the destroyer and creator. My conclusion that the Second Law was in a sense the First Cause (of the material universe and all its manifestations) became the Destroyer aspect of Shiva. That conclusion destroyed for me all possibility of finding intrinsic, external meanings "out there" somewhere. At the same time, however, it also displayed Shiva's Creator aspect. By destroying all possibility of external meaning it opened the space for me to create my own meaning.

What that word salad means is that most people who have been successfully programmed by their nature and culture to derive meaning from a single area like science or religion may find my views mushy, shallow, unfocused and ill-conceived. What to them is a sign of my failure I take as a sign of success in my endeavor to live life on my own terms.

To your statement, "The extent to which we are experiencing heat death is a choice, not a technological, or for that matter, a physical imperative" I would respond that this reflects your personal perception of human choice and the role of physical imperatives in the operation of the universe. Your use of the categorical "is" arrogates a certainty about these matters that IMO is epistemologically dubious. However, I'm quite happy that you have found this position meaningful. If you are making a mistake, it's perhaps similar to one I've made many times in my own explorations: projecting a personal view as a universal truth.

I may be attaching too much meta to my physics for your taste, but it's a dish that suits me to a T. The wonderful part of life is that there is room for us all, at least for a little while longer.

Have a great weekend yourself.