The integers are infinite, eternal, permanent, and unchanging and yet we can split them into natural numbers and negative integers.
No, math is only a human construct. Oh wait.
I would agree that math is a very clever and useful way we have invented to organize things. We can find ways to apply mathematics to everything around us and can use it to measure quite precisely, but that does not give it an existence outside of of our imagination.
But how can you define god as something when you can't be sure that it is right or wrong?
Your entire worldview could be based on false premises. Just curious what you think about that.
I mean, religions do that, but then everyone in that religion follows pretty much what the central religious texts claim about god and reality. So your scenario is different because you're coming up with this stuff yourself.
I hope you don't mind me probing like this - but I'm just really curious how someone can construct their entire worldview around a concept that they don't know is right or wrong. It's pretty much a guess, right? See, I'm totally opposite - my worldview is based on things I am very certain about. If I wasn't - I would discard them as building blocks of my worldview.
Your inquiry is not a problem. I wish I could claim my particular definition of god as an original thought, but alas, the Hindus, Sufis, Buddhists and Taoists have all been there before me, even if they worded things differently.
Every world view begins somewhere with some basic precepts that cannot be proven in the generally accepted scientific manner. You chose the building blocks of your worldview based on what is important to you and how you begin leads to some inevitable conclusion that makes my view, appear a bit off. You cannot escape it.
Truth be told, proving the correctness of my particular worldview is not important. Its purpose is to serve as guide and a foundation that allows a complex view of the world and how we all fit into that picture of things. Yes, even those who do not believe have a place in my world.
If I were to wait for proof of what is true about the universe before figuring out how I might fit in, I would never get there. Is my world view a guess? Certainly not. It has roots in many years of actual experience coupled with some intellectual inquiry into what others have thought about things. Could I be completely wrong? Sure, but so what? If my purpose was to right, it is unlikely that I could ever come to a conclusion. I'd rather be "approximately right than precisely wrong".
Isn't the definition a little grand to start off with?
Especially when you're going to place pretty much all of the rest of your thinking on it?
And what's wrong with starting with: I don't know? I think that is a much better place to start.
Nothing is wrong with starting with "I don't know." I suggest you do so. If we can assume I have sufficient freedom to do so, I chose to start differently. Starting small just limits you. It constrains your thinking and usually limits the paths of inquiry you allow yourself. Each of us is different and having a narrow focus allows many to find their truth in the joys of precision and fine detail. There is grandeur in such endeavors too.
isn't that the point?
I did start big. Such a large expanse has lots of room for many ideas to find a home. It is inclusive rather than exclusive. I can find cozy places for fundamentalists, atheists, agnostics, haters and lovers. Even the tea party.
