I should probably clarify what I mean by “MAGIC” — it won’t be easy
According to Google, “Magic” is the power of apparently influencing the course of events by using mysterious or supernatural forces.
That would seem to include the magic of magicians and — to some extent — our Bibles
Fortunately, that is NOT the “magic” I’m suggesting here
Again, if there is such a thing as FREE WILL, reality is MAGICAL — reality is NOT RULED by cause and effect
There might be other types of magic, but that’s the type I’m claiming here
I agree that we seem able to “PROVE” determinism — but I don’t QUITE believe it anyway…
My suggestion is that we homo-sapiens are only in our evolutionary “childhood,” not nearly as smart as we think we are — and are missing at least SOMETHING crucial about reality
I SUSPECT that we made the very reasonable ASSUMPTION that CAUSE AND EFFECT RULES, but considered such as FACT — rather than ASSUMPTION — and were thereby able to “PROVE” determinism
I accept that such an argument SOUNDS rather “DESPERATE,” but I CLAIM that there actually IS some serious SUPPORT for the argument — to follow
Supposedly, homo-sapiens have existed for 200,000 years and have produced about 100,000,000,000 (ONE-HUNDRED BILLION) examples (“selves”)
Assuming that each self can exist only one finite time, there must be an infinity of POTENTIAL selves
And, the PROBABILITY of me (or you) EVER EXISTING is virtually zero
And, the probability of me (or you) CURRENTLY existing is even less
In other words, it is VERY, VERY UNLIKELY that I (or you) exist for only one finite time!!!
You and I must exist MANY, MANY times — or ALWAYS
In fact, you and I must be BASIC to reality
Consequently, the most powerful evidence of magic in reality for me is ME
And for you, it’s YOU
And eventually humanity should realize that “DEATH” (ceased existence of a self) is only temporary or never…
Probably never
Then — the “lower” animals seem to “TAKE EVERYTHING FOR GRANTED” – I.E. we assume that they never (or, hardly ever) wonder about “how” or “why”
They don’t “WORRY” about such things
They appear to just REACT in whatever ways that they perceive to be in their own (or a loved one’s) best interest
Whereas, we humans DO wonder how and why about most everything
But there is something AMAZING that most of us humans still just take for granted – UNLESS WE’RE RELIGIOUS
That’s OUR OWN EXISTENCES, our own SELVES
I’ll try to explain
I’m claiming that there is something amazing/magical about our own existence THAT ALMOST NO ONE NOTICES…
Abraham Joshua Heschel apparently DID notice, and called it “RADICAL AMAZEMENT”
I may be able to HINT at the magic involved by pointing out the IMPROBABILITY of your own current existence
Supposedly, homo-sapiens have existed for 200,000 years and have produced about 100,000,000,000 (ONE-HUNDRED BILLION) selves
Is there a LIMIT to the number of POTENTIAL human selves?
,PROBABLY NOT — there must be a potential INFINITY of different human selves…
And, if each self can exist for only one finite time at most, the PROBABILITY of me (or you) CURRENTLY existing is virtually zero
In other words, it’s VERY, VERY UNLIKELY that I (or you) CAN exist for only one finite time!!!
In fact, you and I are probably BASIC to reality
Trying to hitch a ride on Quantum Mechanics, you and I must be specific divisions of an infinitely divisible UNIVERSAL CONSCIOUSNESS (look that one up!)
And, in the “BEGINNING,” (if there WAS a beginning) we must ALL have been ONE…
Before the beginning of TIME?
I suggest that ALMOST NO ONE recognizes this amazing aspect of reality because it is so hard to describe — consequently, so far, each of us needs to recognize it for his/her self
Maybe, this will help — maybe, NOT…
WHERE (IN THE HELL!) DID YOU COME FROM?!!!
Did you exist in some other form before you were conceived?
Or, were you brand new?
So far, that seems to be the best I can do…
Another bit of proposed magic
For one thing, I’m suggesting that LIFE (at least HUMAN LIFE) IS BEYOND THE LAWS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT, and involves what we call FREE WILL — thereby making us humans at least PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE for our own behavior!
If true, that’s absolutely “magical”
Then, there’s “EXISTENCE”
I’m claiming that existence, itself, is magical
NOTHING existing would make PERFECT sense
Think about it – NOTHING existing would require absolutely NO explanation…
Whereas, SOMETHING existing would require AN INFINITY OF EXPLANATIONS
That is, how could there be a FIRST cause — a cause that was not, itself, caused?
But also, how could there be an infinity of causes?
In other words, I’m suggesting that cause and effect, somehow, DOES NOT RULE…
And, existence IN GENERAL is magical
We’ve got a LONG way to go in figuring this out — if it is even possible
And then, once something existed, something must have ALWAYS existed?
How could there be a FIRST cause — how could there be a cause that was not, itself, caused?
But then, how could there have ALWAYS been something existing either?
Einstein said that time is an illusion
Maybe, that’s the KEY – maybe, “ALWAYS” is just part of the illusion
Then, I’m suggesting that the reason we homo-sapiens seem able to PROVE DETERMINISM, and DISPROVE FREE WILL, is that “evolutionarily” speaking we are only in our intellectual childhood , and are missing, or misunderstanding, something, or somethingS, crucial, in understanding reality
Maybe we think we can prove determinism because we’ve ASSUMED something that we shouldn’t
Maybe, cause and effect does not rule…
If cause and effect rules, nothing should exist
If cause and effect really rules, there can’t be a first cause
Apparently, the “lower” animals “TAKE EVERYTHING FOR GRANTED” – I.E. we assume that they never (or, hardly ever) wonder “how” or “why”
They appear to just REACT in whatever ways that they perceive to be in their own (or a loved one’s) best interest
Whereas, we humans DO wonder how and why — and most of us think of ourselves as having “free will”
But then, there are some facts that we HUMANS do TEND to take for granted – and SOME of those we probably should NOT – they deserve to be wondered about
At least, three FACTS seem “magical” (when analyzed), and consequently, SUPPORT RELIGION
Existence in general
Awareness in general
MY existence/awareness in particular
These apparently magical facts must be largely RESPONSIBLE for our religions – for our tendency towards BELIEVING in magic and meaning
So, one of those FACTS that we should probably NOT take for granted, but do, is our own SELVES
When analyzed, they don’t seem to fit with what we think we know about reality…
And again, they end up supporting Religion…
We take our selves for granted — when our selves are the very last “things” that we SHOULD take for granted
Am I just one of the infinity of potential selves
NOTHING existing would make perfect sense, whereas MY PARTICULAR EXISTENCE makes absolutely NO sense
Again, WHERE IN THE HELL DID I COME FROM, anyway?!
We’ve just taken existence and awareness for granted — but they’re nowhere near deserving of such an attitude
I (tend to) believe in free will for two reasons — one mostly emotional, but one very rational
I sure FEEL like I have free will — but if I’m not, to some extent, responsible for what I think are my own decisions, life has no meaning
I’ve recognized something that we humans take for granted that
I
free willI
So, most of our public schools and universities in the West have been essentially DISCOUNTING religion — and in general, the more education we receive in the West, the LESS religious we become
I suggest that the reason this negation persists is that the serious evidence AGAINST belief is just much more OBVIOUS than is the serious evidence FOR belief (And once again, we humans are in our evolutionary infancy)
But then, the evidence FOR belief – once recognized – is almost impossible to discount or ignore
Most of us humans’ figure that we do have free will in that our behavior is the result of external realities but also OUR OWN TRAITS AND VALUES
The problem, however, is that our own ORIGINAL traits and values must have been determined by EXTERNAL REALITIES — we could hardly be responsible for our own traits and values BEFORE we even existed
Taking that into account, cause and effect SHOULD rule
In other words, our behavior would seem to be COMPLETELY determined by external realities — and free will is not possible
In more other words — I can “PROVE” that there is no such thing as free will and that NO ONE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING…
However, I BELIEVE IN FREE WILL ANYWAY!
Most likely, you do also
Either, we are wrong, or the “experts” are missing something…
If free will is real, you and I ARE simply “magical” — WE ARE SOMEHOW ABOVE THE LAWS OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
We are little Gods — perhaps, we are parts of God
Perhaps, we are parts of a “universal consciousness”
If we have free will, we are at least, LIKE little Gods — and, cause and effect DOES NOT rule!
