I'm a student of philosophy, cosmology, religion, particle physics, music & songwriting, history, and geography. Being retired after 32 years with the state, I have some time to spend on these delights of study. Although I'm only 60, I'm not making plans for next year. I think of science, philosophy, and religion as three main branches of the field of human understanding. Science is a strict discipline for understanding what can be known and proven by measurement and observation. Philosophy seeks to understand, at least insofar as logic and reason may establish, that which lies beyond the near certainties of fact that science may confirm. Religion is an alternative to philosophy based upon a belief in some form of divinity. Religion is often in conflict with science and philosophy, in addition to the conflicts that exist between diverse bodies of religious belief. But those religions which best agree with the understandings of science and philosophy are, in my opinion, most tenable. Why? Because if there is a deity responsible for the creation or order of our universe, I believe that such deity must be apparent in its work, in the natural world to which it has given origin and order. I do not myself so much believe in a personal deity as I believe that the universe itself is a conscious being with both a mind (we call God) and a body (we call the cosmos). Of course, the nature of such a deity is beyond human comprehension, but we reach for it as it rests within us and all the world around us. The result of our communion with this transcendent deity is the many faces of God that mankind worships and envisions in our lives.
Sun 18 Jul, 2010 09:24 am - [quote="thack45"]
I wonder if when questions of the existance of time (and perhaps some other things) are being asked, should this existance be qualified to mean either physical or... (view)
Fri 16 Jul, 2010 08:39 pm - My wife wrote the following article about true hillbilly justice for you, based upon her family heritage in Pike (and adjacent Hempstead) County, Arkansas, home of former President Bill Clinton,... (view)
Wed 14 Jul, 2010 02:46 pm - A philosopher is not generally disadvantaged by limited math knowledge. I'm not sure that math is the divine language you may think it to be. I do not entirely trust anything that accepts... (view)
Wed 14 Jul, 2010 02:38 pm - Is your name like J. W. Wandel? Or is it a Slavic name pronounced like "Von-del-hyoo" maybe? Or what? Just curious.
I like your posts. They're very short and to the point.... (view)
Wed 14 Jul, 2010 02:32 pm - Yea rah, Ken! I finally get to agree with you on something. Relevance is a subjective thing. I am not interested in cloning or the ethics of cloning, except as it applies to Sci-Fi and... (view)
Wed 14 Jul, 2010 02:11 pm - [quote="kennethamy"]
[quote="talk72000"]
Yes, I find many who locked philosophy into a liberal arts discipline and not include the tough courses like sciences and mathematics... (view)
Wed 14 Jul, 2010 02:08 pm - [quote="talk72000"]
Yes, I find many who locked philosophy into a liberal arts discipline and not include the tough courses like sciences and mathematics are deluding themselves if they... (view)
Mon 12 Jul, 2010 01:03 pm - [quote="wandeljw"]
I did not mean to imply that any modification would destroy the scientific character of a theory. A theory is no longer scientific if modifications succeed in making... (view)