What Do We Know?

Alright, so where to begin? I guess it would be to start off with the Big Question: Who is God? Sounds like it should be a fairly easy question, right?

Wrongo.

Let's start by taking a look at our basic understanding of reality as we observe it. The fact is, we don't know much about anything; if we have to start from the ground up, we have to deconstruct everything we think we know and reobserve and reanalyze it all. This follows Descartes' thinking process outlined in his most notable work, which contains his famous quote, "I think, therefore I am." The whole work, titled the Fifth Meditation, outlines six steps in his thought process, in which he reaches each area of reasoning:

Step 1: Deconstruct everything you think you know. If you can question it for any reason, throw it out.

Step 2: I have a conscious thinking mind; whatever else reality might be, I am somehow a real thing.

Step 3: A perfect, infinite being has to exist because the cause of an idea must have at least as much formal reality as the idea has objective reality. The fact that I can think of something that is "perfect" when I myself am imperfect means that what is "perfect" must be real in some way; only an infinite, perfect being could cause the idea of one inside my mind because I, an imperfect being, could not have invented one out of myself.

Step 4: If there is an infinite, perfect being, its opposite would be absolute nothingness; as an conscious but imperfect being, I must be somewhere in the middle. All the things that are "real" or "good" must come from the same source; my own mind's ability to judge what is true is not infinite, which means I am easily susceptible to error and couldn't be expected to know all God's intentions. While God gave me limited understanding, He did give me total and complete free will.

Step 5: Material things have to be something because I didn't invent ideas like fixed geometric shapes. Even if I'm only imagining material objects, their influence on me through what I perceive as sensations (sight, touch, sound, etc.) must have a real source.

Step 6: I can picture things as images in my mind, which is different from realizing an idea or coming to a conclusion. Whatever God is, He made everything I can picture that I can't have invented, like geometrical shapes. I understand my mind, as a thinking being, as distinct from my physical body's existence; so God can make these separate from each other. I am "inclined" to believe that the things I experience with my senses are real; if they're not, that makes God a liar. But perfection also includes ultimate truth; if God is the ultimate perfection, He's also not deceiving me, so material things must be real.

What do we gain from this? Overall, Descartes' concept of Perfection as a reality on some level. From what we outwardly observe alone, we understand that our universe is physically in decline; it's dying, therefore it is imperfect. But the fact that we have an understanding of something that is "perfect" means it must be real to some degree. If perfection can even be a cognitive concept, it must be possible for it to exist.

But this is only the introspective side of the argument; the same degree of "reality" can be given for almost all cognitive theories, whether our consciousness is only part of some alien computer program or we're all just brains in jars receiving artificial stimuli. Overall, according to Descartes, we really have no other perspective to try and figure things out with than our own: the inside self, the one, big Me. Still, even if everything else is nothing more than hallucinations, we have the certainty of our own reality, and as far as that goes, it still makes two things certain:

1) I am a real, conscious being.

2) I am an imperfect being with limitations.

Imperfection might not sound like something abnormal; I mean, our whole understanding of people in general (in the conscious physical reality we know for sure) revolves around the idea that no one is perfect. But this clarifies a very important human characteristics: we are all inherently selfish and self-preserving; therefore, as limited beings, we are all dependent on something else, both for physical survival and inner stability (mental, spiritual, conscious, etc.). We depend on something outside of ourselves to interact with the universe outside of ourselves, even if it's nothing more than a projected mental imagery of ourselves; e. g., "I'm never alone because I have myself." Whether it's a supernatural deity, a moral code, or even just basic physical appetite, we humans need some kind of motivator to drive us in life and keep us living for more; without a motivator, we might just lay down and die where we are.

So, back to the original question: Who is God? Well, if we're still on the ground level and haven't yet come to address God as a person, I guess we can start with this basic principle: a "god" (little "g") is whatever you make it. We can have multiple gods, like family, money, love, or ourselves, but overall, whatever becomes the ultimate staple of our lives; the one thing we live for more often than any other thing that can be declared as the focal point of our life in this reality; that is our "god."

Now we have an even ground to stand on. Whatever else this general, overarching "God" might be; whether simply an inanimate object of some kind, some spiritual entity, or a weird combination of both; whatever His nature, extent of reality, or demands really are; we've established two solid points:

1) "God" is real.

2) "God" is necessary for human development.

So far, we've only come to a conclusion of an idea or concept of "God," but now that we have something to kick off of, we can begin to broaden this idea into something more.

#perspective #outlook #God