& # 8220 ; Higher Power & # 8221 ; Essay, Research Paper
Transcendentalism and A Belief In A & # 8220 ; Higher Power & # 8221 ;
We do non hold good grounds to believe in something nonnatural. Most
of the statements in favour of God, or a alleged & # 8220 ; higher power & # 8221 ; are based on
religion and emotion, and non a clear logical statement. In fact, these statements
are frequently in favour of throwing logic out the window. In many ways, this inquiry
is similar to person trying to turn out the being of an unseeable elephant.
It is far easier to turn out that the elephant does non be than it is to turn out
that it does.
Socrates & # 8217 ; rule of scrutiny provinces that we must carefully analyze
all things. The tools we worlds use to make this are logic and the scientific
method. In order to believe in something nonnatural, you can non analyze your
beliefs utilizing logic and scientific discipline. If you do, there is no manner to turn out the
being of a higher power.
The primary statement against the being of a Judeo-christian all-
knowing, almighty, righteous God is the statement from immorality. This statement
argues against the presence of a higher power utilizing facts of ordinary life. This
statement provinces that most would hold that some of the hurting and agony ( evil )
in this universe is unneeded. To be considered a necessary immorality, the happening
must be the lone manner to bring forth something good, which outweighs the immorality. Many
events, such as infant deceases, would non be classified in this class.
If such an omniscient divinity existed, it states, He would cognize that
this immorality was happening. If He was almighty, He would hold the power to halt
this immorality. If He was righteous, He would halt the immorality from happening
Therefore, the being of immoralities can non be compatible with the being of this
type of God.
The primary response to the statement from immorality is the entreaty to human
freedom. This statement states that God sees evil as necessary so that we worlds
may be free to take our ain way. The fatal defect in this statement is that
there are immoralities that exist non as a direct consequence of human pick. Natural immoralities
such as inundations, temblors, and twisters serve no intent harmonizing to this
definition, and are hence unneeded immoralities.
A theist might react to this with another weak rebuttal, saying that
every evil produces compassion and apprehension in others, and creates good in
that respect. This is an excessively positive, about delusional position of immorality. Almost
everyone will be able to come up with at least one illustration of person who has
suffered an immorality that has non straight or indirectly led to anything good.
The other statement for something transcendental is the statement from
religion. It is, nevertheless, besides a weak statement. It states that we will ne’er be
able to happen direct grounds of God & # 8217 ; s being through logic or natural scientific discipline,
so we must happen an surrogate method. This statement requires us to suspend
Socrates & # 8217 ; basic philosophical rule of scrutiny. The statement from religion
asks us to go forth this thought entirely, and merely believe that it works. This basic
deficiency of logic and logical thinking makes this a weak statement.
Another of the statements is the design statement. This states that the
existence is far excessively structured and complex to be derived from a large knock, or
another random sequence of events. A nonnatural & # 8220 ; watchmake
r” is the lone
account for the complexnesss of the existence, say advocates of this
statement.
The weak nexus in this statement is that for the many structured things
that exist, there are merely as many helter-skelter things. Not everything in the
universe serves a intent, or has an efficient design. Again, this is connected
back to the statement from immorality. Some immoralities are unneeded defects in the ticker & # 8217 ; s
design. Thomas Paley, a critic of the statement, asked why a higher being design
a blemished ticker with so many pointless characteristics. There is no good counter to that
statement.
Another statement is the First Cause statement. This statement states that
everything that exists had a separate cause of its coming into being. This
creates a causal concatenation, widening backward in clip, which can non be infinite. If
it is non infinite, so there must be a first cause, which must be God. This
seems like a sensible statement, but one of its premises is rickety. There is no
good ground to province that there can non be an infinite series of causes.
Scientists might reason for the Big Bang theory as a beginning to our existence,
but it besides could hold had a cause.
Another rickety premiss of the statement is the last 1. Why does the terminal
of the concatenation have to be the Judeo-christian God? It could besides be a
nonnatural force, without the many traits associated to a God. It is besides
unusually egoistic for one faith to believe it has the monopoly on God.
Why could the first cause non be Allah, Buddha, or the similar?
Two other minor statements try to link physical world to the
being of God. The first is the statement from miracles. This statement provinces
that many people have a legitimate belief that they have experienced miracles.
With so many unexplained phenomena in this universe, they argue, it is likely
that God must be doing these singular events.
The following statement is the statement from spiritual experience. Advocates
argue that many people claim to hold been & # 8220 ; touched & # 8221 ; by a higher power. Because
of this direct contact, we must believe in the being of a transcendental
being. Many people have really similar narratives of walking into a bright visible radiation in
near-death experiences.
With all of these happenings, protagonists argue, we must be able to see
the being of a God. The response to both of these statements is that there is
non one spot of concrete grounds to back up either claim. Every clip we have
tested alleged articles of spiritual miracle, such as the Shroud of Turin,
they have non lived up to their claim. We besides can non turn out through any
scientific method that anyone has of all time been touched by a nonnatural force.
These near-death experiences are likely a simple deficiency of blood to the encephalon.
The lone tools that we have to turn out or confute the being of a
nonnatural power are our senses, the scientific method, and logic. With all
of our technological progresss, we have ne’er been able to happen significant
grounds that this power exists or of all time did be. We besides have non found a
logical statement to turn out its being. Without this substantial cogent evidence, we
can non state that we have logical or sensible grounds to believe in something
nonnatural. We worlds have non found the unseeable elephant, but have
already created the circus for it.