The Chasm of Death is a term I came up with to describe a challenge for EvolutionarySpirituality.
(I will construct “mock stages” of humanity here, to tell a story. I don’t think these are real stages, but I do think there is something to them. Consider it a MetaPhysics, and if it provides utility for you, yay for us.)
God is in the heavens, and all is right in the world.
Story, purpose, the SourceOfEthics, and so on: It all stems from God and is known to us through his messengers.
Science uncovers some stuff.
“Wait, this doesn’t make sense. The things those books said turned out not to be true, and some of the moral commandments are downright embarrassing.”
Some revise stories the minimum necessary, and basically stay with it, but some take a different route.
“What are the first ideological principles that we can agree to, and then build up the world from?”
(Note that I’m not saying that all philosophy is like this. I’m just using the word “philosophy” as a peg, as an icon.)
“Hm, … That’s an interesting idea, but what about this one? … Isn’t this truly a better understanding to base the world on?”
Science uncovers some more stuff.
“Wow… …that’s… …it’s not like we thought at all.”
“Our market theories are useless. Our ethical theories are all chaos and baseless. Everything is human constructed. There is no majestic SourceOfEthics.”
Meaninglessness, purposelessness, amorality, social chaos, deceit & deception, reversion to tribalism, rejection of Science. “The universe has no place for human ways.” “The findings of science are corruptions upon humanity.”
“Yeah, I’m with the scientists, but, … I don’t see how to make much sense in my life, from what it has to say, …”
“Socially constructed what?”
RichardDawkins and the other NewAthiests?, almost universally scientists, propose that humanity just hold it’s nose, plunge forward, and leap straight into the Chasm of Death.
Humanity ain’t convinced, and humanity ain’t going.
Most people U-turn, and head back into philosophy. “Oh-ps! Not the way I meant to go!”
Some people just “hermit” out near the edge. “Well, I knew I didn’t like people much before. I’ll just camp.”
Others run screaming straight back into religion.
We can see the octopus arms clearly, the ghosts of specters, the certain death, the plunge, right before us. There seems to be no land, as far as the eye can see.
This is, I believe, a fairly proper context for understanding the goals and meaning of EvolutionarySpirituality.
I have seen glimpses of a land beyond the chasm, and I’ve seen some startling answers over there.
I believe that EvolutionarySpirituality is a bridge to cross the chasm. I believe that it will affirm the history of our species, and all of the religions that we have constructed, and carry them forward. I believe that it will be almost entirely naturalistic, barring some mysteries that we genuinely do not know (why is there existence, why are we Conscious, and so on.) I do believe that it will be inspiring.
There were people before that saw this. The Russian Cosmists, Osamu Tezuka. To a loose degree, Carl Sagan, and several others. To me, this is all very much a work in progress.
But I think it’s exactly what’s needed. I think it’s the “change in consciousness” that we’re looking for. And I think it is a vehicle that contains a lot of the things that we talk about here.
Sociologists use the term anomie
– Luke Stanley LukeStanley (2007-04-15 21:48 BST)
Define external redirect: NewAthiests