Under- and Over-Estimates

Over extended periods of time, humanity cycles between opposing views of reality, of which one is slightly more correct than the other, but both are flawed. They arise in Ages of Reason and in Ages of Faith. We see similar imbalance in physics as well. As Wikipedia says in its article on Antimatter, “At this time, the apparent asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the visible universe is one of the greatest unsolved problems in physics” link. There appears to be much more matter than antimatter. In a neat reversal of this asymmetry, there is much less Materialism in history than Faith.

In Ages of Reason elites under-estimate the human being. They see humans as just another product of nature and see Mind arising from matter. There are variations here, of course. In Roman times Lucretius thought that “mind” arose from very subtle atoms, but still atoms. Our moderns prefer arrangements of atoms, thus they embrace the concept of complexity.

In Ages of Faith, as the word “faith” implies, the transcendent is to the fore. Something beyond the world of matter is presumed. This stance is more on target, but it tends to over-estimate the human in the cosmos so enlarged. God is pictured as creating the entire cosmos to make a suitable dwelling for humanity. We were the aim. Hence we’re higher than the angels.

The masses of ordinary people are, on the whole, closer to the second view—and only portions of it ever leave that faith behind and then only if their standard of living rises a slight bit over what is normal for most humans—endless toil at the margins of survival—in so-called civilized times. Paradise could certainly be viewed as a distant memory of vast ages when humanity just gathered or herded…

It amuses me to think that Ages of Reason produce unreason, because humans are so radically different from chemical machines—while Ages of Faith produce reason, because faith opens up more of Reality for contemplation. But to think that the vast Out There has us in mind, and was created just to make a home for humanity, is a bit of a stretch. It is, of course, understandable. One consequence of the Fall is bone-deep ignorance. We are rather superior to the humble animals. And vastly worse at our bad. Therefore to think that we are the focus is at least credible—unless we spend some time contemplating the great sky by night.

There is a position between these two—closer to faith than reason, avoiding pride. It is the notion of the Fall—not of the whole of humanity but of a part. And what we call humanity may in essence be angelic. And therefore reality may be many magnitudes-raised-to magnitudes more complex than our simplifying myths have made it.