Hmm. I guess I am basically a materialist, though I tend not to think of it that way. I am certainly not a "reductionist" or any other sort of "hard materialist."
Let me put it this way -- anything that appears to be "supernatural" I take to be "natural, but not explained by current theories." So it is not that I reject the existence of the supernatural or spiritual, it is that I tend to think that it is a part of existence indistinguishable from what is natural and material.
I fear that drawing any sort of distinction between "spirit" and "matter" leads inevitably to dualism, which I find to be a very damaging philosophy.
Rather a strange statement from someone who self-labels as a Gnostic, eh? :)
I think of "spirit" or "divinity" as things which exist primarily in human cognition -- but whether that is correct or not, they are still meaningful and I would never pretend that they are not.
I do not think that understanding the workings of the cosmos in primarily material terms means that we have to pretend that spirit or divinity is meaningless.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-28 02:19 pm (UTC)Let me put it this way -- anything that appears to be "supernatural" I take to be "natural, but not explained by current theories." So it is not that I reject the existence of the supernatural or spiritual, it is that I tend to think that it is a part of existence indistinguishable from what is natural and material.
I fear that drawing any sort of distinction between "spirit" and "matter" leads inevitably to dualism, which I find to be a very damaging philosophy.
Rather a strange statement from someone who self-labels as a Gnostic, eh? :)
I think of "spirit" or "divinity" as things which exist primarily in human cognition -- but whether that is correct or not, they are still meaningful and I would never pretend that they are not.
I do not think that understanding the workings of the cosmos in primarily material terms means that we have to pretend that spirit or divinity is meaningless.