Religious Implications of Atheism - страница 4

Despite the fact that metaphysics often talks about God and immaterial entities, it cannot be equated with religion. Aristotle did not write about religion. He simply divided the realm of reality, which can be cognized by rational and experimental methods (physics) and the realm of reality, which can only be spoken about in the language of philosophy (metaphysics). Thus, he was well aware that the methods of physics (and other rational sciences) have a limited field of application, with their help it is possible to study only part of reality.

Aristotle laid the foundations of physics (as a systematic science) and he also laid the foundations of metaphysics (as a separate field of knowledge). So if physicists ridicule metaphysics, they ridicule the founder of physics.

Moderator: Which is, of course, the main core area, we gone be addressing tonight in this auditorium in London . . .

I remember, you know, spending a large part of my life asking myself, “Why am I here? Who created me? Do I have a purpose?” Do we be certain about any of these questions?

Comment 2

Of course, these questions concern humanity throughout all its history. Exactly these metaphysical questions are underlying any religion. In search of answers to these questions, people look at these debates [5] and others like them.

Therefore, it would be logical to ask prof. Krauss, an cosmologist-atheist, how from the “quantum fog” or from the “Big Bang” to go to a person interested in the issues of being and the meaning of life, his own higher destiny. Evolution cannot be involved in this, since these questions are purely metaphysical and have nothing to do with natural selection or adaptation for the sake of survival. No animals ask such questions in principle, and they have nothing like this even in embryonic form. Unfortunately, the participants in the debate did not even come close to this important topic at all.

Comment 3

This is perhaps the first religious aspect of atheism to pay attention too. In physics, the concept of dimension plays an important role. One can somehow compare and contrast values of only one dimension. It is impossible, for example, to compare mass and temperature, something triangular and something bright. The same is in the field of human thought and creativity. Nobody will have a debate on the topic: “Mathematics or Music—Which Makes More Sense?” “Chess or Swimming—Which Makes More Sense?” There has never been a debate on the topic: “Atheism or Architecture—Which Makes More Sense?” or something similar. However, the debate on the topic: “Atheism vs Religion” happen very often. Moreover, they happen in the same way as the debates between different religions.

Attempts are sometimes made to bring atheism to a “common denominator” with religions, considering it as a worldview. However, the worldview is an attribute of religion. Therefore, Krauss avoids the term, preferring to emphasize a “common sense”. Nevertheless, no matter how one characterizes atheism; common sense and whatever else and all the same can be found in any religion. Thus, the very fact of the debate between religions and atheism speaks of their equal conditional “dimension”—this is one area of the human spirit.

Moderator: Once I asked a bishop, “What is the purpose of life?” And he said to me, “Go and do a theology degree.” I am not telling you to do theology degree, I am asking you to sit here in the debate for two hours with my two honorable guests over here.