Musings of a Middle Aged Man

n is phrased as a gotcha, a question that attempts to force a choice between implied extremes, similar to the way lawyers and other biased debaters try and twist words to make a point by employing a false dichotomy. Being human and spiritual are not mutually exclusive. In fact, humans require both physical and spiritual aspects to be fully human. To be spiritual is to seek meaning beyond the mater...

on both sides of the faith divide, so feel fully qualified to broach an answer to this metaphysical question. I was indoctrinated into Catholicism from the moment I could breathe, attended Parochial schooling for 12 impressionable years, finally breaking free of the mental shackles as my brain grew to think rationally. That thought freedom allowed me to see the inherent hypocrisy of those immersed...

Creativity is the ability to generate new and original ideas, solutions, or objects by making connections between different concepts. In other words, creativity is using the imagination or original ideas, especially in the realization of artistic work. Art is the expression of human creativity and imagination through various media, including painting, sculpture, music, and literature. Art requires...

By definition, to be moral is to act according to principles of right and wrong based on personal or societal standards of good behavior. Moral standards serve as a basis for people to live together in groups predicated on established guidelines of proper conduct and character. Personal moral standards are typically influenced by society, culture, and religion, but ultimately come down to what an...

Predeterminism is the belief that all future events are fixed or decided in advance by a divine plan, fate, or other force, rather than being determined by present conditions or random chance. In short, all aspects of the future are inescapable, meaning the future cannot be altered. It is the polar opposite of having free will. In human terms, everything we think, say, and do was set in stone at t...

Morality is defined as a set of principles and standards that define what is considered right or wrong, good or bad within a society, culture, or individual. It encompasses beliefs about proper conduct and character necessary to live cooperatively and make decisions based on a shared understanding of acceptable behavior. I posit morality is subjective...

ath, the, at least, 50,000-year-old question, a date based upon the earliest ritualistic burial sites, assuming they are an indicator of humans looking beyond earthly existence. Probably earlier, considering our minds tend to wrestle with ideas long before those concepts are made manifest in some tangible form. Art is a creative endeavor. The earliest known cave paintings, at 66,700 years old, are...

nism is defined, rather narrowly, as an organic entity bounded by a collection of traits, including cellular organization, the ability to grow and develop, the capacity to reproduce and metabolize, respond to stimuli, maintain a stable environment through homeostasis, and adapt to change. Anything without these characteristics is classified as non-living matter. The first problem arises when we re...

From a philosophical perspective, reality comes in two potential frameworks. Physicalism claims reality is purely physical, that everything is composed of matter and energy, and follows the laws of physics with no existence of spiritual, mental, or other non-physical realms. The other extreme, Spiritualism, claims reality is purely spiritual, with the physical world merely an illusion arising from...

I consider life to be the most sacred, check that, the only sacred artifact in the universes. I am not just referring to human life. Rather, all life in any form it manifests. My wife's pets? Sacred. The disgusting rats I see running around alley trash cans? Sacred. Trees and flowers? Insects? Bacteria? tardigrades? Sacred. Sacred. Sacred. And sacred. While I do not believe sin exists outside...

Nationalism is an ideology and movement centered on the idea that a nation should have its own independent state and govern itself within its perceived homeland. It involves strong identification with one's nation, fostering national pride, and can serve as a powerful force for unity and self-determination. I have no problem with the concept of people identifying with a nation, although dislik...

Consciousness is a complex and difficult-to-define state of awareness of one's surroundings and internal self, allowing for subjective experience, thought, and emotion. It is universally understood human experience, yet remains one of the most profound and challenging questions in science and philosophy, with no single agreed upon definition. It is a phenomenon we know from a first-person pers...

Perception is an active process by which an individual organizes, interprets, and makes sense of sensory information from their environment to form a coherent understanding of the world. The foundation for perceiving is our senses: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. A simple example of the process. A vibration is gathered either in the ears or via bone conduction and is transformed...

Sin is broadly defined as a transgression of divine or moral law, a violation of what is right, or a failure to meet god's standards. The concept of sin includes transgressions of action, thought, or attitudes, such as disobedience, selfishness, or not performing good deeds, and is often seen as separating an individual from connection with the divine. Sin typically carries negative consequenc...

According to Star Trek, space is the final frontier. I disagree. Yes, space is vast beyond comprehension. We will never completely know what lies amongst the stars, let alone understand a mere 0.0001% of the billions of galaxies comprising the solar system. The final frontier, in more ways than one, is death, the mysterious realm where all men and women have or will go when the life force decides...

When it comes to free speech, I am pretty much an anarchist, viewing speech as a an individual freedom, a universal right that must be free from state-sanctioned coercion or regulation. No central authority should have the right to censor or inhibit expression by an individual or a group. If there are going to be consequences for speaking, they should be social, such as boycotting or exclusion fro...

The challenge with any cross-cultural dialogue resides in the reality that what we say generally has roots deep in our cultural context. It is a context in which we move seamlessly, unknowingly, not realizing the context is unknown to others, meaning any attempted dialogue is obscured by clouds blotting out foundational understandings. A couple examples should help clarify. It is common in Vietnam...

I find it helpful to answer this type of question by first defining the terms, in this case, the proposed dichotomy between believing and knowing, to help ensure a common foundation from which to draw a meaningful conclusion. Knowledge is defined as facts and information acquired by experience or education, with facts further refining it to be something verifiable and, just as importantly, can be...

Daedalus and Icarus could very well be the first recorded instance of humans, the two men, and machines, attached wings representing a simple machine, were combined to form a man-machine hybrid in literature. Yes, it is a bit of a stretch considering the wings were not permanently attached. Edgar Allen Poe, in 1943, wrote a short story about a war hero who, it is gradually revealed, is almost enti...

The idea of "self" is multifaceted and complex. Self refers to an individual's unique identity and being, understood as a combination of one's beliefs, memories, thoughts, physical and mental attributes, and the subjective experience of consciousness. It encompasses both the "I," source of agency, and the "Me," the object of reflection, creating a continuous s...

The idea that animals should have the same rights as humans extends back to the 9th century BCE, along with the principle in Eastern religions of ahimsā, non-violence toward all living beings, advocating for kindness and non-cruelty expressed daily by a vegetarian diet. I guess they did not believe growing, breathing plants were living. An odd prejudice, one arising because humans are unable to he...

When thinking about the lasting impact of decisions or responsible planning, the impact on the future must be taken into account. Businesses typically have monthly, quarterly, and annual targets guided by a five-year plan and longer-term ambitions. A couple looking to start a family will, when buying a home, seek out a location that will suit their future needs. They look as far out as the schooli...

As humans with only our singular, first-person experience as a reference, we assume everyone experiences the world the exact same way we do. My red is your red, despite the color triggering emotional responses based on unique genetics and divergent experiences. My sadness feels like your sadness, irrespective of the truism that each person grieves in their own way. My conscious experience is ident...

For as far back as I can recollect, I have been fascinated by religion, by man's attempt to connect what they view as the ultimate power and the many masks those deities wielding that power wear. I had already set aside the religion of my birth due to conflicting texts and hypocrisy of both the hierarchy and followers when I became captivated by the enthralling PBS series, "Joseph Campbel...

If I were forced to choose between being intelligent or exuding wisdom, I would opt for the latter. Make no mistake, I prize intelligence, love when I learn things, I can add to my knowledge database, I've been cultivating for some 64 odd years. I define it as the ability to grasp abstract concepts quickly, recall information readily, and solve problems. The problem, though, intelligence can r...