A Final Theory of God demonstrates that philosophy science and religion are all saying the same thing only in different tongues. But it also shows that they are all seeking the same thing a supreme law and a supreme lawmaker.
Science finds a supreme law in the fundamental laws of physics both Classical physics and quantum physics. However although science claims to be on course for discovering the principles that will constitute a final theory of everything it still cannot explain how the quantum laws transform into the Classical laws then revert again to the free will inherent in human behavior which reflects the quantum laws. So in the absence of a final theory of everything to act as a kind of supreme lawmaker as we have seen scientists propose for the time being a multiverse as a supreme lawmaker.
Philosophy approaches the problem in a different way. It first seeks to establish a supreme lawmaker which then dispenses a supreme law. In the Western tradition the supreme lawmaker purports to be the people electing representatives to promulgate a supreme law.
Religion identifies the supreme lawmaker as God and in the Christian and Judaic traditions only God can determine the supreme law which is the Ten Commandments as the heads and principles" of the Law as Philo described them.
The Principle of Freedom as the Foundation of a Supreme Law
But there is a far more important and intriguing element in the search for a supreme law and a supreme lawmaker. In philosophy science and religion the search reveals more or less distinctly the principle of freedom as the fundamental principle of the supreme law.
In science the freedom of fundamental particles to choose from an almost infinite number of probabilities is the basis of quantum theory. Freedom is the symmetry that the physicist Brian Greene says is the foundation from which the laws of physics spring."1
The philosophical search for justice also has as its foundation the principle of freedom. The people should be free to choose their representatives and the object of justice should be the preservation of the peoples freedom.
In religion the principle of freedom is inherent in the First Commandment. God is said to have delivered the people from the house of bondage" so that they would be free to serve God. But even then the people were free to choose whether to obey God or not if ye will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant" Exodus 19: 5. And all the people answered" to say yes Exodus 19: 8. Some people could not answer on behalf of others; each person was free to choose. That places freedom as the fundamental basis of Gods law and the fundamental basis of any relationship between God and each and every human being.
The Principle of Freedom Requires a God as the Supreme Lawmaker
A Final Theory of God shows that it is this principle the principle of freedom which speaks of a God.
In science it means that the quantum laws cannot transform into the Classical laws unless particles are compelled to adopt the probability that leads to the Classical laws. But since freedom is the very foundation of the quantum law the law itself cannot compel particles to adopt that path; that would violate the symmetry that is the foundation from which the laws spring". And multiplying the probabilities by postulating a multiverse doesnt resolve that problem. That necessarily means that only a supreme lawmaker can compel particles to choose the path that leads from the quantum laws to the Classical laws and sets in place a universe capable of creating and sustaining life. And only Genesis Chapter 1 explains how that occurred with the words And God said" followed by And God saw".
The words And God said" act like a particle detector that is switched on thus enabling particles to know what future environment they should prepare for. The words also symbolize a manipulation of probabilities as envisaged by Kaku in order to compel particles to adopt the right path; the path that leads to the classical laws of physics.
The words And God saw" relate to the observation element of the quantum behavior of particles. The observation was necessary to make the Classical laws irreversible. As Sakharov first pointed out our very existence depends on an irreversible effect that established an excess of matter over antimatter at the very earliest stage of the universe."2 Only the Supreme Lawmaker as a conscious outside observer could make the required observation.
The observation symbolized by the words And God saw" creates a consistent and definite history that becomes manifest only after the future to which it leads has been fully settled."3 The words And God saw" make irreversible" the intention expressed by the words And God said." And that provides the quantum mechanical model" envisaged by Weinberg.
Even more fascinating is that Genesis even emphasizes the fact that the quantum laws are being transformed into the Classical laws at certain stages of the creation process with the symbolism of God naming (always in capitals) the new state of matter and energy. That is why the naming only occurs in the first three Days with the words And God called etc." Genesis 1: 5 8 10
In philosophy freedom necessarily requires equality. Any system of morality or justice that has the effect of one person or group of people imposing their authority on others whether by claims of superior intellect strength or numbers necessarily violates the principles of freedom and equality which are both the foundation of morality and the object of justice. It leads to tyranny.
In religion as we have already seen the very foundation of the Christian and Judaic traditions is freedom. But that is also the case in other religions across the world as it was in many early systems of justice such as the Code of Hammurabi and the Edicts of Asoka.
But the essential point to note about freedom as the foundation of the law as the symmetry from which all laws spring is that it is a principle that cannot be violated by the law itself. It requires something apart from the law but with a power over the law to compel the adoption of a certain path. And that means the author of the law; a Supreme Lawmaker.
In human terms it means that freedom cannot recognize as law the commands and doctrines of other human beings. It can only recognize as law the commands of a Supreme Lawmaker God.
That is the basic thesis put forward by A Final Theory of God. And it does so by subjecting the scientific philosophical and religious evidence to a rigorous legal methodology that confirms the existence of God beyond a reasonable doubt.
However the book raises a number of important ancillary issues.
Morality Instinct and Reason
First it demonstrates that the human brain comprises three principal faculties: morality as a physical neurological structure which the IVF pioneer Sir Robert Winston describes as a morality module" and I call a neurological moral network; secondly primitive human instincts- instincts necessary for the survival of the human species which include the instincts for reproduction survival security and vanity all of which are activated by the prospect of pleasure or the fear of pain; and third a capacity to reason.
The capacity to reason is a neutral factor more reason doesnt guarantee better decisions and less reason doesnt necessarily lead to worse decisions; often it is the reverse. But furthermore the book demonstrates that what we recognize as wrong or evil is in essence reason in the service of one or more primitive instincts in response to some perceived pleasure to be had by indulging that instinct or in response to the fear of some perceived threat. Conversely good or right is reason in the service of morality as it speaks to us from the neurological moral network. It acts to regulate the demands of our primitive instincts.
As I demonstrate in the book the Genesis account of the creation of man" clearly identifies these distinct mental faculties and the story of the Garden of Eden is an account of the activation of the neurological moral network in the first of the human species. Furthermore the book shows how Genesis explains the phenomenon of human consciousness as the activation of the neurological moral network in the brain which gives human beings a capacity to recognize their own mortality.
The Voluntary Assumption of Obligations as the basis of the Moral Law
The second ancillary issue addresses the problem of the assumption and imposition of obligations which act to modify and restrict the freedom that is the fundamental basis of morality and justice. Since freedom as the foundation of morality and justice cannot recognize as law the commands and doctrines of other human beings the assumption of obligations cannot be out of fear of punishment or any other form of compulsion. And the only instance where human beings freely and voluntarily assume obligations which restrict and modify their freedom is the creation of new human life; and they assume those obligations out of unconditional love for the life they create.
The creation of new human life in the image of those who create that life automatically activates the neurological moral network thus causing a voluntary assumption of the fundamental obligations that modify freedom. And it is those obligations which constitute the fundamental principles of morality that operate to subject human beings to the only obligations they can freely and voluntarily assume without surrendering their freedom to the authority of another human being. That is the Fifth Commandment Honour thy father and thy mother. Commandments Six through Ten thus set out the principles that form the basis of those obligations and the basis of the moral law that is Gods Law.
The most important aspect of this activation of the neurological moral network however is that it also induces recognition that the obligations we assume by the creation of new human life are also obligations that we have towards all life.
But it is not only the creation of new life that can cause an activation of the neurological moral network in the brain. Each and every human being has such a moral network; and each and every human being can access that moral network if they make the effort to do so. As Christ said the kingdom of God is within you" Luke 17: 21 and see Deuteronomy 30: 11 14. If we seek it we can find it. And the Psalmist gives a methodology: Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46: 10
The creation of new human life simply activates it automatically; but only if those who create new life are not so in bondage to their primitive instincts that they simply fail to recognize the obligations presented to them for their obedience.
Activating the neurological moral network requires that we free ourselves from bondage to our primitive instincts; and that is the hard part for most people. The prospect of the pleasures to be derived by indulging our primitive instincts all too often silences the voice of the moral law as it speaks to us from the neurological moral network. And we should be in no doubt that reason will eagerly justify indulging the temptations of our primitive instincts in violation of the moral law.
Conclusion
These are just two of the ancillary issues that arise out of the thesis of A Final Theory of God; but they are fundamentally important issues that go to our conceptions of justice morality politics and economics. They set the groundwork for a new constitutional disposition. And they awaken the human spirit to its true moral purpose and its true moral destiny.
Notes
1 Greene page 225.
Notes
2 Rees page 154.
3 Greene page 189.
A Final Theory of God is available from amazon.com
Copyright © Joseph BH McMillan 2014 All Rights Reserved
[email protected] www.josephbhmcmillan.com
A Final Theory of God demonstrates that philosophy science and religion are all saying the same thing only in different tongues. But it also shows that they are all seeking the same thing a supreme law and a supreme lawmaker.
Science finds a supreme law in the fundamental laws of physics both Classical physics and quantum physics. However although science claims to be on course for discovering the principles that will constitute a final theory of everything it still cannot explain how the quantum laws transform into the Classical laws then revert again to the free will inherent in human behavior which reflects the quantum laws. So in the absence of a final theory of everything to act as a kind of supreme lawmaker as we have seen scientists propose for the time being a multiverse as a supreme lawmaker.
Philosophy approaches the problem in a different way. It first seeks to establish a supreme lawmaker which then dispenses a supreme law. In the Western tradition the supreme lawmaker purports to be the people electing representatives to promulgate a supreme law.
Religion identifies the supreme lawmaker as God and in the Christian and Judaic traditions only God can determine the supreme law which is the Ten Commandments as the heads and principles" of the Law as Philo described them.
The Principle of Freedom as the Foundation of a Supreme Law
But there is a far more important and intriguing element in the search for a supreme law and a supreme lawmaker. In philosophy science and religion the search reveals more or less distinctly the principle of freedom as the fundamental principle of the supreme law.
In science the freedom of fundamental particles to choose from an almost infinite number of probabilities is the basis of quantum theory. Freedom is the symmetry that the physicist Brian Greene says is the foundation from which the laws of physics spring."1
The philosophical search for justice also has as its foundation the principle of freedom. The people should be free to choose their representatives and the object of justice should be the preservation of the peoples freedom.
In religion the principle of freedom is inherent in the First Commandment. God is said to have delivered the people from the house of bondage" so that they would be free to serve God. But even then the people were free to choose whether to obey God or not if ye will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant" Exodus 19: 5. And all the people answered" to say yes Exodus 19: 8. Some people could not answer on behalf of others; each person was free to choose. That places freedom as the fundamental basis of Gods law and the fundamental basis of any relationship between God and each and every human being.
The Principle of Freedom Requires a God as the Supreme Lawmaker
A Final Theory of God shows that it is this principle the principle of freedom which speaks of a God.
In science it means that the quantum laws cannot transform into the Classical laws unless particles are compelled to adopt the probability that leads to the Classical laws. But since freedom is the very foundation of the quantum law the law itself cannot compel particles to adopt that path; that would violate the symmetry that is the foundation from which the laws spring". And multiplying the probabilities by postulating a multiverse doesnt resolve that problem. That necessarily means that only a supreme lawmaker can compel particles to choose the path that leads from the quantum laws to the Classical laws and sets in place a universe capable of creating and sustaining life. And only Genesis Chapter 1 explains how that occurred with the words And God said" followed by And God saw".
The words And God said" act like a particle detector that is switched on thus enabling particles to know what future environment they should prepare for. The words also symbolize a manipulation of probabilities as envisaged by Kaku in order to compel particles to adopt the right path; the path that leads to the classical laws of physics.
The words And God saw" relate to the observation element of the quantum behavior of particles. The observation was necessary to make the Classical laws irreversible. As Sakharov first pointed out our very existence depends on an irreversible effect that established an excess of matter over antimatter at the very earliest stage of the universe."2 Only the Supreme Lawmaker as a conscious outside observer could make the required observation.
The observation symbolized by the words And God saw" creates a consistent and definite history that becomes manifest only after the future to which it leads has been fully settled."3 The words And God saw" make irreversible" the intention expressed by the words And God said." And that provides the quantum mechanical model" envisaged by Weinberg.
Even more fascinating is that Genesis even emphasizes the fact that the quantum laws are being transformed into the Classical laws at certain stages of the creation process with the symbolism of God naming (always in capitals) the new state of matter and energy. That is why the naming only occurs in the first three Days with the words And God called etc." Genesis 1: 5 8 10
In philosophy freedom necessarily requires equality. Any system of morality or justice that has the effect of one person or group of people imposing their authority on others whether by claims of superior intellect strength or numbers necessarily violates the principles of freedom and equality which are both the foundation of morality and the object of justice. It leads to tyranny.
In religion as we have already seen the very foundation of the Christian and Judaic traditions is freedom. But that is also the case in other religions across the world as it was in many early systems of justice such as the Code of Hammurabi and the Edicts of Asoka.
But the essential point to note about freedom as the foundation of the law as the symmetry from which all laws spring is that it is a principle that cannot be violated by the law itself. It requires something apart from the law but with a power over the law to compel the adoption of a certain path. And that means the author of the law; a Supreme Lawmaker.
In human terms it means that freedom cannot recognize as law the commands and doctrines of other human beings. It can only recognize as law the commands of a Supreme Lawmaker God.
That is the basic thesis put forward by A Final Theory of God. And it does so by subjecting the scientific philosophical and religious evidence to a rigorous legal methodology that confirms the existence of God beyond a reasonable doubt.
However the book raises a number of important ancillary issues.
Morality Instinct and Reason
First it demonstrates that the human brain comprises three principal faculties: morality as a physical neurological structure which the IVF pioneer Sir Robert Winston describes as a morality module" and I call a neurological moral network; secondly primitive human instincts- instincts necessary for the survival of the human species which include the instincts for reproduction survival security and vanity all of which are activated by the prospect of pleasure or the fear of pain; and third a capacity to reason.
The capacity to reason is a neutral factor more reason doesnt guarantee better decisions and less reason doesnt necessarily lead to worse decisions; often it is the reverse. But furthermore the book demonstrates that what we recognize as wrong or evil is in essence reason in the service of one or more primitive instincts in response to some perceived pleasure to be had by indulging that instinct or in response to the fear of some perceived threat. Conversely good or right is reason in the service of morality as it speaks to us from the neurological moral network. It acts to regulate the demands of our primitive instincts.
As I demonstrate in the book the Genesis account of the creation of man" clearly identifies these distinct mental faculties and the story of the Garden of Eden is an account of the activation of the neurological moral network in the first of the human species. Furthermore the book shows how Genesis explains the phenomenon of human consciousness as the activation of the neurological moral network in the brain which gives human beings a capacity to recognize their own mortality.
The Voluntary Assumption of Obligations as the basis of the Moral Law
The second ancillary issue addresses the problem of the assumption and imposition of obligations which act to modify and restrict the freedom that is the fundamental basis of morality and justice. Since freedom as the foundation of morality and justice cannot recognize as law the commands and doctrines of other human beings the assumption of obligations cannot be out of fear of punishment or any other form of compulsion. And the only instance where human beings freely and voluntarily assume obligations which restrict and modify their freedom is the creation of new human life; and they assume those obligations out of unconditional love for the life they create.
The creation of new human life in the image of those who create that life automatically activates the neurological moral network thus causing a voluntary assumption of the fundamental obligations that modify freedom. And it is those obligations which constitute the fundamental principles of morality that operate to subject human beings to the only obligations they can freely and voluntarily assume without surrendering their freedom to the authority of another human being. That is the Fifth Commandment Honour thy father and thy mother. Commandments Six through Ten thus set out the principles that form the basis of those obligations and the basis of the moral law that is Gods Law.
The most important aspect of this activation of the neurological moral network however is that it also induces recognition that the obligations we assume by the creation of new human life are also obligations that we have towards all life.
But it is not only the creation of new life that can cause an activation of the neurological moral network in the brain. Each and every human being has such a moral network; and each and every human being can access that moral network if they make the effort to do so. As Christ said the kingdom of God is within you" Luke 17: 21 and see Deuteronomy 30: 11 14. If we seek it we can find it. And the Psalmist gives a methodology: Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46: 10
The creation of new human life simply activates it automatically; but only if those who create new life are not so in bondage to their primitive instincts that they simply fail to recognize the obligations presented to them for their obedience.
Activating the neurological moral network requires that we free ourselves from bondage to our primitive instincts; and that is the hard part for most people. The prospect of the pleasures to be derived by indulging our primitive instincts all too often silences the voice of the moral law as it speaks to us from the neurological moral network. And we should be in no doubt that reason will eagerly justify indulging the temptations of our primitive instincts in violation of the moral law.
Conclusion
These are just two of the ancillary issues that arise out of the thesis of A Final Theory of God; but they are fundamentally important issues that go to our conceptions of justice morality politics and economics. They set the groundwork for a new constitutional disposition. And they awaken the human spirit to its true moral purpose and its true moral destiny.
Notes
1 Greene page 225.
Notes
2 Rees page 154.
3 Greene page 189.
A Final Theory of God is available from amazon.com
Copyright © Joseph BH McMillan 2014 All Rights Reserved
[email protected] www.josephbhmcmillan.com