Hi Steve,
Rather than getting tangled up in obscure theories about relativity and
quantum mechanics, I'd prefer to simply admit all life contains an element of
creativity -- or free will. Creativity, or free will, is by definition
unpredictable, and can never be addressed by science. Materialistic
scientists insist anything "real" is a part of science. Maybe if they can
describe creativity in such complicated terms that even they don't completely
understand it, materialists will finally be able to accept the reality of
free will.
Bertvan
http://members.aol.com/bertvan
===
http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/01/30/reviews/000130.30conwayt.html
The New York Times ... January 30, 2000 Where Are We Headed? Robert
Wright argues that human history does indeed have a purpose. ... By
SIMON CONWAY MORRIS. NONZERO The Logic of Human Destiny.
By Robert Wright.. ... To believe the universe is embedded in a teleological
matrix -- an overarching design that houses an implicit and eventual end
point, with the human race having a transcendental destiny ... is widely
regarded as a quaint delusion, of relevance only to religious fanatics ...
and
the mad. And yet here is Robert Wright, who patently falls into none of
these categories, arguing that human history is not "one damn thing after
another," but has a direction, purpose and, by implication, a goal.... Yet
the
implications of the teleological program are not carried to their logical
conclusion. For all its boldness and chutzpah, "Nonzero" suffers from a
failure of nerve. Wright seems reluctant even to consider that inherent in
the universe are not only quarks and quasars but a moral architecture that it
could be argued is the source of our teleological instinct.... Wright wages a
vigorous attack on the basic tenets held by Stephen Jay Gould, whose view
of evolution as little more than a contingent muddle is in hopeless disarray.
... when we move into the realm of animate matter -bacteria, cellular slime
molds, and, most notably, human beings -the situation strikes me as
different. The more closely we examine the drift of biological evolution
and, especially, the drift of human history, the more there seems to be a
point to it all. ... That we are a product of evolution, however, does not
reduce us to sleepwalkers. Free will gives us choice and responsibility. To
imagine that human destiny is entirely mundane may be one of the most
peculiar errors of the moderns. Throughout "Nonzero" stalks the ghost of
Teilhard de Chardin, but were this gentle and intelligent Jesuit to have seen
this book, I think his face might have darkened. Still, we are offered the
choice. Wright has taken us to the westernmost harbor. The boat is ready
for departure. The master stands on the quayside; there is one spare place.
Dare we accept the invitation?. ...
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