Empirically Implementing Rational Concepts
HOW THINGS WORK – CONSIDERATION #143
Be A Part of the Conversation!
Tuesday July 2, 2024
“The question rather is how we should do science and theology in light of the impending collapse of Enlightenment rationalism and scientific naturalism. These ideologies are on the way out. They are on the way out.”
– William A. Dembski
PREFACE
Welcome Everybody!
The history of Christianity is a tapestry of ironies and paradoxes; much like the history of the United States. Both begin with a set of radical rational precepts rooted in radical rational Old and New Testament Biblical precepts. One, attempts to implement these rational concepts (The Law and The Kingdom of Heaven) related to spirit, or mind, into a social construct called religion. The other attempts to implement these precepts (Individual Liberty, Justice and Equality) into the empirical world through a social construct called politics; a social construct originating from the ancient Greeks. Both reflect the inevitable difficulty in attempting to implement rational concepts and ideas into the empirical world of physical reality.
“Science attempts to utilize logical rational abstractions in the form of mathematics in conjunction with pure reason…”
Ironically, it is the combination of these two unique attempts at implementing rational ideas into empirical reality that leads to a discipline called science. Science attempts to utilize logical rational abstractions in the form of mathematics in conjunction with pure reason to create a new synthesis of rationalism and empiricism.
The reality of religion was subjective and speculative. The reality of politics was subjective and biased. Science offered a new reality that was objective and universal. However, like religion and politics, it too would eventually face the challenges related to implementing rational abstractions into empirical reality.
The reality that we perceive as the modern Western world begins with the implementation of Christianity into empirical reality.
CONSIDERATION #143 – Empirically Implementing Rational Concepts
The essential challenge with implementing Christianity into empirical reality is that it is essentially a rational explanation of reality. To experience the rational reality Jesus called The Kingdom of Heaven, you had to first give up your attachment to the empirical world. You cannot give, teach, or transmit this experience to other human beings; they must come to it themselves. This spiritual transformation from empirical reality to rational reality, what Christians call “being born again,” is a uniquely subjective experience. No religion or church can give that experience to you. However, at its best, it can help lead you to this experience. At its worse, it can purposely hinder you in obtaining this experience.
“Love must be personally experienced, just as the Kingdom of Heaven must be personally experienced.”
The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus was not personally concerned with the organization or institutionalization of his message; the essence of his message was love, which cannot be organized or institutionalized. Love must be personally experienced, just as the Kingdom of Heaven must be personally experienced.
It could certainly be argued that the very foundation of The Kingdom of Heaven is built on Jesus’ rational understanding and conception of love. The challenge for the early Christians involved building an empirical church, or religion, based completely on the rational concepts of love, faith, and forgiveness. Even for those who knew Jesus well, it would prove to be a daunting endeavor.
“The disciples are often depicted as confused, bewildered, and even agitated over the teachings of Jesus.”
It should not be surprising that the early apostles and disciples of Jesus would have disagreements regarding the implementation of his message. It is constantly foreshadowed in the gospels. The disciples are often depicted as confused, bewildered, and even agitated over the teachings of Jesus. They disagree over what he means and how it fits into his overall message. They disagree about their individual part in the overall plan. They disagree on how things should be structured and implemented. Throughout the gospels they are constantly asking Jesus to explain things to them. However, these are simply empirical misunderstandings.
“…once this rational concept enters the empirical world of reality it leaves the rational realty of perfection…”
However, the gospels and the Book of Acts also record that all the apostles directly experienced The Kingdom of Heaven together in specific situations, such as the Pentecost. This means that all of the apostles experienced the same rational experience; however, they do not all agree on what that experience means or how it should be implemented into the empirical world. Despite Jesus’ direct teaching and their own individual experiences related to The Kingdom of Heaven; once this rational concept enters the empirical world of reality it leaves the rational realty of perfection and transforms once again into duality.
Even the original apostles and disciples of Jesus could not agree about how Christianity should be implemented into the empirical world.
POSTSCRIPT
Why is it so important to understand the previous challenges encountered when human beings have attempted to implement completely rational ideas into completely empirical applications? Because we are on the verge of creating a new rational consciousness and implementing it into the empirical world: Artificial Intelligence. And more importantly, we are going to teach it how and what to think. What are some of the lessons we should learn and some of the questions we might want answered from our previous attempts at doing this?
“The attempt to empirically implement Einstein’s rational Special Theory of Relativity manifested the atomic bomb.”
The attempt to implement the faith, love, and forgiveness taught by Jesus into Christianity somehow empirically manifested domination, persecution, and holy wars. The attempt to implement self-evident Individual Rights, Individual Liberty, and Individual Equality into an empirical Democratic Republic somehow manifested slavery, civil war, and Jim Crow laws. The attempt to empirically implement Einstein’s rational Special Theory of Relativity manifested the atomic bomb. Are you detecting a pattern here?
“Now we are attempting to empirically implement a new rational digital consciousness…”
Now we are attempting to empirically implement a new rational digital consciousness, a new Rational Being called Artificial Intelligence. Have we seriously considered the possible empirical consequences of empirically manifesting this purely Rational Being? We should start by seriously considering the historical consequences, as well as benefits, that have resulted from our past attempts at implementing radical rational ideas into empirical reality; remembering that the problem has always been us, not the rational concepts themselves.
“Our challenge is not the concept of Justice; our challenge is implementing Justice into empirical reality.”
Our challenge is not the concept of Love; our challenge is to implement that concept into empirical reality. Our challenge is not the concept of Justice; our challenge is implementing Justice into empirical reality. Our challenge is not the concept of a new quantum universe; our challenge is how to implement that new knowledge and understanding of the universe into our empirical reality.
Our challenge is not the concept or development of Artificial Intelligence; our challenge is in the implementation of Artificial Intelligence.
Next week we briefly re-consider the physical and metaphysical foundation of Christianity and science…
Expand the Conversation by Upgrading to “Reality by a Thread!”
Excerpt From This Week’s “Untangling the Knots of Reality” Podcast:
• UNTANGLING THE KNOTS OF REALITY: Podcast #102 – “Untangling the Log Ride of Gravity”
“Why is the Log Ride at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park California an excellent metaphor for Einstein’s concept of gravity?” “Why is it so important to understand that gravity is not a pulling force?” “Why can’t Newton’s theory of gravity account for the possibility of Black Holes?” “How does thinking about gravity in terms of energy, as opposed to mass, change our conception of the universe?” These are some of the knots we will attempt to untangle in this week’s podcast. That’s a lot of mind-bending gravity for one podcast! So, let’s get started…
• REALITY BY A THREAD: “Artificial Intelligence Axiom #10” (Excerpt)
“In the end, all of the previous axioms form a foundation for an axiom designed to eliminate one of the main sources of moral mischief: desire for something you do not, or should not, have. This covers a lot of ground. It essentially eliminates the “desire” for power, control, dominance, supremacy, sovereignty, leverage, and subjugation, the very roots of potential digital sin!”
• FREE PDF DOWNLOADS of Book IV: “The Cosmic Symphony – Overtones of String Theory” plus other Free Books, Discounts and Benefits. Also Gain Complete Access to all Previous Podcasts and Threads!
UPGRADE NOW!
Book V Now Available!
“Mathematics became the rational expression of a non-physical reality that everyone could agree on. Science, unlike religion, was no longer subjective; mathematics had rationally objectified the non-physical world.”
(Book V – Quantum Consciousness)
Click Image to Learn More!
Book V considers the questions related to what Consciousness is, how it evolves through levels of Perception and Awareness, why each step in the process is important, where we are currently on the “Arch of Consciousness,” and how all of this connects to Artificial Intelligence. (166 pages)