Review of the 36 Arguments for the Existence of God # 34. THE ARGUMENT FROM SUBLIMITY
6 views
Skip to first unread message
Pastor Jennifer v2
Feb 23, 2012, 9:10:26 PM2/23/12
to Evidence For God
34. THE ARGUMENT FROM SUBLIMITY
(from R Goldstein)
1. There are experiences that are windows into the wholeness of
existence- its grandeur, beauty, symmetry, harmony, unity, even in
goodness.
2. We glimpse a benign transcendence in these moments.
3. Only God could provide us with a glimpse of benign transcendence.
4. God exists.
FLAW:
An experience of sublimity is an aesthetic experience. Aesthetic
experience can indeed be intense and blissful, absorbing our attention
so completely, while exciting our pleasure, as seems to lift us right
out of our surroundings. Aesthetic experiences vary in their
strength, and when they are overwhelming, we grope for terms like
“transcendence” to describe the overwhelmingness. Yet, for all that,
aesthetic experiences are still responses of the brain, as we can see
from the fact that ingesting recreational drugs can bring on even more
intense experiences of transcendence. And the particular triggers for
natural aesthetic experiences are readily explicable from the
evolutionary pressures that have shaped the perceptual systems of
human beings. An eye for sweeping vistas, dramatic skies, bodies of
water, large animals, flowering and fruiting plants, and strong
geometric patterns with repetition and symmetry was necessary to
orient attention to aspects of the environment that were matters of
life and death to the species as it evolved in its natural
environment. The identification of a blissfully aesthetic experience
with a glimpse into benign transcendence is an example of the
Projection Fallacy, dramatic demonstrations of our spreading ourselves
onto the world. This is most obvious when the experience gets fleshed
out into the religious terms that come most naturally to the
particular believer, such as a frozen waterfall being seen by a
Christian as evidence for the Christian trinity.
(from R Goldstein)
1. There are experiences that are windows into the wholeness of
existence- its grandeur, beauty, symmetry, harmony, unity, even in
goodness.
2. We glimpse a benign transcendence in these moments.
3. Only God could provide us with a glimpse of benign transcendence.
4. God exists.
FLAW:
An experience of sublimity is an aesthetic experience. Aesthetic
experience can indeed be intense and blissful, absorbing our attention
so completely, while exciting our pleasure, as seems to lift us right
out of our surroundings. Aesthetic experiences vary in their
strength, and when they are overwhelming, we grope for terms like
“transcendence” to describe the overwhelmingness. Yet, for all that,
aesthetic experiences are still responses of the brain, as we can see
from the fact that ingesting recreational drugs can bring on even more
intense experiences of transcendence. And the particular triggers for
natural aesthetic experiences are readily explicable from the
evolutionary pressures that have shaped the perceptual systems of
human beings. An eye for sweeping vistas, dramatic skies, bodies of
water, large animals, flowering and fruiting plants, and strong
geometric patterns with repetition and symmetry was necessary to
orient attention to aspects of the environment that were matters of
life and death to the species as it evolved in its natural
environment. The identification of a blissfully aesthetic experience
with a glimpse into benign transcendence is an example of the
Projection Fallacy, dramatic demonstrations of our spreading ourselves
onto the world. This is most obvious when the experience gets fleshed
out into the religious terms that come most naturally to the
particular believer, such as a frozen waterfall being seen by a
Christian as evidence for the Christian trinity.
Brock
Feb 25, 2012, 11:16:11 AM2/25/12
to Evidence For God
On Feb 23, 9:10 pm, Pastor Jennifer v2
<jennifer.s.jo...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> 34. THE ARGUMENT FROM SUBLIMITY
> (from R Goldstein)
> 1. There are experiences that are windows into the wholeness of
> existence- its grandeur, beauty, symmetry, harmony, unity, even in
> goodness.
> 2. We glimpse a benign transcendence in these moments.
> 3. Only God could provide us with a glimpse of benign transcendence.
> 4. God exists.
>
Again, the same limitations apply to this treatment:
> 34. THE ARGUMENT FROM SUBLIMITY
> (from R Goldstein)
> 1. There are experiences that are windows into the wholeness of
> existence- its grandeur, beauty, symmetry, harmony, unity, even in
> goodness.
> 2. We glimpse a benign transcendence in these moments.
> 3. Only God could provide us with a glimpse of benign transcendence.
> 4. God exists.
>
* there is no one "THE ARGUMENT ...", rather it refers to a general
category of arguments, thus to defeat one specific example is not
adequate to dismiss the category
* the argument, to the degree it is a paraphrase, doesn't adequately
represent (either intentionally or accidentally) the argument as put
forward by a proponent, and faces the danger of being simply a straw-
man
Regards,
Brock
Musycks
Feb 26, 2012, 2:10:13 AM2/26/12
to evidence...@googlegroups.com
As I've often said, I can find 'trancendent' experiences in music and art, even (Herbie look away) in a football game!
No God required.
In fact if real love is the most sublime act a human can offer, I despair of the amount wasted by the religious directed to the empty and silent heavens.
MR
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages