Pascal’s Wager
I was listening to what some would claim is Atheisms most ardent believer, Dr. Sam Harris, conversing with Lex Friedman on the nature of free will. You only need to listen to the first 10 minutes to get to the crux, related to the proof of God. Dr. Harris, essentially, proves the undeniable existence of God.
Consciousness is both an apriori truth of reality and utter mystery - at the very same time. Its undeniable that we are conscious. As Dr. Harris states, even if one is tripping on hallucinogens the conscious experience is still rooted in being aware - we see, hear, smell, feel, taste and can react to the environmental reality we are immersed in. No one would disagree with Dr. Harris that consciousness is an undeniable truth of the Universe - it really does exist - it’s not an illusion. Then, we have the Self, the person that see’s themselves in the mirror - whether sober or not, that is experiencing a conscious moment. The self has material form, it has purpose and function, Dr. Harris states that he may be willing to assume the self - as is realized by consciousness, is an illusion, from there Dr. Harris states, categorically, that Free-Will / Choice, is an illusion. Dr. Harris got one out of two correct, which is bewildering; Dr. Harris states that consciousness cannot be denied, yet, he negates God - as the Only logical conclusion, thus, with atheists (and by extension agnostics) one is left scratching ones head, because, where else could consciousness have come from, what is the mystery - exactly? If the answer is “I don’t know,” then what, exactly, is not known about Consciousness, then the self, which results in free-will?
To outline just how incorrect Dr. Harris is - regarding the existence of God, I’ll start with a common definition of consciousness, provided by Google - although any definition will work. Consciousness - as a clean abstraction that we can all understand, is the ability to Imagine; imagination - a near infinite potential of thoughts, ideas and creative abstractions, in the context of forms that may or may not have a function & purpose in existence. Imagination is not, necessarily, predicated on the material environment in the context of actual experiences and the resultant emergent ideas; indeed, human history has shown that it seldom is, ideas emerge outside of a predictable universe; consciousness is the feeling of being alert, self-aware and perceptive in the context of what is being imagined - via thoughts - we are in a constant state of imagination contained within a personal material self. which results in choice. Consciousness is at the root, of the reality of God - a conscious being that is alive and perceptive in the same way we are alive and perceptive.
A prominent scientific field of study actually describes this truth perfectly - quantum mechanics, which proposes a story related to the possibility space of matter - in time. If we take a “universe” and all the matter within it, then in a quantum mechanical system, all matter is reduced down to the elements of electrons, neutrons, and other particles of matter, which can be in any position with any momentum where the total energy (or mass) of the system is fixed, to boil that down, within a space with a fixed amount of stuff anything can happen at any moment. In order for reality to emerge, a decision must be made - this is scientifically referred to as taking a measurement, that is, someone must decide, to do something, for example, decide to look to see if a cat is alive or dead. And what we are looking at - in the scene we observe - is not particles in a superposition of states, we are looking at a world in a universe - in all its beauty - collapsed, predefined and not of our choosing - we are constantly observing, because we cannot do otherwise - we can’t choose not to observe - human consciousness is being constantly aware of God’s imaginative and creative power.
Since what we observe is an actual tree, an actual rock, an actual mountain, an actual cluster of stars, it means the mechanism for their collapse - to an object in a precise moment [of time] - can come from one of two places; it is either us - as the conscious agent - who collapse existence to the state we observe it, or, its another conscious agent. Since no other conscious agent, that I know of - in space and time, could create such a moment in reality (that I am immersed in), then the other conscious “observer” must be God. A God that I can never actually know - in God’s unique imagination - and form. The very definition of power is all around us - all particles across the visible universe collapsed to the actual state they are in - at this moment and at the same time, and can decay/change in the very next moment, maintained for us to observe & play - at whatever scale. In addition, the universal forces are general too, that is, a particle can exist separately from the forces that bind it, what we are experiencing and witnessing is a truly general framework that allows anything to emerge based on the conscious imagination of the one who has the power to direct all matter in space in the same moment of time - across the visible space. Science is taking the scene we observe and constantly reverse engineering it to a lower level of abstraction, using the language of mathematics to describe what is already there and functioning - rather than deny the existence of God science is constantly reaffirming it. It’s wonderful.
Starting from the decision of the singularity - to define any set of initial starting variables (the fundamental laws), to the decision of the constants needed for the initial expansion of the universe, to the decision points related to the phase transitions, to the decision on how atoms will form into molecules, with further decisions for the different types of elements, through to the decision for how biological systems form (the measurements related to the different proteins), right down to the overwhelming number of decisions required for the scene that I am immersed in, to emerge. God’s conscious imagination at work - pure creativity, for if it wasn’t - Dr. Harris - then please explain, why quantum mechanics is wrong - each particle must be collapsed to function, remember time is only relative based on their position within space and time, from outside of the universe the moment is one - all existence. And if one states “it is our belief / opinion that the universe, itself, is somehow conscious”, then the one who states such a thing is, by definition, putting limits on the reality of God - a true theist would not tolerate limiting the power of God in such a manner.
Appealing to randomness is an extreme claim - without Steve Jobs orchestrating the entity referred to as Apple there would be only the equivalent of a trumpet, a violinist, a programmer, a unique individual - the symphony of nature contained within the entity referred to as Earth is the proof of God
Human beings are thus the essence of God, in consciousness - a near infinite imagination. Human imagination can perceive and derive abstractions, ideas, and creative thoughts that can break all known rules of the material universe, we can describe this too, via language, the most precise being the language of mathematics, new notational systems, frameworks, rules of engagement, systems - it can all be imagined into existence via a pre-defined and agreed to set of standards, which allows others to also play in ones imagined reality - its seems wonderful from listening to those who know. It’s self-evident - as unique individuals - that Consciousness can only ever be one, one cannot know the conscious imagination of another, one can only [potentially] know every aspect of one’s own imagination. This creates an inevitable paradox, we are unique consciousness created from the unique and singular conscious imagination of God, all this means is that anything we imagine is, necessarily, imagined by God also, in an experiential sense - a different observing perspective - God is closer to us than our jugular vein. But we are truly free in the choices we get to make, which necessarily needs to be bound - hence the material environment - to allow the created consciousness to aspire, the direction is totally up to the agent - this is the gift - which if not acknowledged, requires that the conscious agent be further bound - at some point. The mechanism of the brain is to allow consciousness to actually and truly feel, whilst also being able to express, almost anything in language to other unique conscious beings, where they feel - in perspective - an emotional state, the essence of sharing - love permeates through all conscious creatures in varying degrees.
The self is the manifestation of the material environment - ultimately stardust - reflecting and seeing itself in a mirror - via a conscious [ultimately imagined] experience. Material matter, necessarily, has instinct - reacts to the environment - manifested in a pre-defined way to external material stimulus - referred to as natural laws, which humans - being material - are governed by too, we have our material instincts and associated limits set. Imagination, however, can exceed the boundaries set by natural law - a powerful gift. The idea of instincts facilitates equilibrium and harmony, within a system where everything else depends on everything else, but we can imagine beyond instincts, control them, or let instincts be unleashed through extreme imaginative processes, the material self is ego and ego demands more, the more expansive the imagination the more the ego demands, Humans through choice can decide the fate of things. The natural laws allow nature to exist in balance which is the essence of God and thus the essence of all material things - Humans can choose to intentionally subvert that truth.
It’s at the juncture of consciousness and a material human self, that free will is generated - beautiful and mysterious - I can think for myself. If consciousness is totally free imagination, then the ability to realize that in a material environment, is a choice. A particle cannot make a choice yet as an aggregated set of particles human beings have been gifted - in a limited sense - the ability to collapse personal imagination in actual reality and existence by making a decision, thus similar to God - in being able to make choices - unlike God we are bound to determine the strength of character and the directions consciousness chooses to take - in enhancing harmony amongst things. The mechanism of choice has nothing to do with good vs. evil, it only has meaning in a moment, for choice to be realized, if the choice is that which is less good, then the label given to that is sin, evil, bad, otherwise its a continued state of harmony in the context of the state of our heart - totally surrendered to the truth of the existence of God. This is the challenge, a calm heart not a constantly offended heart.
The idea of evil emerges from free will, it’s the choice to react to victims of a natural or man-made disaster that defines who we are, in our imagination of ourselves, our aim is to be constantly better in how we react to that which is out of our control. It’s totally up to the one who has been given the gift on how they want to reciprocate that in the present moment. And if the choice is evil - to unnecessarily go out of ones way to invoke harm on another who has not harmed intentionally - then all the established traditions are clear, a conscious being not unlike the [imagined] best version of oneself, will demand a reason and rationale for why the choice was towards that which is less good, with the backdrop being an unimaginable and eternal reality, commonly referred to as heaven - the ability to realize any aspect of your imagination - in the constant presence of whatever you continue to choose. That is the essential truth of Pascal’s Wager. It really is up to you, the scriptures provide solace to weary hearts and bruised egos.
The best of human beings are those who change their mind, in light of the evidence, rooted in the light of reason. We owe a debt to the undeniable genius of Europeans (especially the Jews), in formulating a framework - quantum mechanics - which I believe beautifully describes the reality of this existence and how it emerged, there is more work to do, in order to uncover the mind of God in this arbitrary universe, we will probably never realize it, but the pursuit of curiosity is why we have been created - to speak ideas, theories, and stories - there is nothing else I’d rather do. The religious traditions and their guidelines exist to manage [human] instincts, in the context of the natural limits that are pervasive throughout the universe. And that is the ultimate choice, to acknowledge that we are, essentially, limited, and in that limitation, we are still limitless in our pursuit of unifying consciousness with consciousness - which takes one right back to choice - to keep striving higher towards that which makes you feel better in your imagination; fear, anxiety, anger, and similar emotions destroys one’s ability to use imagination creatively and calmly.
Constantly question your conscious - it’s why it’s there. The next moment is whatever you want it to be, in feeling, eternal.