The Nature of Reality II

 In this part i would like to analyze three atheistic claims which are relavent to the topic at hand.

1.There must be a proof for each and every thing: Usually an atheist would come up with his normal preaching tone and will shout out “You must have proof and evidence for your beliefs and if you cannot substantiate your faith with evidence then there is something irrational, irresponsible and immoral about you because you have accepted something without any evidence or proof.” Is it really the case? I honestly think no, it is not.

The concept that you must be having a proof or evidence for each and everything that is a part of your world view and if not so you should reject it,is known as evidentialism. Evidentialism has taken a grip over the popular imagination since the advent of scientific revolution in the nether regions of west. However if we observe the basic human instincts we will find out that at the core of human nature faith plays a more important and fundamental role than evidentialism. The fundamentals of our understanding rest on some evincible, solidly constructed and deeply implanted faith. Rest of the building of our understanding stands on the foundations which are generously enriched by faith. This concept is known as foundationalism or the concept of properly basic belief.

Have you ever thought what past is and where has the moment in which you started reading this line gone? Do you remember the days during which you became familiar with something known as past and you started believing in it involuntary and you don’t remember when did this conceptualization of past came into your understanding? Were you offered a compelling proof or evidence for past before you started accepting that there is something known as past? I don’t think so.

 Our conceptualization of past is so fundamental and foundational that it is utterly impossible to think of ourselves without a hold the concept of past. So is there any empirical or scientific evidence that there is a past? None whatsoever. To such whimsical peaks of sheer irrationality and insanity can skepticism about past lead to that the ever skeptic Bertrand Russell with his wrinkled face and big jaw once remarked “It is possible that the whole world, together with all its wrinkled faces, apparent memories, rusted cars, crumbling mountains popped into existence just ten seconds ago.” There is one thing more mysterious and sublime about the past that is: as there is no evidence or proof for the past so can you ever stop believing in past? Hell no. This belief is involuntary, deeply constructed within my understanding, I can’t stop believing in past – it is basically proper foundational belief. Welcome to the faith.

The world of sensibilities apparently seems to be a generic and simple world where our empirical senses do their service quiet consistently and honestly. There are flowers in the garden which can be seen and smelled. The birds chirping on the trees can be heard. I can touch the trees to feel their solid barks while I can enjoy a chonsa mango while doing all these. Lucky me, to such a perfection I can grasp the universe. Thanks to my empirical senses. But there is a troubling thought deep down which is acting like a nasty showstopper.

The flower that I see is just a reflection of light rays activating the rods and cones in the retina of my eye which then activates an electrochemical wave which travels through the optic nerve to the optic center in my brain. So the flower is right here in my brain just as a figment of my imagination. So is there a flower outside me in the outer world or it is inside my brain? Wait wait, I can touch it to know that it is outside me but the sense of touch breaks down to the same electrochemical wave reaching to another center in my brain. Alas! I’ve been deluding myself all my life. The whole world is inside me and there is no proof for the existence of anything outside my brain. All my life I have been believing that the outer world is real without any proof.

There have been some crazy people known as solipsists who used to belief that the outer world is not real. It is all inside and it is all just a figment of imagination. The main argument of a solipsist is the one given above that there is no scientific proof for the existence of anything in the outer world instead science says something otherwise which is that the empirical senses break down electrochemical waves for getting certain centers in the brain so its all inside me.

So if everything is proof based and there is no proof for the existence of anything in the outer world why are not we all solipsists?

Why do we keep on believing that the outer world is real? Faith is at service again and it is my faith like the rest of my fellow human beings that there is a universe outside me and it is real. Can one ever stop believing that outer world is just a figment of imagination, a bombardment of electrons in brain and a delusion? Give it your best try, it is impossible because our belief in the realness of the out world is foundational, it needs no proof, it is properly basic. Thanks to the faith, it has saved us from a headache.

Same is true for the belief in God. It is a properly basic foundational belief and even if a person does not have a proof for the existence of God, he is perfectly rational in his belief just like his belief in past or the realness of the outer world. This belief is so fundamental to human beings that no race or civilization through the course of history has lived without God. There are things otherwise which are not foundational to human understanding and they must be substantiated with a proof. For example if a person claims that Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan or Rajistan is the largest state of India etc then he must be having a proof or evidence for it as these two claims are not fundamental and can be easily distinguished from the properly basic foundational beliefs.

To be continued inshallah..