Friday, March 23, 2012

What God Is Like . . . Possibly


I don't much like views that place religion at odds with measurable fact. I don't much like views that assert the irrelevance of everything that is not physically measurable, either. So I attempt to construct for myself the simplest view of existence that explains all the facts as experienced in my life. I don't think I can prove God's existence, or prove Latter-day Saint theology. I only intended to rationally support an expansive view of science, technology, and religion and to justify an honest seeker of truth (hopefully that is me) in attempting to integrate all three. I'm sure my Biophysical perspective will be apparent in the arguments. They draw heavily on thoughts inspired by the New God Argument (http://www.new-god-argument.com/) and discussions on Mormon Transhumanist Association forums. I prefer to think in terms of biology and experiments rather than technology and simulations. Effectively, there is no difference in the essential implications. I think the computational simulation perspective makes some people imagine a more rigid set of assumptions about physical laws than I suspect is correct. (Many Biologists are more deterministic in their conception of causation than Physicists, but the inherent error built into biological computation (genetics) seems normal to most people.) So I ask myself,

What is God like . . . probably?

(Here's my shortest summary. I'll post links to my longer arguments and tangential thoughts.)

  1. There are different orders of infinity
  2. Time, space, and matter are a large order of infinity
  3. The possible universes with all of their possible laws that can exist are a larger infinity than the infinity of time, space, and matter (but possibly of the same order)
  4. Genealogies of creators will have different orders of reproductive rates
    1. Random creation will have the lowest order reproductive rate
    2. Planned creation will have higher order reproductive rates
  5. Ask the question, which group of creators probably created me?
    1. After a long time, the probability of having been created by the creators with the highest order reproductive rates approaches 1.
    2. Therefore, I was probably created by the creators with the highest order reproductive rates.
  6. What characteristics will favor the highest order reproductive rates in this cosmos made of infinite space and matter?
    1. Long life
    2. Creative power
    3. Creative desire
    4. Desire for independent, creator-offspring
    5. Love, compassion, benevolence, and altruism
    6. Independent will and the ability to innovate
    7. Peacefulness and the wisdom to prevent destruction (on an eternal scale)
    8. Wisdom and desire to intervene personally in the most effective ways
  7. I was probably created by a creator with all of these characteristics.
  8. I can probably interact with this creator.
  9. I can probably become a creator with all of these characteristics.

    Here is a Long Version with more of my thoughts and reasons.

    Here are some of my thoughts on how this cosmology fits with various LDS teachings

1 comment:

  1. I'm glad someone is thinking about these things... well you and my friend tim... so two of you. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete