The Blackberry Walk

"Mankind has screwed up the world", is a phrase many people parrot. But when you think about it a little harder, the phrase in of itself doesn't make sense. What constitutes something like the world to be screwed up? How do we even determine screwed-up-ness? Values are a complicated thing. For some time, many have taken for granted that the values we place on everyday things is somehow inherent, or baked into the world; yet one can ever claim they are with certainty. The 'self-evident' values of the American constitution are alleged to be common sense, but common sense is a slippery snake who, whilst winding through the ages, has taken on many skins. To the Roman senator, these self-evident truths would be far from common sense; after all, to the Roman, that slavery was just was common sense - but now that's obviously wrong. Again, I'm using that same language: 'obviously'. Why is morality obvious? Where does it come from? The moment anything appears self-evident, or obvious, when relating to these domains, one must question it; you might be wandering into the cave of the Unnamed God. The Unnamed God gives many laws to his believers, yet the laws pass below the mental radar of the adherents. Holed away in his cave, the Unnamed God doesn't like to make much of a name for himself - for if he emerged, his pronouncements might be questioned more meaningfully - so he stays tucked away, distant and unknown to his believers, in fear of being found. The problem with following the Unnamed God is that he's a liar. Easy it is to follow the nervous yet strong voice from the cave, but what a blind way to live! The truths of the world aren't self-evident: they must be found, dug up, and wrestled with. Foremost, bizarreness and absurdity of the world is there, should your eyes be clear enough to see it. Beyond the cataracts of the Unnamed God, we dress funny, act funny, live funny - it's all rather hard to understand once you take the vantage point of an alien without our conditioning and axioms. But the simplicity of not knowing how the world works is much preferred to the tragedy of the pretence we do. For most men who claim to know it all all seem to have a gravity, a seriousness, in the knowledge that the world will descend into a tragedy à la the pessimistic pagan world views. This attitude of humility to the world is far healthier. In the physical sciences we claim to know much, but in reality we've built little idols to follow. This is best demonstrated with by acting like a toddler, and asking 'why' to everything. "Why do apples fall?" "Because of gravity." "What's gravity?" "..." We've merely kicked the ball further down the road. Now, one could attempt to explain gravity in terms of forces and energy, but the question of 'what' forces and energies may be, let alone, 'why' they might be is never explained. In creating these sweet words, friendly idols who teach us nought but gives the illusion of deeper knowledge, we quash any imagination in the world, any sniff of the bizarre around us, destroying our ability to think beyond the the axiomatic chain-bind of the Unnamed God. Given the consensus on science has a far stronger orthodoxy than the schismatic consensus on morality, the Unnamed God has far more strength to produce groups of dogmatic and shouty people. When talking about morality, many give no heed to what's best to make a harmonious community or to encourage personal flourishing, but instead begin from dogmas like, "people have a right to do what they want so long as it doesn't harm others". This particular axiom must be a favourite of the Unnamed God - not just because for many I talk to it is the bedrock of their thought - but also, like many other such phrases, it merely passes the buck down the line. After all, what is harm? To feed such a phrase to a Roman senator might generate a totalitarian state where people are controlled to the extent they don't harm the interests of the polis, of the community. In a more modern context, can speech harm people? The right/left schismatic theologians argue the hermeneutics to this day. So is the world screwed up? If your axiomatic tent pegs are firmly hammered down beside the Unnamed God, and you're 'in his camp', you'd probably say yes. Many, the more eschatological members of the 'left' schismatic group say the world is screwed up beyond repair, and it's only downhill from here. But again, I ask how do we know. Oracles speak, and great pronouncements are made, but does that bring us any closer to an answer? The physical sciences are exactly that - sciences - the study of the empirical data of what has happened. Through models and theorising, science can bring us closer to the truth, but models are merely that: clay models. Small simulacra, mere imitations, of the events, not the events in of themselves. And with morality, it seems we've been led down a very strange path. Many argue the world is screwed up because humans are the enemy - a moral inversion ripe for the totalitarianism of Babylon. For when the enemy is man, only that which isn't human - historically a god-king, but now perhaps an AI - ought to be in charge. Either way, such doctrines do not encourage the freedom nor the flourishing of man; such moralities wish to merely freeze new spring shoots. To wrap up, I beseech you all to uproot your axiomatic tent pegs and go travel. Travel, and discover how narrow your past world was, and meet the many climates of thought. As an advisory, always remember that a man cannot function without axioms; the bizarre and absurd world is not easily navigable. But to be rooted in the harsh snowy climate of the Unnamed God is no way to keep going. Whilst the journey may be rough and face hardships, you'll see so much more of not just the intellectual landscape, but the feel of being there, with dry soil in your fingers, or damp air on your hands. Your perception of the world will open up like a twinkling night sky you'll sleep under. For with each move, you'll realise more and more the number of axioms underpinning your thought which you're still take for granted. And eventually, you'll set your tent pegs down somewhere you can call home. After all, there's no need to follow the god of the cave when you're called by the God of heaven.