White Holes - An Exploration
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
Job 11:7(NIV)
There is a serious question regarding the existence of our “agency”! More specifically, Robert Saplosky in his new book, “Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will” argues that there are biologic causes that can determine all the life outcomes we observe. What is at stake with this determinism is our human identity, moral responsibility and the challenge of new technology. We have told narratives that put our human condition on the pinnacle of the natural world. It has been a terrible burden as we see the pain and suffering that we have produced. To respond with “more agency” is to risk further delusion of our human power. But to give up this idea of agency is risk falling into a nihilist and dystopian future.
So what are the responses that places our ”agency” in another context?
The answer may in part lie with our “spiritual identity”. We have begun to see this confirmed by neuroscience. We know this “spiritual identity” and that it can be recreated and now visualized by the fMRI technology. What is even more amazing is how we interact with our environment and others.
So for me, the mystery of our “agency” is still present. The precision with which we understand it is real but more than neuroscience. Agency is found in new works of art and the predictions of astrophysicists. It is Wonder Filled!
Marvin
References
Meyers, M. (2011) Awake my Soul
https://www.mikemoyersfineart.com/
Sapolsky, R. M. (2023). Determined. Penguin.
Hage, M. L. (2018). Wonder.
http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2018/02/wonder.html
Hage, M. L. (2021). Timing Connections.
http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2021/09/timing-connections.html
Miller, L. (2021). The Awakened Brain. Random House.
Oliver JA; Sweitzer MM; Engelhard MM; Hallyburton MB; Ribisl KM; McClernon FJ Identifying neural signatures of tobacco retail outlet exposure: Preliminary validation of a "community neuroscience” paradigm.
Addiction Biology. 26(5):e13029, 2021 09.
Rovelli, C. (2023). White Holes. Penguin.
