Basic essence of logic is a thing unto itself

Religious Views, by Art Carney

"The Elegant Universe," a Nova program written by Brian Greene, explains a current scientific concept called string theory, but like God theory, string theory cannot be proven either. Among other things, the recent PBS presentation pointed out the need of modern science for a "unified theory of everything" to account for the contradictions between Newton's laws, the theory of relativity, and the near absence of gravity in quantum mechanics. Thanks to some mathematical formulas to back it up, string theory offers the possibility of resolving those issues, but on the other hand, string theory contends there are 11 dimensions of existence, which -- at face value -- is just about as hard to accept as religion's contention of a seventh heaven and the existence of hell -- but wonders never cease, and maybe science and religion are not so far apart after all.

As a relatively uneducated, non-religious person, I am mostly content to direct my speculations about the universe and our place in it toward the problems of how to live a satisfactory life on earth. But even so, questions about an afterlife and the existence of souls invariably lead me back to the mystery of our origin, and regardless of whether by God or strings of energy, it is evident that every sub-atomic action within the universe "makes sense" at the most basic level. That fact leads me to believe that some aspect of logic is at the base of existence itself and has always been present.

If there is a God, He is a logical God, and if strings of energy are the "substance" of the universe, their vibrations produce logical results. In other words, the basic essence of logic -- which I call primordial logic -- is a thing unto itself, is omnipresent, and contains the essential elements of existence. In addition to these attributes, the presence of primordial logic in the pre -- Big Bang darkness kept the "emptiness" of space from being and remaining a perfect vacuum.

In the same way that modern science needs a unified theory to understand the relationships between the four physical forces of the universe, ordinary people need a unified theory of life and its four mental faculties -- memory, imagination, intellect and will -- if we are to better understand ourselves and the full potential of human life. Our lives are complicated by social and political institutions that are designed to insure the survival and well-being of the group, and so to some extent, our survival is gained at the expense of a certain amount of individual freedom. It seems paradoxical that human individuals must live in a group setting where varying amounts of social conformity are required, even though our individuality is the foundation of our worth as a human being.

When a student of life attempts to understand something like the concept of God or the idea of string theory, a certain amount of faith is required. The same is true of my contention that an omnipresent aspect of logic is the key to understanding our place in the scheme of things, however, we must not confuse primordial logic with our modern idea and use of human logic. Simply put, primordial logic is the inherent urge of common sense to prevail, but more specifically, it is an all pervasive, unconscious inclination toward growth -- through the process of change. However, there must be something to change and a reason why it should change, as well as some amount of energy for the "action" of change to occur.

The origin of "something to change" and its reason for changing, as well as the energy to activate the "first cause" of change is mysterious, but if primordial logic was truly present in the emptiness," of space, then it was necessarily the cause of the Big Bang -- or its equivalent. The mechanics of the first cause will remain a mystery, but if we can accept that the Big Bang is a product of primordial logic, then the sub-structure of the physical universe, the nature of life, and the source of energy may become evident to those who look into and recognize the elemental attributes of logic. In short, an all encompassing concept of the power and the principles of existence can possibly be achieved through coming to understand the basic components of primordial logic.

Art Carney is a Wasilla resident and a frequent contributor to the Religion page.