The Mind Stands Apart…

The universe is ordered. The interactions which take place do so following specific laws; Newton’s law of universal gravitation or the inverse square law pertaining to measuring the pull from gravity between objects in relation to their mass; Boyle’s law or the ideal gas law pertains to measuring temperature and pressure of a gas, as one goes up, the other will go down in proportion to each other; The law of conservation of energy which states energy in a closed system can’t be created or destroyed…and the list goes on. These laws are expressible or understandable in the language of mathematics. Are any of you feeling as lost as I am?

This idea that the universe is ordered and comprehended in the language of math is inseparable from science. It’s that understanding which forms the foundation which the house of science is built upon. From there we are able to discover these various laws which govern the universe. These laws basically dictate how a lot of life moves on around us, but also within us. The atoms and molecules in our bodies follow laws. The electrical impulses in our brains and nervous systems aren’t excluded.

This is the problem with being able to know and reason about anything. We are somewhat of a puzzle. The brain is completely made up of matter, and that matter is subject to follow the laws which govern the universe. Think of it this way, we are every bit a part of the house, albeit a big house, as the rest of the matter around us. Somehow, in some miraculous fashion, mankind has also found someway to stand outside of the house so that he might describe the house to us as well. A wall cannot stand back and begin to explain what blueprints were used in its own construction. The cog in the machine can’t dislodge itself and separate itself from the machine because the machine will cease to work. How is it that we can be so completely locked in under the laws of the universe, and yet we are at the same time able to step out from under them and discover them?

This question seems to be on the forefront of science today. The time devoted to mind sciences in magazines on store shelves today should be a good hint. I can think of no better way to make sense of the puzzle other than to point out there is good reason to believe in an immaterial mind which somehow communicates in relation to and through a brain. If we are a brain and that’s it, there is no way we could learn and discover these laws of the universe. We are so controlled by them, and there is no law that can be pointed to to dictate a brain must function that way, never mind any ability to think of such a law.

Arron Bergeron