It’s Monday and that means that Melanie has given us another Share Your World prompt. This week Melanie is going deep with her questions. So let’s get to it.
What do you believe but cannot prove?
Well, I suppose my answer is my belief that God does not exist. I cannot prove that God does not exist, but nor can anyone prove that God does exist. So I guess we’re at a standoff.
Do animals have morals? Exclude human beings from the equation please.
I believe (but cannot prove…did you see what I did there?) that animals feel emotions ranging from happiness, sadness, love, grief, outrage, and empathy. And I also believe that animals live by prevailing standards of behavior that enable them to live cooperatively in groups. Do those reflect morals? I dunno. What do you think?
Is there inherent order in nature or is it all chaos and chance?
According to Merriam-Webster, natural order is the orderly system comprising the physical universe and functioning according to natural laws, as distinguished from human or supernatural laws. Unfortunately, humans too often disrupt the natural order of things, which tends to result in a certain amount of chaos.
Where is your least favorite place in the world?
I’ll let you know when I get there.
This, That, and the Other 
I think the basic order of our world is eat or get eaten, kill or be killed. Everything else is poetry.
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And where would we be without poetry?
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Very clever answers Fandango
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Thank you, Sadje.
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You’re welcome 😉
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I recommend the new series on HBO (this one I do like): Exsterminate All the Brutes
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No, the show doesn’t have it spelled that way
— no typos or cutting-edge spelling involved there.
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I’ll check it out.
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I looked up this song because of the series (and because of yesterday’s music prompt). You can play the song from the linked page. I like it.
https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/7092/versions
In January 1975 Eric Clapton played on Arthur Louis’s recording of Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, which was arranged in a cross-over reggae style. …
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https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/402986/versions
Knocking on Heaven’s Door by Arthur Louis
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Good answers. Belief in a higher power is just as much of a belief as not believing in a higher power. And verse visa
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Awesome answers fandango! ❤
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Thank you, Carol Anne.
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Good answers to some very deep questions.
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Thank you!
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Your answers are very succinct. I agree that God’s existence cannot be proven, yet many people believe they have seen and/or talked to him/her. It depends on what God means to the person, and everyone’s belief or view of God is different.
I don’t think animals have morals, exactly. But you are right, they do feel emotions and some will help others in distress. Most animals act on instinct, though.
I will probably write a lengthy musing on these topics when I get around to it!
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I guess my thoughts on God boil down to the idea that God didn’t create man in his image, man created God in HIS image. But, people can believe whatever they want, and if believing in God gets them through their days, that works for me. Whatever floats you boat.
Morals are a human construct and they vary greatly from society to society and over time. Animals, though, seem to have their own code of conduct and do have “feelings,” but it’s different from the human definition of morals.
I’m looking forward to reading your musings.
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Agree absolutely about God, and watch any nature film and you will see animals eating each other in a way that must be considered moral-less. If a dog “steals” a chicken from the kitchen table it is also following its instinct to eat whenever possible and if it “looks guilty” when caught then it is probably responding to its pack leader’s tone of voice so again moral-less…
Entropy is the measure of disorder in the universe and according to the Laws of Thermodynamics, Entropy must always increase until it prevails. But along the way, it seems to me, solar systems formation become more ordered before ultimately degrading again, and life must surely be more ordered than its component chemicals even if it must return to them eventually. If a man carves a farm out of the “wilderness” – is that also not more ordered for a while? So I think morals and disorder depend on where you are viewing them from…
Thanks for a thought provoking prompt piece!
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Thank Melanie. She posed the provocative questions.
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In fact, all life is a struggle against disorder and we humans go further still and try to make poetry…
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Thanks, Fandango for Sharing Your World! You went after the questions in your usual inimitable style! Nice! I’m glad I could provide some thought-provoking for you, in a sort of thanks for your thought-provoking me every Wednesday! I enjoyed the comments very much too, you get such interesting ones! Have a great week!
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You have a good week, too, Melanie.
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My previous answer has more to do with the order and chaos question. I’m now going to refer to this question: What do you believe but cannot prove?
Actually, the two answers probably intertwine. I think we could live in a form of order in harmony with nature rather than fighting or ignoring nature — even though there are ways in which this involves or would involve work. But we (or whoever are dominant) choose not to do so. We tear down self-sustaining rainforests (one example) that shelter native people and provide us (the inhabitants of the whole earth) with oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide because “we” (those who get away with it in that the rest of us either don’t care or haven’t figured out how to stop them) think we “know” better or that it’s more important to serve ourselves more selectively. But, to get to what I was going to add…
I was talking to one of my sons on the phone, last night, and I responded, in our conversation, with, “Yeah, I’m beginning to think we live in Purgatory.” I don’t remember what he had said, but it was clearly something about morality and it’s near impossibility at this time or in this place (beyond moralist simplicities like not smoking pot or not having sex). He’s agnostic (or atheist), but he said, emphatically, “Of course we do…” My sons are highly responsible people, so this was nothing about excusing bad behavior of the usual sort with which most people (churches, police, your next-door neighbor, and so forth) are concerned. Then he added, “and you you what comes next?”
There are people who have “believed in” Purgatory all their lives. I’ve heard “of” it since I was very young (or of age to grasp the idea as I have Catholic extended family). But the concept is supposed to be that you might “go” to purgatory after you die if you’re not careful. And maybe you should pray for loved ones who have passed away to get out of purgatory sooner than they might otherwise. But, if we look around, where are we? Is there some testing ground that would be unlike this earthly existence? As systems of people (the richer or more powerful the more so), we stomp all over others regularly. So, then I wonder… if each individual doesn’t wise up, does each of us come back to this same (earthly even if at another location) place. And now I’m touching on the realm of eastern philosophy (or religion perhaps). Why do those who ascribe to Purgatory (as opposed to something like karma) not think this earth could be it? Or is Dante the expert on this?
Meanwhile, it’s not necessary (I think) to believe in Purgatory or hell or karma in order to care (beyond the rich man crying over his wealth being questioned). So, this is a thought experiment or a feeling of disappointment and responsibility (and helplessness to some degree). But I am convinced everyone is in some way responsible for how said individual goes forth and lives. I am sure of that as a bottom line. And while I heard of hell a lot in childhood (in part because of religious schools), it’s not the best motivator and might even be useless within religion in motivation people of conscience. My foray into contemplating purgatory is more of an observational experience. And I do wish more people would observe.
My iPad is still acting up, so I can’t very well review what I just wrote (I can see one line at a time and can’t scroll effectively). I hope it makes sense.
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Reading over this, I think it is required to think outside of these boxes — because assenting to either of them, I’m remembering, would involve seeing people who suffer (or are stomped on) as deserving it. (And, by the way, that’s not what my son meant.) This might be an answer to “why” those who subscribe to the concept seriously of purgatory don’t think this is it.
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It does make a lot of sense.
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Thank you.
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Good answers Fandango. I would have to say my least favorite place it the hospital – either I am hurting or someone I care about is and I have no control over the situation!
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