The Philosophy Called Idealism Does Not Rule Out Physical Reality

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Anyone who has read my posts on this site will find that I am not a physicalist.  I clearly state that life, consciousness and free will are at the foundation of physical reality.  While these three assertions, especially the third, are anathema to physicalism, they do not go so far as to posit that physical reality is not physically real.  Indeed, they cannot. 

Idealism, especially as put forth so eloquently by Bernardo Kastrup, gets it right about consciousness.  The only thing of which we can be consciously certain, is that we are conscious.  Everything we know, we know consciously—even about consciousness itself.  As far as anything else is concerned, we can be deceived, for example by hallucinations, optical illusions and errors in judgment, among others. 

But to say that consciousness is not only a fundamental, but that it is the only reality, or the ultimate reality, results in a circular argument that never ends.  If the only thing of which we can be conscious is consciousness itself, then in fact, we are not conscious of anything.  Another way of saying this is to say that the eye cannot see itself, the ruler cannot measure itself, and the scale cannot weigh itself.  To be truly conscious, we must be conscious of some thing, some thing outside of consciousness.  Consciousness must not only perceive, it must interact. 

Kastrup has done a masterful job in developing his theory.  He posits that there is one universal mind, and that that mind has divided itself into localized centers of consciousness.  This allows for consciousness, in the form of our consciousness, to have something “outside” of itself, of which to be conscious and with which to interact. 

I cannot disprove his theory, but I can offer an alternative—a non-physicalist alternative. 

That alternate theory is that there is indeed a physical reality.  We observe it, we live in it, and we interact with it.   

Physical reality is not an illusion.  Our perception of it is imperfect, perhaps dramatically imperfect, but we do get feedback from our interactions with it.  One of the greatest misperceptions of physical reality is the notion that we arise from it, that we are created by it.  The misperception goes so far as to aver that life and consciousness arise from physical reality, and that, therefore, we cannot have free will. 

If physical reality is the only reality, then it, too, interacts only with itself.  It has no context in which to exist.  Under that misperception, physical reality becomes a small g god.  Under that error, we become merely happenstance phenomena, brief chemical reactions without plan, purpose or meaning. 

However, we have a paradigm that does away with the absurdity.  It is rejected by physicalists, because it replaces their small g god with the large G God, the Creator, who is not only the unknowable essence of all reality (and even that definition falls short), but who also takes on human form as our Savior, our guide, and our teacher. 

While there is no proof of this that will satisfy physicalists or Idealists, it withstands every argument made against it, because if those arguments can be used against God, they can be used many fold against either physicalism or Idealism. 

Neither physicalism nor Idealism can convincingly argue that there is no ultimate essence of reality, even though that essence must be unknowable.  They cannot argue that there is no final truth, no basis of reality.  Those arguments deny reality itself.

However, once we use the God Paradigm as a basis for thinking, there flow all manner of benefits from it.  If we are created by a loving God, we are of value.  That He allows us to suffer is an unpleasant reality, and is used as an argument against His existence, but that argument is anthropocentric, a form of argument that science disqualifies. 

Just as we cannot understand why suffering is part of the plan, remembering that God did not exempt Himself, we cannot understand a great many other things about God.  He is uncreated, eternal, and perfect. 

If we stick to what we can comprehend, then we are able to understand ourselves as purposeful creatures, accountable for our deeds, and guided toward our destiny by a moral code impossible for any human to devise.  We can understand that every human being has inalienable rights.  We can understand that we must seek a purpose higher than that of physical comforts and pleasures.  We can understand that in some cases, we must stand ready to sacrifice our very lives for a noble goal.

God is not a principle of the universe, not an academic exercise, not a list of rituals.  He is personal.  His affection for us is infinite.  He intervenes in our lives.  We seek not merely to know more about Him but to interact with Him, indeed, to truly worship Him in truth and in spirit. 

No one can prove God, but the Holy Spirit offers truth and faith to anyone who will accept it as a free gift, undeserved, and of inestimable value.

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