Transience
in Philosophy ·
Mark Torres14 said:dustyskipper3 is spot on. This whole topic has nothing to do with God.
Let me clarify.
Isn't it weird that when we look at things—beings or objects—happening around us, we can never claim they are absolutely true in their essence? Or, to put it more simply, in their entirety. A physicist will tell you empty space doesn't even exist because quantum laws say the "shuddering of space" won't allow it. According to the uncertainty principle, a boundary doesn't really "exist" as a definitive line. If you zoom in, everything gets blurry; you can't point to an exact spot and say, "this is where one thing ends and another begins." Try defining the exact line between a living thing and a non-living object, and you'll find it's impossible. We can't assign any absolute characteristic or size to a single entity that makes it a complete, isolated unit separate from the rest of the world. At the same time, no single thing is strictly necessary for the rest of the world to function. It implies that in the real world, there is no such thing as necessity or finality.
Running parallel to this physical reality is the world of natural laws that dictates how everything functions. The speed of light is always exactly what it is—not a fraction faster or slower. Pi is always 3.14..., never 3.15 or 3.13. Physicists define the size and characteristics of an electron, arguing that without those specific values, the universe wouldn't hold together. Energy converts to matter and back again via E=mc², and no other formula works. Two plus two equals four, not five or six. Since the world operates by these rules, we can say these laws are both necessary and, interestingly, finite.
The fact is, these two worlds are intertwined. One cannot function without the other. For instance, we can only conceptualize infinity as a combination of these two realms; infinity doesn't exist if you only look at it through the lens of the physical world or the world of laws alone.
It’s also fascinating that while laws exist in an ideal form, applying them to the real world always results in something that is probably true, but never absolutely certain. That's why physicists don't need to hunt for a singularity in a black hole or at the beginning of the universe—it's right in front of them. Every instance of finitude is so incredible that we can basically call the question of its existence a singularity itself.
We know where things are located, but where do the laws reside?
We don't actually know where things are, do we?
In our own little way, we just dream them up inside our minds,
deciphering those tiny little pulses of light...
And honestly, we mostly just dream that we even possess a mind to begin with,
It’s all just one big DREAM.
If you take a closer look—really look—you’ll see that you're dreaming....
The fact that everything is so fleeting is one of the clearest signs
that we're dealing with an illusion.
To actually break through that illusion, you have to step into the chaos,
into that state where there is neither order nor law,
into a void of pure nonsense,
where explanations no longer exist
and there is no longer any foothold for the mind to grab onto.