Philologos wrote:
Greetings to the elders of fond memory. May you not share my nose.
Ponder and / or enjoy:
The ability of understanding to outrun explanation is intimately connected with the religious concept of faith. This is not a polite expression for unsubstantiated assertion, but it points to an ability to grasp things in totality, the occurrence of an insight which is satisfying to the point of being self-authenticating, without dependence on detailed analysis. Involved is a leap of the mind – not into the dark, but into the light. The attainment of understanding in this way does not remove the obligation to seek subsequent explanation, to the degree that it is available, but the insight brings with it a tacit assurance that such explanation should be there for the eventual finding. Such experiences are quite common among scientists. Paul Dirac tells us how one of his foundational ideas about quantum theory came to him “in a flash” when he was out fotr a Sunday walk. He was too cautious to be sure immediately that it was right, and the fact that the libraries were closed prevented his checking it right away. Nevertheless, ‘confidence gradually grew in the course f the night’, and Monday morning showed that his idea was indeed sound. The mathematician Henri Poincaré was more certain of his insight. An important idea came to him ‘at the moment I put my foot on the step [of a bus] … I did not verify the idea … but I felt a perfect certainty.’
John Polkinghorne, The Faith of a Physicist
Emphasis could be added but I resist temptation.
Faith yes. Insight yes. But Faith in God? Not at all necessary. Scientists have faith that the natural world is knowable. If they did not think that, they would not devote large portions of their lives to science. The "flash" to which Dr. Polkinghorne refers is an instance of human mental creativity which is not at all well understood by anyone. The Greeks believed that the Muses provided the flash because good ideas and artistic inspiration seem to come from "out of the blue".
ruveyn
25 Sep 2012, 11:53 pm
