Dear Friends,
It seems to me, what if God created the universe itself, out of the weakness of a priori “knowledge?” Because even God himself needed experience, a posteriori, to understand his own existence? The irony that this article itself is a priori reasoning, only means it’s a question, with a twist. There are any number of ideas why God would create a universe. Especially one such as ours. With the suffering and chaos of it all. But what if the suffering and chaos are part of the experience? That reality is itself chaos and our reaction to it generates suffering, advancement, decline or joy. Yet without those experiences, emotions, education and wisdom would be unreachable for us. If we are made in the image of God, then doesn’t it follow that God would have a similar need for experience?
A priori is the Kantian term that means to derive knowledge from reason. While a posteriori is to derive knowledge through experience. I don’t think anyone denies experiential knowledge. It’s knowledge derived completely from reason that we question. I admit, reason can very often find truths… when it’s based on experiential knowledge. Which is called… an educated guess. Then that guess is just that, a guess, subject to real world validation. The other weakness of a priori knowledge is, where do we draw the line between a priori and a posteriori? Since everything we know, in the sense we have personally verified it, is a posteriori, how do we know where that line falls? Moreover, how do we know we aren’t simply rationalizing our wants?
A child born into a sensory deprivation chamber, would be reborn, when taken out twenty years later. Lacking the experiential data their mind wouldn’t have developed. The poor victim would have existed in a semi dream state for their entire life. Waking up would make the world a jumbled mess to them. Experience providing the fundamental building blocks necessary for personality. They would effectively be a baby. Not one would emerge educated, with brilliant insights or as a sage. To achieve those things one must get experience for the mind to work with. Taste, touch, sound, vision, smell, education, disappointment, pain, achievement, hunger and all the other experiences that create a human being. These are necessary. So necessary God himself might have created the universe to get them.
The observer effect is recognized in quantum physics. Even leading to the quantum erasure effect. Which suggests that even the universe itself is experiential. In that, to collapse the wave function, there must be an observer, or in other words, it must be experienced to bring potential into reality. Even the most ardent materialist admits, a wave must at least be tampered with by measuring equipment… as they ignore the quantum erasure effect. Isn’t that odd? Real science isn’t a buffet where you pick and choose the science you believe in. It’s a cafeteria where you eat what your served. If observation says one thing, and is falsifiable, then it moves from hypothesis to theory. Which is still an educated guess. Suggested true by attempts to falsify it that failed.
The observer effect in quantum physics strongly suggests an experientially based universe. I think it’s pretty obvious, no baby born into a sensory deprivation chamber would emerge in twenty years as a sage… a priori. So the idea that God created the universe for experience isn’t as big a leap as one might think. Who knows the mind of God? Certainly not me! All we can do is surmise from experience what might be beyond our experience. A priori. Knowing that conjecture is simply that…. conjecture. Perhaps God created the universe for company? Maybe to have fellowship with freeborn agents? No matter what we decide, it’s a priori and thus at best… an educated guess. Any guess, until proven and falsified, is simply that, a guess. Including mine about why God created the universe.
Sincerely,
John Pepin
