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From: stuart@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP (Stuart Kurtz)
Newsgroups: net.origins
Subject: Re: What are the members of the set of possibilities?
Message-ID: <205@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Sep-84 16:57:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: gargoyle.205
Posted: Thu Sep 20 16:57:58 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 25-Sep-84 20:16:25 EDT
References: <1343@cvl.UUCP> <308@uwmacc.UUCP>
Organization: U. Chicago - Computer Science
Lines: 37

OK Paul, if you'd like a theory of origins which is neither evolutionary
nor creative, how about a devolutionary theory.  In such a theory, our
ancestors were Gods & Heros, and through the passage of time we become
a degenerate, weak, immoral race of near animals.  This is a remarkably
common cosmology, and frequently is combined with creationism.

A more ancient theory would be to deny that there was a creation of any
sort.  What is, has been before.  What has been, will be again.  There is no
beginning, nor is there an end.  [Yes, Ecclesiates is one of my favorite
books.  It has much more food for thought than Genesis, but most
fundamentalists don't read well enough to get that far...  ;-)  Yes, that's
a gratuitous insult, but not to worry, if you've read this far, it doesn't
apply to you.]  Such a cosmology is also frequent -- although seldom stated
-- in our culture.  There are many non-trivial variations on this theme:  in
one, the world is completely monotonous -- every age is exactly like every
other age [Ecclesiates]; another variant allows substantial change from age
to age -- species rise and fall, only to rise again.  [This latter cosmology
prevails in the "Conan" books.]

To a large extent, evolutionary, creationist, devolutionary and cyclic
cosmologies are Western.  If you admit Eastern/mystic cosmologies, there are
more options -- all of which I am admittedly almost totally ignorant.  As I
recall the Hindu explaination, our current existance is but one of many
lifetimes our higher essence must undergo before reaching Nirvana.  The
various lifetimes are at higher (cow) or lower (ant) levels.  Our spiritual
maturity at the end of each life determines whether our next lifetime will
be at a higher or lower level.  I don't know enough about their beliefs to
know whether or not they admit a specific act of creation, or whether they
view such a question as even being relevant.  This cosmology gained a
significant place in Western culture through "Johnathan Livingston Seagull."

I haven't tried to be exhaustive here, just to point out a range of
possibilities.

Stu

ihnp4!gargoyle!stuart