The man of the ages of barbarous primordial culture
believed that in the dream he was getting to know a second real world:
here is the origin of all metaphysics.
— Friedrich Nietzsche, Human, All Too Human
Metaphysics has a very poor reputation in the world. It is far less mysterious and “mystical” than it may at first appear. Metaphysics is simply the investigation of the ultimate nature and structure of reality. It differs from science in that it is both broader as well as more fundamental than what science investigates. It asks questions about what is behind the the things that science investigates. It considers questions such as whether every event must have a cause, whether there are actually physical objects or not, and even why anything exists at all.
One of the traditional topics in metaphysics has been the nature and existence of God. One must keep in mind that what many philosophers mean by God is often at odds with how people typically think of God. Quite often to a philosopher God is the “ultimate reality” behind the universe and the source of all reality. God thus becomes the “substance” behind everything else in existence. Most Mormons will have grave difficulty reconciling this notion of God with their conception of a personal God who interacts in the world. They are not alone in this. Many philosophers have voiced similar criticisms.
To a Mormon then, one of the largest differences between our faith and the faith of most other religions comes down to a metaphysical difference: the nature of God. As Mormons conceive it God must fundamentally have a personal existence that has much in common with how human beings exist. God is not a dispassionate “ultimate reality.” Rather God is a living being with emotions, desires, and intentions. Some might say that the more traditional metaphysical view of God tries to conceive of God in terms of “objects” or “things.” The fundamental dynamic living aspect of God is lost. Obviously not all who differ from Mormons would agree with these characterizations.
An other difference between Mormons and many other religious thinkers is over the nature of reality. Many Christians conceive of fundamental reality as being immaterial. God is not material at all and neither are human souls. Mormons are relatively unique in being strong materialists. This is the metaphysical position that most important objects, including human minds, are ultimately a kind of physical material existing within the universe. Joseph Smith revealed that, “all spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes.” (D&C 131:7)
While Mormons are materialists exactly what that means is not always clear. For instance the Apostle Orson Pratt conceived of all existence in terms of small solid intelligent atoms. This was similar to how the universe was conceived of in science following the period of Newton. With the rise of new theories about light and magnetism followed by the discovery of Quantum Mechanics, such a view of the universe became impossible to reconcile with science. There have been over the years many other attempts to understand materialism. Some have considered humans as made up of three aspects: an immaterial intelligence, a material spirit, and a material body. This is actually a position fairly close to those held in other Christian faiths. It differs only in that we have some intermediate "substance" in between the immaterial mind and the physical body. Some think that this "intermediary" "substance" is simply matter just like the kinds of matter physicists investigate. Others think it is some new substance not yet discovered by science. Others take more radical positions.
The point of the web site is not to make any claims for what reality ultimately is nor to commit Mormonism to any particular philosophical position. Rather it is to pursue the investigation of these questions. What I hope to achieve in these pages is perhaps to elevate the discussion somewhat. Hopefully I can also bring to light discussions that some have missed. Part of this is to open up for a wider discussion conversations I've held elsewhere. Hopefully I'll get some feedback critiquing my considerations. Ultimately I hope that all who visit leave uplifted and edified and consider new questions they may not have considered before...
Feel free to contact me to respond to any of the papers here.
Clark Goble clark@libertypages.com
and Theology