Do you think humans even CAN understand how and why everything is?

I mean, our brains are only so big. Sure we are capable of so many neat things... but is it reasonable to think that because there is SO SO SOOOOO much in the natural world that we just don't understand that is just shockingly complex and beautiful, then that's proof that a higher power must have created all this?

I've met a few people in my family and friend circle who have admitted they think this way. For example, I have a second cousin who openly admits that when he studied biochemistry in college, it actually did a lot to strengthened his belief in God. All the thousands of intricate, complex signaling cascades that occur in every one of our cells all the time... be believes only a God could have come up with stuff like that.

Of course, I'm not going to tell him what to believe!! I don't think he's being reasonable about this point, but it's also none of my business. I know this is a very personal matter for him, and only him, to decide. But I can't help looking at it differently. I think that if we can't comprehend something... well, that only means that we can't comprehend it. And even more: I really do not believe that humans even CAN understand everything (as we are right now). Heck, I have trouble remembering where my keys are most mornings!!

My cat is sitting on my desk next to me right now... there is NO WAY that my cat can understand how a car works - and he is scared of moving cars. His little brain just can't handle that, but that doesn't mean there is a kitty God out there somewhere making our cars move. It's pure mechanics - we understand how cars work very well. Sure, we're a whole lot smarter than a cat, but we have limitations too.

Do you think it's possible that there are purely rational, scientific explainations for everything... but humans might just never be able to get it?

I've been wondering what other people think about this question. And please believe that my intention is not to stir the pot or hurt anyone's feelings. I'm genuinely curious, and it's okay if you don't see things the way I see them. We can disagree without making it nasty.

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Asked by Sebbiemama at 12:26 PM on Feb. 9, 2012 in Religious Debate

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Answers (22)

Well no. As we grow and evolve we will learn more in regards to science and natural laws but there will always be mysteries in regards to the Social aspects of life. Why people do what they do, think like they think, etc. However, just because things are complex or not understood does not mean that there is a "Creator" or "higher power" behind it. It simply means the knowledge is limited in that area or field of study. It is also something we will never know for certain (which is almost undeniable proof of the implausibility of a "god). So No, humans and science will never be abe to explain EVERYTHING as there will always be something that remains a mystery or just outside the realm of our understanding, whether it be the possible ability of time travel or crossing multiple dimesions, to just understanding how past cultures operated......but none of that points to existence of supernatural beings or "gods". Just limited info.

Answer by KristiS11384 at 12:39 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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No, I don't. As a whole, we do gain in understanding all the time, but I don't believe we will ever discover all that the universe holds, all that there is to be revealed. And individually, all of us are only exposed to so much in a lifetime, no matter how much we try to expose ourselves to. There's only so much time in a life, and only so many ways to expose ourselves, and while it is easier than any time before to gain access to information there's no way we have time to explore every bit of information that is out there, even just out of what humanity *has* discovered so far.

And honestly, the more we discover, there more we realize how little we do know, because we realize that there's even more to search for. Every answer or discovery only leads to more questions and searches and explorations. Which is neat, IMO, the constant opportunity for knowledge and growth...

Answer by bandgeek521 at 2:56 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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no, humans fill the gaps with imaginations and stories.... Like gods and magic...even aliens... we're very evolved as far as animals go, but we dont know as much as we think we do....not yet.

Answer by ChiliFlies at 12:33 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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Hard for ME to believe.
But ultimately, that's me. To me all the Universe screams of a Creator and has G-d's fingerprints all over.

Sharon

Answer by momto2boys973 at 12:38 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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I don't think our lack of understanding is PROOF of G-d, but for ME, it is strong evidence. And it's not really lack of knowledge, but rather the knowledge we already have. I personally find the notion that the whole Universe in its perfection, balance and continuity is a matter of very lucky accidents of molecules and forces that just happened to come together at the perfect time.
Our knowledge, for example, shows that the probability of inert substances coming together to form an aminoacid just by accident is practically an impossibility. Go further to all aminoacids suddenly coming into existence by chance. The let's go to he probability of these aminoacids forming a functional protein, again, almost impossible and yet, it happened.
Another thing that did it for me: when I studied embryology we saw the beginnings of cell differentiation. How each cell differentiates into what it needs to, just by chance?

Continued

Answer by momto2boys973 at 12:37 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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Do you think it's possible that there are purely rational, scientific explanations for everything... but humans might just never be able to get it?--

sometimes there are..and sometimes there aren't. there will always be something 'we' can't figure out, IMO..thus, the search and study continue. man's quest for knowledge never dims; research is proof of that.

Answer by dullscissors at 12:41 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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I have to totally agree with Sharon on this. I think she said my thoughts on the matter perfectly, but more intelligently.

Answer by mommy_jules at 12:48 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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If you ask 2/3 of a large group of people how they feel about an issue, you get a statistically sound result that will match up to the results you get if you ask the remaining 1/3. If you study 1000 atoms of the same element, all taken at different places, times and environment, and demonstrate that no matter what variable is involved, you can definitively state "this is what makes this atom". If you go sample any other atom at any other time, place or environment, it will be the same.

You don't have to know every minute detail of every possible thing to know what it is and what it does. Knowing "everything" would be redundant. All the real question is, is if you will ever know enough, and nobody can answer that, because we have no way of knowing how much more knowledge we will gain before the sun destroys the earth 4.5 billion years from now. It's possible, we will, it's also possible WWIII kills everyone next week.

Answer by NotPanicking at 1:14 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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"Do you think it's possible that there are purely rational, scientific explanations for everything... but humans might just never be able to get it?--"

That's another common misconception. Why would a scientific explanation, even those we now understand, automatically dispprove a Creator?

Sharon

Answer by momto2boys973 at 1:20 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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I think thisngs are too complex to have just happened "by accident"

I do agree that my brain will never be able to comprehend it all as long as I live.
I can see the points of those who do not believe and that is fine with me because I know that I do not have the words or knowledge to make a difference in their thinking. I am sure they feel the same.
I do believ man is complex enough to mess up anything he chooses, and unfortunately we choose to often. I know that we don;t like taking responsibility for what man has done, but that doesn't change that men can mess up an institution almost beyond recognition. That still doesn't alter the original message.
I do think that people will come to their own conclusions. Some will keep searching for answers even though they think they understand , some will simpy ystop when they have what they searched for.

Answer by Dardenella at 1:39 PM on Feb. 9, 2012
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