Perception, Values, and Dawkins: Biblical Lessons on Meaning

In a discussion contrasting his worldview with that of Richard Dawkins, the speaker argues that Dawkins's scientific understanding is outdated, particularly concerning how humans perceive and interact with the world. The core of this argument lies in the idea that human perception is not a passive reception of facts but an active process guided by a "structure of value."

The Flaw in Empiricism and Rationalism

Dawkins, characterized as an empiricist or rationalist, believes that knowledge comes from sense data and rationality. However, this perspective faces significant scientific problems. Modern large language models, which mimic human thought, operate by "weighting facts," not just accumulating them.

The fundamental issue with orienting oneself solely by facts is that there's an infinite number of them. David Hume, centuries ago, recognized that "we can't get to an ought from an is," meaning facts alone provide no guidance for action. To navigate the world, one must prioritize facts.

Perception as Prioritization

Perception is not a simple process where unfiltered sense data is evaluated, leading to action. Instead, action precedes and shapes perception. For instance, our eyes are constantly moving, and if they stop, we go blind. This constant movement is not just voluntary; it's a mechanism for prioritizing attention.

Consider a crowded restaurant: you can filter out numerous conversations and background music to focus on your date. This isn't merely politeness; it's a prioritization based on a nested structure of values. Your immediate goal (e.g., impressing your date) is nested within broader concepts like relationships, morality, and what it means to be human. This nesting provides the grounds for directing attention.

The Landscape of Meaning

We don't attend to every fact; we attend to "relevant" or "meaningful" facts. Most things we could apprehend have zero meaning unless they "misbehave" or become an obstacle to our aims. We ignore the color of the carpet unless we trip on it.

Humans are mobile creatures, always moving towards aims, on a quest. These aims can be short-term, medium-term, or long-term. A coherent individual links these aims, sacrificing immediate gratification for future well-being. This complex system of values accounts for present needs, future aspirations, and relationships with others.

A meaningful fact is a "pathway forward"—an opportunity that aligns with one's values. The "quest" in mythology reflects this pursuit of treasure or opportunity. Along this path, we encounter:

• Tools: Facilitate movement forward.
• Cooperative agents: People who help achieve goals.
• Obstacles: Trigger negative emotions, stand in the way.
• Markers of failure: Indicate setbacks.
• Transformative agents: Change one's goals or perspective.

This "landscape of meaning" is traversed by aiming "up" (towards good) and away from "down" (towards evil). Good is the ultimate "up," evil the ultimate "down."

Aim, Value, and Hope

Without an aim, there is no value. An ultimate aim leads to ultimate value. Positive emotions, like hope, are tied to goals. Hope signifies progress towards a valued goal; without a goal, there is no hope.

A value structure also constrains possibility, regulating chaos. Aimlessness leads to hopelessness and anxiety. A well-constituted value structure:

• Moves one towards an ultimate goal.
• Specifies objects of perception.
• Orients one emotionally.
• Provides hope.
• Quells anxiety.

Character, Stories, and Wisdom

A person's structure of value is embodied in their character or personality, which is expressed through their patterns of attention and action. An account of character is a story. Stories are essential because they help us navigate the infinite facts of the world, identifying what's relevant.

When we look into someone's eyes, we're trying to discern their focus, assuming they're pointing their attention at something valuable. If they look at us, it signals they value us. Our eyes evolved to facilitate this signaling of attentional focus and emotion.

Understanding someone's character through stories allows us to "step into their shoes," gaining access to their wisdom without experiencing their struggles. This is why we watch movies: they distill human experience, presenting characters who are "more than human" in their informative actions.

For example, watching the Joker in The Dark Knight allows us to understand the "author of all ill," the nature of evil, and the pathways to the abyss. Conversely, watching a hero allows us to evaluate and embody heroic patterns of attention and action. Fiction, in this sense, is a profound form of truth, a distillation of the prioritization of facts, manifesting in character.

The Biblical Corpus: Characterizing God and Humanity

The biblical corpus attempts to characterize the highest possible orientation through stories. It's a library of narratives, each presenting characters from different angles. The primary characters are God and human beings, with humans characterized in relation to the infinite.

This relationship is difficult to manage due to human finitude. The "God of the tabernacle is veiled" because the infinite must be filtered and particularized for us to comprehend it without being overwhelmed.

Dawkins's view of religion as the "sum of all evil" is dismissed as unfair and a misapprehension. The religious endeavor, instead, attempts to characterize good and evil and humanity's relationship to them. Even those who claim not to believe in good cannot escape acting out a relationship with it, as attention itself is a sacrificial act of prioritizing what one values.

Characterizations of God in the Old Testament

The biblical stories characterize God in various ways, each reflecting a different aspect of human experience and moral orientation:

1. Genesis 1: God as the Spirit of Order from Possibility. God is presented as the spirit associated with the word that moves on the face of chaos, bringing forth good order. This spirit interacts with possibility, aiming upward in love and truth. Humans, made in God's image, possess an intrinsic, inviolable worth, transcending natural and social order. Our consciousness, like God's spirit, grapples with infinite potential, transforming chaos into beneficial actuality. This is "walking with God."

2. Adam and Eve: God as the Spirit Objecting to Prideful Overreach. Humans are characterized by their tendency to overreach due to pride. God responds to this overreach with the dissolution of the paradisal state. Our failures often stem from "cataclysmic arrogance." The idea that suffering entered the world with sin suggests a link between prideful overreach and suffering, raising the question of how much suffering would vanish if we ceased overreaching and "walked with God."

3. Cain and Abel: God as the Object of Proper Sacrifice. Sacrifice, in this context, means work—delaying gratification and investing in the future. It's a covenant with tomorrow, a faith-predicated contract that proper sacrifice in the present will be rewarded. Cain offers a "second-rate" sacrifice, while Abel offers his finest. God accepts Abel's and rejects Cain's, implying that proper commitment requires everything one has. Conscience, in this view, is a manifestation of God's character, calling us out on our failure to sacrifice properly.

4. Noah: God as the Spirit Calling the Wise to Prepare for Chaos. When society becomes bitter, resentful, and destructive (like Cain's descendants), a "flood" of chaos ensues. God, in this story, is the spirit that calls the wise to prepare for impending cataclysm. Noah, a "good man" for his time, trusts his judgment and acts, becoming a prophet by "seeing what's right in front of your eyes." Deviating from the path (sin) obscures vision, making one unprepared for crisis.

5. Tower of Babel: God as the Spirit Opposing Presumptuous Tyranny. Cain's descendants build cities and worship technology, placing it in the highest place. This leads to the "tyranny of the presumptuous spirit," where leaders become gods, and words lose their meaning (e.g., "What is a woman?"). This breakdown of shared understanding leads to societal collapse.

6. Abraham: God as the Call of the Spirit of Adventure. Abraham, living a life of ease, is called at 75 to leave his comfort and embark on an adventure. God promises that if he follows this call, he will be a blessing to himself, his descendants, and the world. This isn't about accepting descriptive facts but being motivated by a particular spirit. True life involves voluntarily undertaken difficulty and challenge, not mere security. The "beneficial adversary" (like a partner in play) keeps us optimally challenged. Abraham's journey involves expanding sacrifices and opportunities, confronting catastrophes with faith and courage.

7. Moses: God as the Voice of Leadership Against Tyranny. Moses, an ordinary shepherd, is drawn to a burning bush. By thoroughly investigating this compelling phenomenon, shedding his current identity, he hears the voice of being itself, calling him to lead his people out of slavery. This is how one becomes a leader: by hearkening to the voice of adventure and genuinely aiming at what is highest.

Conclusion

The biblical stories, through their characterizations of God and humanity, provide a framework for establishing priorities in life. They emphasize the importance of:

• Wrestling potential into good order.
• Making high-quality sacrifices.
• Foregoing bitterness and cowardice.
• Walking with God to anticipate chaos.
• Committing to the highest good to avoid false paradises.
• Following the spirit of adventure with faith and courage.

These actions, the speaker concludes, are essential for peace, productive harmony, and opportunity to manifest in one's life.