Conspiracy Theory
View Large
The machine's function & design were selected by the environment in which it came into being. People were both parts & players in that place.
That does seem such an odd thing to say about the device. One wants to just say the easier thing, which is that it was designed & manufactured at such & such a company, & belongs to a farmer named John. The company's owners & executives had purposes in mind - intentions - & so does John, & the machine serves those purposes.
But though true insofar as it goes, & adequate for the conduct of business & farming, etc., the easy description is not the complete story. It omits what Darwin noticed, but his theory's co-discoverer Wallace did not, which is that that the whole of the tractor is not explained more sufficiently if one argues, "Its creation was guided by a higher - that is, above Nature, or not of Nature - intelligence."
What Darwin said of the finches he studied in the Galapagos is equally applicable to the object in the picture. It was selected by the environment, which itself, in its entirety including ourselves, is not further explained by the superaddition of a supernatural being (One may ask, "Well, then where did all this come from if not from a god?" But if one asks that, then one must also note the rule asserted by the first premise, which is that one must always ask "Where did the god or any other 'cause' come from?" which, if answered, must then be treated the same way, again & again, forever, a fact noticed by Aristotle).
We all frequently hear variants of the "there must be a supreme intelligence guiding events" argument. At first appearance it may sound reasonable because humans possess some intelligence & are involved in the unfolding of many events. But upon reflection the immensely larger, underlying reality is seen to be quite otherwise. Just as competing parts of a weather system interact with the planet to generate a variety of complex, ever changing conditions, intelligent creatures interact with one another & the rest of their similar & different environments to produce unpurposed, unintended, mindless effects.
Does this mean there is no such thing as a conspiracy? Certainly not. Millions of conspiracies are being worked on at every moment. Plotters are at their tasks in every sales office, every corporate boardroom, every politician's office, every meeting of church leaders, restaurants, bars, lawyer's libraries, staterooms, general headquarters, sporting fields, many living rooms, bedrooms, children's playgrounds & anywhere else people gather. We never know exactly what will come from this wonder, the human comedy, or any part of it, or it all.
Conspiracy Theory
View Large
The machine's function & design were selected by the environment in which it came into being. People were both parts & players in that place.
That does seem such an odd thing to say about the device. One wants to just say the easier thing, which is that it was designed & manufactured at such & such a company, & belongs to a farmer named John. The company's owners & executives had purposes in mind - intentions - & so does John, & the machine serves those purposes.
But though true insofar as it goes, & adequate for the conduct of business & farming, etc., the easy description is not the complete story. It omits what Darwin noticed, but his theory's co-discoverer Wallace did not, which is that that the whole of the tractor is not explained more sufficiently if one argues, "Its creation was guided by a higher - that is, above Nature, or not of Nature - intelligence."
What Darwin said of the finches he studied in the Galapagos is equally applicable to the object in the picture. It was selected by the environment, which itself, in its entirety including ourselves, is not further explained by the superaddition of a supernatural being (One may ask, "Well, then where did all this come from if not from a god?" But if one asks that, then one must also note the rule asserted by the first premise, which is that one must always ask "Where did the god or any other 'cause' come from?" which, if answered, must then be treated the same way, again & again, forever, a fact noticed by Aristotle).
We all frequently hear variants of the "there must be a supreme intelligence guiding events" argument. At first appearance it may sound reasonable because humans possess some intelligence & are involved in the unfolding of many events. But upon reflection the immensely larger, underlying reality is seen to be quite otherwise. Just as competing parts of a weather system interact with the planet to generate a variety of complex, ever changing conditions, intelligent creatures interact with one another & the rest of their similar & different environments to produce unpurposed, unintended, mindless effects.
Does this mean there is no such thing as a conspiracy? Certainly not. Millions of conspiracies are being worked on at every moment. Plotters are at their tasks in every sales office, every corporate boardroom, every politician's office, every meeting of church leaders, restaurants, bars, lawyer's libraries, staterooms, general headquarters, sporting fields, many living rooms, bedrooms, children's playgrounds & anywhere else people gather. We never know exactly what will come from this wonder, the human comedy, or any part of it, or it all.