In many people’s minds he word “metaphysics” immediately conjures up thoughts of “woo woo” ideas and “spacy” people those who teach them under the banner of “metaphysics.” And much that we find in these spaces indeed seems to be way too far out for most of us. But metaphysics has a larger and longer history, and is, indeed, a long-established branch of philosophy. It is the philosophical quest to find and understand the basic nature of existence, including the question of “why is there something rather than nothing”? It involves thinking beyond what the scientific method alone can fully describe. But throughout history, as science continues to unfold new things, metaphysicians seek to understand the implications of these finding in wider and deeper ways.
In this episode, LDF host Dan Wotherspoon shares what he believes are important insights that certainly would fall within the category of “Mormon metaphysics” which are laid out in places in the Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price, the LDS temple ceremony, and other teachings of Joseph Smith, especially those in the King Follett Discourse. These suggest that everything that exists in uncreated and at least capable of some sort of “experience.” If everything is eternal, everything has intrinsic value, and everything is interconnected with everything else.
These insights provide a beautiful starting point for expanding our ethical concerns, reverence of other forms of life, and other spiritual sensibilities. Dan takes a pastoral turn with each, showing how Joseph’s sensibilities about the foundational stuff of the universe are capable of changing us deeply once we learn to experience our own deep connection with what lies beneath what science can prove, but which in important ways seems to be lining up with many of its emerging discoveries.
This still may sound “woo woo” to some, but hopefully it will be an episode that inspires new thinking and wider spiritual experiences.
Listen in!
Links:Tomorrow