Why I Believe in Magic

The claim that I believe in magic is going to sound bizarre to people. We live in cynical times when most of the things that were once called magic have been debunked. When I talk about magic here I’m not referring to any particular phenomenon. I haven’t met somebody who has convinced me that they have superpowers or anything like that. My claim to believe in magic is more about valuing a certain type of relationship with the universe – it is similar to saying that I believe in human compassion.

Thomas Huxley, Knowledge, and Humility

Thomas Huxley is credited with inventing the word ‘agnosticism’. He also advised that humans should;

Sit down before fact like a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly to wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing.

Every person has biases and underlying assumptions that prevent them from sitting before facts like a child. There are so many things that we take for granted yet there is no way to justify such certainty. At this point in our history most of us assume that a materialistic view of the universe is correct – this idea holds that all that exists is material and energy. We have reached this conclusion because we assume that we can fully understand the outside world using the methods of materialistic science – this is sometimes referred to as scientism . The strange thing is humans don’t even know for sure what exists beyond their senses yet they feel confident to make such bold claims about the universe.

Reality Exists Inside Our Heads

I’m not claiming here that reality only exists inside our heads; although solipsism is a reasonable argument. When I would say is that our reality only exists inside our heads. There does seem to be something out there but we never directly experience it. It is our senses that interpret what is beyond, and many of the things that we take for granted don’t really exist as we think they do. Everything we see is produced in the darkness of our minds, and the same can be said of all the other senses. When a bird tweets it doesn’t actually make a noise – there is just a vibration that hits our eardrum and it is our brain that turns this into a sound.

Science appears to have allowed humans to get a better understanding of what is out there, and it is a strange an alien place. The things that we view as solid objects are mostly made up of empty space. Our brains are only able to interpret a tiny fraction of the light spectrum – for example, we are unable to see microwaves. We assume that we can measure all those things that we can’t see, but how can we be sure of this? There is no guarantee that what we are measuring is even there. Some even claim that we may be living inside a virtual reality and our mind is using computer code to create our world. If this sounds crazy to you then find a way to disprove it – my guess is that you won’t be able to.

A Hard Question for Scientists

The hard question in science is how consciousness could arise from matter. This debate gets confusing because there isn’t even any real agreement as to what consciousness actually refers to. If the materialist view of the universe is correct then we have to be able to fully explain consciousness as a product of matter, and this is something we have not yet achieved. Instead we are left with a promissory note, but the claim that science will be able to explain it all soon is a belief and not a fact.

One way to explain consciousness using the materialist paradigm is to say that at some point in our evolution it just appeared – this is referred to as strong emergence. This makes evolutionists uncomfortable because nature doesn’t usually work like that – things appear slowly over time. Another idea is that consciousness was always there in matter and as living systems become more complex they are able to become self aware. This is an interesting theory, and it could turn out to be true. The reality is though, that we cannot explain consciousness despite the fact that so many people act as if we have already explained it.

Assumptions and Scientific Knowledge

The materialist view of the world is based on a number of assumptions that could be likened to articles of faith. These assumptions include:

* The belief that because things have happened regularly in the past they will continue to happen regularly in the future. In philosophy this is referred to as the problem of induction.
* The belief that all that exists is measurable or observable.
* The assumption that we can understand nature.
*The belief that all that happens will have a physical cause.

These assumptions are reasonable, but there is no way that we can tell if they are the ultimate truth. It does seem that science is making life better for people (although it is debatable as to whether people today feel happier or more fulfilled than humans in the past), but just because something seems to work does not mean that it true. For me it is important to remember that in many ways the universe remains an unknown entity, and this is why I believe in magic.

It is Reasonable to Believe in Magic

The materialist worldview that life has no real purpose and that humans are just fleshy machines does not sound reasonable to me. Those who insist that this is the case are relying on a type of faith. We just don’t know – it has not been proved. This is why I’m open to the possibility of magic. I suspect that the universe is far stranger than our minds could understand, and this makes me feel humble. Accepting the possibility of magic is a type of humility. It also makes the world a far more interesting place. It’s as reasonable to believe in magic as it is to believe that we are just fleshy robots.

The Types of Magic I Believe In

I feel strongly that there is more to the universe than what can be found in the materialist worldview. I don’t believe that the sense of ‘I ness’ and capacity of awareness will be explained away as purely a product of the brain – it certainly has not happened yet despite claims of the contrary. This is my current belief, and I may decide to believe something different in the future. My departure from the prevailing view on consciousness means that some might accuse me of magical thinking or being a devotee of woo woo. I don’t mind because I prefer living in a world of magic where we are more than just fleshy machines. Of course if people wish to prove me wrong I’m always willing to listen.

Coming Out About Magic

Posting this article here sort of feels like coming out of the closet – although nowhere near as difficult as it must be for gay people to admit their sexuality for the first time. There is a great deal of negativity directed at those who depart from the materialistic worldview. We live in an age where debunkers of woo woo are treated like celebrities. There may be many who see my beliefs as stupid or weak – I don’t care. I’ve more in common with faith healers and clairvoyants than staunch materialists. The purpose of this blog has always been for me to share my view of the world, and this is it.