If the last few years of intentional philosophical investigation into life, the Universe and everything have been like walking through a track in the forest, going on detours along interesting sidetracks to see what is there, but generally following a track, then the place I am at now is like a clearing in the forest.
I emerge from the forest where the direction I took was constrained by where paths existed through otherwise impenetrable undergrowth. Now, in the clearing there is no obvious preferred way forward. In the distance I can see a number of possible paths which might take me to interesting places but without looking more closely, there is no way to know whether they are just dead ends.
So, in this current phase of the journey, it is time to pause and to look and see what lies in the clearing and to generally explore the space.
What have I discovered in the journey? What do I now believe after my investigations? Why do I believe what I do?
Is it is no coincidence that I was brought up Christian and now believe that Theism is the best hypothesis for the Universe and that Christianity is closer to the truth than other belief systems. This is something which concerns me.
No doubt my beliefs have been influenced by circumstances and the environment in which I was brought up, but does that make them suspect? Do I have the vantage point to know? Before continuing, and taking a look at possible ways forward, the next step will be to look at the influences have led me to where I am now, to question them and to consider whether I would still have come to the same conclusions if I had a different starting point. To use a metaphor from optimisation theory, am I heading to a global minimum or just a local one and the real situation is fundamentally outside my reach?
Throughout my life in general and my philosophical quest in particular, one guide I have followed is the “Heretical imperative”: Being a heretic doesn’t mean having wrong teaching as it is often taken to mean. It means to challenge accepted wisdom and to be ready to ask the awkward questions. As the rule of life of the Northumbrian Community puts it:
We embrace the responsibility of taking the heretical imperative: by speaking out when necessary or asking awkward questions that will often upset the status quo; by making relationships the priority, and not reputation.