Letters to the Editor
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re: Boy this subject gets me emotional
Patricia Schwarz wrote:
People get spiritual because there are emotional challenges in life. Sometimes the only way to rise above those emotional challenges is to imagine that the universe is capable of love, and you, a mere human being, deserve to receive that love.
Here you are agreeing with Mr. Wilson. To summarize both writers, religion is a psychological trait that people evolved in order to help them deal more effectively with the world.
The people trying to build a spirituality of science go on and on and on about their IMAX universe of awe. Love is a topic they can never broach.
It sounds to me that what you are objecting to isn't the argument, but rather the description of something dear to you in "sterile" scientific terms. What you call "love", Mr. Wilson calls "awe". Trying to describe things scientifically is just what scientists do -- they aren't trying to be dismissive or demeaning, only precise.
-Jeremy Friesner