The "Why?" Question

I received a friendly email containing this question:

I have a beautiful garden which I sweat and toil to achieve. But I also want know why and how it exists beyond my toil and sweat? I more or less have a handle on the “how” due to my education and what man knows today about our creation of the World, but it is the “why” aspect I am more concerned about? I have no respect for anyone who answers a question I ask with, "Because it just does or just is".

 

This was my response:

Thanks for your email and your compliments.

You have said that you have no respect for anyone who answers your “Why?” question with “Because it just does or just is”.

However, the question itself leaves a lot to be desired, because sometimes questions have no meaning. “Why is a mountain?” has no meaning.

For example, you could ask all sorts of questions about light – such as “What is it?”, “How fast is it?”, “How does it affect me?”. But if you start asking me questions about its politics, I would have to stare at you and say – it doesn’t have anything to do with politics – it’s a silly, irrelevant question.

The question: “How?” is very meaningful when we look at mountains, gardens etc. The question “Why?” is meaningless unless you presuppose some active, personal agency behind these things. In other words, you are begging the question – you have a built-in irrational assumption. Therefore, it is your question itself which is unworthy of your respect. We should start with no assumptions and work towards truth based on evidence. If we examine the evidence and find that there is a Being who made a mountain – then the question “Why?” would become valid. On the other hand, if we find that gravity and matter naturally produce things like mountains without any conscious agency being necessary, then the question “Why?” is plain silly.

I suspect your question has more to do with “why you find mountains and gardens beautiful” than with their existence. That is a far more interesting and difficult question, but don’t undervalue your own part in the creation of your garden. Without you, it would be a wild chaotic pile of rampant life and death – each plant competing with other plants (and animals) in its struggle for survival – that’s the history of life on this planet. It is beautiful because humans respond to health, vitality and to colour and order. But there are whole books on that subject. Remember, the seeds you plant today have been selectively bred over many years by hard-working, curious, people who were breeding for beauty.  And before that, plants were being selectively bred much more slowly, by Natural Selection - for attractiveness to bees/wasps/other insects.

Scientists now understand how life arose; we have a good understanding of how matter itself arose. There are still many questions, of course, but truth has never, ever been found by throwing up our hands and saying “an invisible being must have done it”. That is like me believing that pixies did the washing up yesterday – when in fact my mother had popped in while I was out.