Friday, January 31, 2014

Why Quantum Mechanics has nothing to do with God - Part II

A thing without attributes. Have you ever heard of such a thing? Have you ever pondered about such a thing? Can we really think about such a thing?

When we actually start thinking on these lines, we realize that any 'thing' is eventually defined and described only through its attributes. A pen has a length, a width, a shape, a form, a color, several parts, each with its own set of attributes. A word has attributes, sequence of letters, a pronunciation, a meaning and so on. A thought has attributes, the subject, the meaning, the emotional content etc. Everything we can think of is only thinkable because of its attributes! A person, a place, an event, everything.

So, if we want to talk about something without attributes, how do we even begin? We can probably begin with something that has very little attributes, something like say a point. A point has no length, breadth, depth, height, weight, color. It almost has no attributes. We in fact defined the point that way.  In spite of it not having these attributes, it does have some. Its co-ordinates. The coordinates are its attributes, and they define/describe the point. so we can say the point is in such an such a place.

When a seemingly abstract thing like a point cannot escape from having attributes, what else could that be with out attributes? Now we slowly begin to see the improbability of talking about such a thing. There can be no thing in this Universe that has no attributes. every single thing in this Universe has an attribute, simply because only by an attribute we recognize a thing! Kind of cyclic, but that is the truth. Its like saying 1 equals 1. Its true only because we defined it to be so.

So, if there can be no such thing in the Universe without attributes, could such a thing exist? Where could that exist? Rather than going in search of 'other' Universes,we need to seek an answer, because every such other Universe is essentially the same with respect to attributes, without attributes nothing can be defined. Where are we to find such a thing?  If we do find it, can there be many of them?

contd ...