When studying the world, it is helpful to establish some basic philosophical assumptions about it. In other words, know your frame of reference for interpretations of facts about the world. I'd like to look at two philosophers today that view the world similarly to my perspective.
One of the first philosophers I studied in school growing up was Plato, student of Socrates. He believed that there were two different worlds: the sensible - or physical - world and the intelligible - or conceptual - world. Like Plato, when I study geography, I look at the raw, hard facts, like the topography, the climate, a country's natural resources, and the population. Equally important, however, are the non-tangible things like the predominant values of a people group or the religion that they follow.
The spiritual state of people, however, is most important to my studies. The spiritual world spills over into both the sensible and intelligible. No one can see or gather hard facts about a group's spiritual lives. Nor can they quantify it, leading most to categorize it in Plato's conceptual world. However, the spiritual world spills over into the tangible. Even from the very beginning, the tangible world would not exist without the reality of the spiritual; God created it.
Ludwig Wittgenstein had an interesting philosophy that coincides with much about how I view the world as well. He believed that there is one world with one set of facts, even though people may interpret them differently. This may seem at first to contradict Plato, with his separation of the worlds. However, the same world that connects his makes it possible for me to come alongside Wittgenstein.
The spiritual world is where we find God and the Bible. God is clear that there is one truth. So, in a sense, whether physical or conceptual, the spiritual realm encompasses it all into one world of absolute truth. People may interpret this truth differently from each other, but that does not change the one truth. Some interpretations are simply wrong, as I am sure not everything I say in this blog reflects pure reality.
I may have a wrong perspective on certain points. I may get a few facts wrong. That is why it is such a blessing to be able to rely on Him in the spiritual world - Jesus Christ - to maintain consistency between all worlds that make up the one world.
What philosopher's views are similar to your own?
