Organizing forces

I listened to an exchange between Christopher Hitchens and some Episcopal minister on NPR this weekend. They didn't debate each other as much as talk about their respective positions.

The minister said the thing he liked about Hitchens was that you always knew where he stood. He was an atheist, and that was that.

The anti-dogma component of Hitchens' world view is certainly compelling. There's not a shred of evidence that any of the religious stuff has any foundation outside of faith. Now faith, as a quantum phenomenon, can be powerful, in a way. But as to the rest of the stories...well, let's just say I can't find anything in my experience that supports them.

On the other hand, there's plenty of evidence for the crystalline structure of matter. There's plenty of evidence for the natural outworking of forces that seem to bring an order out of apparent random physical forces. This evidence is intensely experiential. The way the rivulets of water carve sand at the beach looks exactly like the Grand Canyon as seen from 40,000 feet.

Maxwell's equations and the periodic table of the elements also demonstrate a remarkable order to things. This implies an ordering force, doesn't it? That is, a schema, or set of rules seem to imply a rules maker. Something that has made the rules would, by any other measure be called a god (or God if you wish).

It is the way it is and there are rules. This is another way to put it that does not imply a god. Although it does beg the question of why it is the way it is instead of some other way. I can't find the intent, necessarily, but I can find the rules. They are everywhere. If you don't see them, you are not looking at it in the right way. The rules inform everything in the physical world. So one question that arises is whether there is anything that is non-physical. Does it exist if it cannot be measured?

I think the answer is yes. I think the organizing schema exists as a precondition for the physical world. But again, this does not imply an organizer.