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1 | Creation Myths
- Dartmouth College Press
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❍ 1 CREATION MYTHS Every question possesses a power that does not lie in the answer. —Elie Wiesel t first sight, it may seem puzzling that a book written by a scientist about the evolution of cosmological thought should start with a chapter on the creation myths of ancient religions, but I have my reasons. First, in their variety these myths encompass all the logical answers we can give to the question of the origin of the Universe , including those found in modern theories of cosmology. This is not to say that modern science is simply rediscovering ancient wisdom , but that, when it comes to the question of the ultimate origin of all things, there is evidence for a true universality in human thought. The language is different, the symbols are different, but in their essence the ideas are the same. There is, of course, a very big difference between a religious approach and a scientific approach to the origin of the Universe. Scienti fic theories are supposed to be testable and should be refuted if they don’t correspond to reality. Even though we are at present far from being able to test any of the models describing the origin of the Universe, a given mathematical model will only be seriously considered by the scientific community if it can be tested against experiments . At present, all we can hope for is that these models will correspond to some important features of the observed Universe. A We will have much more to say about the promise and difficulties of these models later on. For now, what is important is to keep in mind that creation myths and cosmological models are both attempts to understand the existence of the Universe. The second reason to start this discussion with creation myths is more subtle. These myths are essentially religious, an expression of awe as different cultures face the mystery of Creation. It is this very same awe that motivates much of the scientific creative process. My point is that this awe itself is more primitive than the particular way by which we choose to express it, be it in terms of organized religion or science. For most scientists, the drive comes from looking at nature as the ultimate challenge, and from a deep belief in the power of human reason to tackle it. Physics is a game played with nature, where we try to find out what’s inside the box without being allowed to open it. In the words of Richard Feynman, expressed in his wonderful Lectures on Physics, Imagine that the world is something like a great chess game being played by the gods, and we are observers of the game. We do not know what the rules of the game are; all we are allowed to do is to watch the playing. Of course, if we watch long enough, we may eventually catch on to a few of the rules. The rules of the game is what we call fundamental physics. You can interpret this text in two ways. One is to say that physics is plain fun; the other is to say that physics is more than fun, it is the language of the gods. Mysticism, if understood as the embodiment of our irresistible attraction to the unknown, plays a fundamental role in the scientific creative process of many physicists, past and present. Neglecting this fact is closing our eyes to history and overlooking an essential aspect of science . In order to understand the roots of what might be called rational mysticism, we now turn our attention to the creation myths of prescientific civilizations. 4 BEGINNINGS [44.197.113.64] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 10:22 GMT) THE NATURE OF CREATION MYTHS Thousands of years ago, long before the body of knowledge we now call science existed, nature played a very different role in the fate of our species. Nature both gave food and warmth, and brought cold and destruction. It was benevolent and generous as well as ruthless and terrifying. Since humans could not control nature, they tried to appease it. Hoping that natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and hurricanes would not destroy their homes or kill their animals, and that their harvest would be plentiful , people worshiped and idolized nature. The ways in which this occurred varied from culture to culture, conditioned by such factors as the degree of isolation of the group, its geographical location, and its...