S5E16 - The Philosophic Image of God

In this episode Chris engages with the ideas of author--Brian Cranely, in his book The Call of Wonder. He discusses the importance of the human experience of wonder and awe as a catalyst for opening one's mind to realities greater than oneself. He then moves to the Western philosophical tradition to trace how we have wrestled with the idea of 'greater realities,' leading to Plato's idea of forms and eventually to the realm of spirit as formulated in our religious traditions. Next, we trace the pedigree of the idea of God with a capital 'G,' beginning with Plato's idea of the Form of the Good in distinction to the gods of Olympus. From there we arrive at Aristotle's First Cause and start to pin down the qualities that such a thing must necessarily have--Unity, Eternity and Unknowability. From this basic pattern we arrive at the religious idea of the Image of God and describe how it is reflected in cosmology, biology and consciousness.

Enjoy ;)