Panentheism and Brute Facts

[Mudhammam]

If Divinity is part of (or in my opinion the whole of) reality then it makes sense to its influence could be ‘observed’ (more on that below) in natural phenomena.

What the fuck is your hypothesis then? In what ways might we test this *cough* "theory" *cough* of yours?

There is no such thing as purely empirical knowledge. Pretty much everything not immediately visible to the naked eye is known by inference and deduction. For example the star and spiral patterns visible in a chamber are just that, spirals and stars, until placed in the context of atomic theory. People consider a theory justified if their interpretation of the data fits neatly in their theoretical framework. Observation is itself a theory-laden claim. Moreover, you are completely wrong about primal matter, it has one and only one property, potency, the propensity to be.

Ohhh, so your theory makes predictions and gets results just like atomic theory. Interesting. Mmm-hmm, go on.

Yeah, and evolution is “ just a theory”… You’re hand-waving.

...really? Come on dude, you're smarter than this. Evolution is "just a theory," "only" based on a "giant" pile of accumulating "facts" attested to by multiple branches of "scientific inquiry."

Is this a rational position? What other means of gaining this type of knowledge do you recommend “bear the weight”…intuition, mystical visions, tarot cards? Everyone knows that ideas can appear to be rational without actually being so. We’re only human. The reliability of reason depends on clear thinking and having good information. If you’re going to use that against me by saying my position is “little more than an assertion” then you must also level that charge on all positions, including your own.

Uh..yeah..except not. Because some positions are supported by evidence, such as the position that physical laws are quite capable of bringing about everything you see without the help of Superman.

From having discussed this concept with life-long Hindus, I can say with confidence that “all is maya” does not undermine my position. In Western terms, a Maya-type illusion happens when accidental or secondary properties give the ego (itself a secondary construct) the false impression of a plurality that distracts it from the fundamental unity of reality. “All is Maya” is not the actual solution; but rather a prompt to contemplate of the tension between the Unity & Plurality and Being & Change. The difference between East and West is that, starting with the Greeks, the West’s intellectual tradition has approached the problem using rational inquiry whereas in the East various spiritual practices evolved to invoke experiences of gnostic insight. I see these as complimentary approaches, not in direct conflict.

What has "gnostic insight" been directly responsible for solving?